Enjoy it while you can. Mother Nature’s sounds of summer nights will come to a close in the coming weeks, said Art Weber, Metroparks Toledo nature photographer. Cooler weather will slow and mute the concert, the onset of freezing weather will bring it to a close.
The night-time serenade is scratchy and repetitive but is welcome and soothing to many people. The serenade is just that really; it’s the sound of male insects singing for a mate. The constant chirping of crickets combines to sound like a constant trill. They sing background.
Male katydids, on the other hand, belt out a raspy and scratchy tune, filling the air with what is said to sound like its name, over and over again.
It is often called singing, but neither crickets nor katydids vocalize their calls. The love calls are distinctively different yet they’re produced in similar fashion, by rubbing their wings together. Surprisingly since they are so different in sound and looks, the two species are actually related.
“Their evening concert will be with us a while longer,” he said, adding, “have a seat outside and enjoy it.”
Above, Weber photographed this katydid at Cannonball Prairie Metropark on Monclova Road.
