As night was falling, a rumbling thunderstorm moved in from the west. Common True Katydids were calling raucously from the oak woods in back of my house with temperatures in the low 80s. The interplay of the storm and the katydids was a delight to my ears. Featured here is a portion of that recording. Listening with headphones will put you right in the midst of the action. Common True Katydids are among the loudest of our night-time singing … [Read more...]
The Scuds are Singing!
It's mid-July and the scuds are singing, and I don't mean scud missiles. I mean katydids of the genus Scudderia, named after Samuel Hubbard Scudder (1837-1911), an early American entomologist. In nearby Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area, I'm now hearing the songs of two species: the Broad-winged Bush Katydid (Scudderia pistillata) and the Northern Bush Katydid (Scudderia septentrionalis). It is the latter that excites me most right now … [Read more...]
April Shuffler – A Coneheaded Katydid Surprise
The spring insect chorus here at Land Between the Lakes is richer than I expected. Last night when I returned to my camp at dusk and prepared to retire after a long and busy day, I became aware of a very high-pitched "shuffling trill," not pretty like that of a trilling cricket, but non-musical like the shuffles and scrapes of various katydids. With the help of a directional microphone, I homed-in on the insect singer, recorded him, and then … [Read more...]
Long-spurred Stridulations
One of my favorite things to do, in late summer and fall, is listening to the songs of insects. Getting close enough to watch a katydid actually singing can be quite exciting. This video vignette of a Long-spurred Meadow Katydid gets right in there, up close. Being able to watch him sing is a great way to learn about stridulation. In crickets and katydids, stridulation is the rubbing of one wing against the other. Males are the only ones that … [Read more...]
