Background noise

Now is a wonderful time to be listening to that late summer background “noise” that we all hear but never pay much attention to. I’m referring to the myriad of insect sounds that can be heard on these hot and humid days.

Take some time out of your busy day and give a listen to the field crickets, ground crickets, and tree crickets in your yards, and neighborhood. Here’s a great site to help you learn these insect sounds and also learn a bit about their ecology and life history. Click on “Online Guide” for details. It’s worth looking over just for the great common names they’ve been given!

I have fall field crickets, and a species(still trying to figure out which one) of tree cricket calling in my yard and nearby woods. If I listen carefully I can hear the “typical call” of the fall field crickets with their constant “chirps”. But overlaying all the other calls is the very high-pitched whine of a species(?) of tree cricket.

Who knows, maybe some day I’ll hear a sword-bearing conehead!

Photo Credit: snowy tree cricket-/wikipedia