Katydid, did, did did - But What The Heck Did She Do?

Step outside at night now and the sounds of summer insects are everywhere. It's a cacophony of trills, chirps, buzzes and the wonderful onomatopoeic call of katydids, repeating the same Katydid, did, did, did call in a seemingly never ending chant. Only the male katydids call as a way to entice the females to mate and each species has its own distinctive sound. Just what Katy did is a mystery, but whatever it is was, the males just cant seem to talk about it enough. It can sometimes be hard to separate all the various insects calling at night as the sounds tend to blur into one loud chorus, but the distinctive call of the katydids can usually be picked out from the rest.

Katydids are amazingly camoflouged and are not often seen during the day. Their green color and shape blends perfectly into the leaves they spend the day hiding on, so learning their disticntive calls is the best way to "find" and enjoy them.  

A few years ago the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission participated in the First Annual Cricket Crawl sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History. This event was held to spotlight katydid and other nighttime insect biodiversity and received amazing media attention. The Friends team visited a number of our parks around town after dark and carefully listened for different calls. Here is what we found:

East Brunswick Butterfly Park

Field Cricket

Lesser Anglewing

Greater Anglewing

Common True Katydid

Frost Woods

Field Cricket

Lesser Anglewing

Common True Katydid

Jamesburg Park

Lesser Anglewing

Common True Katydid

Dallenbach Park

Greater Anglewing

Field Cricket

Lesser Anglewing

Common True Katydid     

So head outside at night, close your eyes and listen to the sounds that make summer so incredible. And please share any observations about katydids or other nighttime insects with us on the Friends website at www.friendsebec.com. But most importantly, if you find out what the heck Katy did, let us know!