For many years I’ve been wondering what makes that continuous buzzing sound all summer. I finally found it today in a Joshua tree:

What is this?

UPDATE:  Apparently it’s a cicada, but I have no idea which of the  2,500 species.   At Wiki are quite a few great pics, sound files and a very cool time lapse of the birth of a cicada.

They’re also supposed to be tasty snacks in many countries, but I can’t imagine being that hungry.