As youngsters, my sister Laurel and I occasionally stayed overnight at my cousin Paula’s house, with my Aunt Viola supervising. We slept in an upstairs bunk with the windows open as the crickets sang.
For me, it was comforting, especially one time when my mom was having surgery, and we were staying there until she recuperated. The crickets seemed to sing, “All will be well.”
Those days are long gone, but not that sense of comfort that comes when the crickets sing just beyond my open window. Their whirs and hums lull me to sleep, and if I awaken in the middle of the night they’ll carry me back to slumber.
Some people dislike or fear insects — and I admit not all insects make me happy. But I adore hearing singing insects in late August when summer seems to say, “I’ll be here a little longer.”
During the day from late July until late September, if not longer, we hear dog-day cicadas singing from trees and grasshoppers from fields. At night, the crickets and katydids take over. To signal that day is ending and night is approaching, the cicadas crescendo their whiny songs until they fizzle out from exhaustion. In between, the crickets and katydids chirp softly.
It’s like the changing of guards in the insect world. When darkness is complete, the cicadas go to sleep while crickets and katydids get louder, more insistent.
Male insects sing to attract mates, but they don’t sing like humans do. We use vocal chords. Cicadas vibrate a membrane on the side of their bodies that creates what some say is a harsh, grinding sound. Some people don’t like hearing cicadas on hot summer days. In fact, one of my readers emailed me and asked me when the dog-day cicadas were going to stop.
But this is another sound I love because of childhood memories with my dad sitting on a lawn chair in the backyard on a hot summer day watching the Cubs on a small black-and-white TV. Dog-day cicadas were the backstage sound of growing up in the suburbs.
I didn’t know back then, but if you listen carefully you can hear one of several different species of dog-day cicadas in Northern Illinois. They look remarkably alike, but their songs are different to the ears of trained entomologists.
If you listen carefully, you also can hear crickets singing during the day. They produce their songs by rubbing their wings together.
As with cicadas, several different types of crickets can be found in Northern Illinois. Ground crickets, which begin singing in July, give rapid trills.
You might think the fall field cricket, which is all black and sometimes gets into the house, is the most common in the area. See this video to hear it sing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkIBHUh7LrE.
But snowy tree crickets are more numerous — and they sing from trees, not the ground. They are light-colored and sing soft chirps on a single pitch. This is the cricket that is said to tell you the temperature. The faster the chirps, supposedly the warmer it is. See this video to hear its song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bA9-WkLX-A
Also singing in trees at night are the katydids. One that sounds like a ticking watch is called the greater angle-winged katydid. What we most often hear in Northern Illinois is the common true katydid. It sings its name — “Katy did. Katy didn’t.” It’s a big green bug that looks like a grasshopper, but is active at night and in the trees, while grasshoppers are out during the day and near the ground.
Still, as summer wanes into autumn, you might encounter a katydid closer to the ground and during the day — it has long antennae, while the grasshoppers don’t.
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The common true katydid especially prefer oak trees. Hearing them sing brings back another, more recent memory — driving home after a concert at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park. Leaving behind the crowds and traffic congestion, eventually I come to a secluded wooded road on my way back home, roll my windows down and listen to the katydids.
Whatever your thoughts about insects, including those that sing, you should feel good about still hearing them. Insects are among the most numerous species in the world and their numbers, according to some studies, are declining worldwide.
What a shame if someday we would not be able to lie in bed at night to the soothing sound of crickets.
Sheryl DeVore has worked as a full-time and freelance reporter, editor and photographer for the baiduhai and its subsidiaries. She’s the author of several books on nature and the environment. Send story ideas and thoughts to [email protected].