Slow-tinkling Trig (Anaxipha tinnulenta)
Song of a Slow-tinkling Trig (scroll down for explanation and additional recordings!).
Similar in appearence to Say’s Trig, the Slow-tinkling Trig is found in the understory of open, deciduous woods and woodland margins in late summer and fall. They are typically found low to the gound, often not more than a meter high. They can be observed actively searching for food and mates after dark, but when approached, they are very quick to jump away making capture difficult.
The Slow-tinkling Trig, along with several other related species of trigs, was only recently described to science by Drs. TJ Walker and David H. Funk (see this PDF).
Slow-tinkling Trigs are found from New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania, south through Virginia and in most of North Carolina. Then south into the western portions of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Then west to eastern Texas and north to southern Missouri. A colony of Slow-tinkling Trigs was found by this author in Jefferson County, West Virginia in August of 2018.
Song: A clear, silvery, steady series of chirps at about 6.5 kHz with a pulse rate of about 4 chirps per second. Males are usually well hidden in the vegetation while singing and may sound like they are singing from the ground. The song is pleasant and mesmerizing. Listening to a chorus of singing insects that includes the slow, steady beat of Slow-tinkling Trigs can be very soothing and relaxing. This species can be misidentified as a “cold” Tinkling Ground Cricket, but listen carefully for the slower pulse-rate of the trig.
To learn more about Trigs, click here.
Slow-tinkling Trig
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Thumbnail Guide to All Species
Navigate to Species Pages:
Spring and Fall Field Cricket
Southern Wood Cricket
Southeastern Field Cricket
Eastern Striped Cricket
Japanese Burrowing Cricket
Ground Crickets (Nemobiinae):
Allard’s Ground Cricket
Carolina Ground Cricket
Confused Ground Cricket
Striped Ground Cricket
Southern Ground Cricket
Sphagnum Ground Cricket
Variegated Ground Cricket
Spotted Ground Cricket
Tinkling Ground Cricket
Cuban Ground Cricket
Tree Crickets (Oecanthinae):
Black-horned Tree Cricket
Forbes’s Tree Cricket
Broad-winged Tree Cricket
Davis’s Tree Cricket
Fast-calling Tree Cricket
Four-spotted Tree Cricket
Narrow-winged Tree Cricket
Pine Tree Cricket
Snowy Tree Cricket
Two-spotted Tree Cricket
Trigs and Bush Crickets (Eneopterinae & Trigonidiinae):
Jumping Bush Cricket
Columbian Trig
Handsome Trig
Say’s Trig
Thomas’s Trig
Slow-tinkling Trig
Mole Crickets (Gryllotalpidae):
Northern Mole Cricket
Southern Mole Cricket
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
Saltmarsh Meadow Katydid
Short-winged Meadow Katydid
Slender Meadow Katydid
Woodland Meadow Katydid
Black-sided Meadow Katydid
Long-tailed Meadow Katydid
Straight-lanced Meadow Katydid
Agile Meadow Katydid
Dusky-faced Meadow Katydid
Stripe-faced Meadow Katydid
Nimble Meadow Katydid
Black-legged Meadow Katydid
Common Meadow Katydid
Gladiator Meadow Katydid
Handsome Meadow Katydid
Lesser Pine Meadow Katydid
Long-spurred Meadow Katydid
Red-headed Meadow Katydid
Coneheads (Copiphorinae):
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
Round-tipped Conehead
Nebraska Conehead
Robust Conehead
Slightly Musical Conehead
Sword-bearing Conehead
False Robust Conehead
Marsh Conehead
Black-nosed Conehead
True Katydids (Pseudophyllinae):
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
Common True Katydid
False Katydids (Phaneropterinae):
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
Clicker Round-winged Katydid
Common Virtuoso Katydid
Rattler Round-winged Katydid
Oblong-winged Katydid
Great Angle-wing
Lesser Angle-wing
Broad-winged Bush Katydid
Curved-tailed Bush Katydid
Fork-tailed Bush Katydid
Northern Bush Katydid
Texas Bush Katydid
Treetop Bush Katydid
Modest Katydid
Shield-backed Katydids (Tettigoniinae):
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
American Shieldback
Least Shieldback
Protean Shieldback
Robust Shieldback
Roesel’s Katydid
Band-winged Grasshoppers (Oedipodinae):
Boll’s & Carolina Grasshoppers
Marsh Meadow Grasshopper