click click, who's there?
August 28, 2010 8:04 PM   Subscribe

What is this clicking bug noise I heard at night?

The sound clip starts with some standard crickets, but there is a clicking sound that starts about ¾ of the way in.
posted by jrishel to Pets & Animals (11 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 


i realize that the cicada song in my link is a lot slower than the one you recorded, but apparently cicadas' songs vary with temperature.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 8:16 PM on August 28, 2010


Best answer: The Singing Insects of North America site will help you identify your insect noises.
posted by Sallyfur at 9:38 PM on August 28, 2010 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Katydid? I've heard them make a few different types of noises.

Is that audio time stamped at 2am? I don't remember ever hearing cicadas that late.
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:39 PM on August 28, 2010


huh. i always thought katydid was another name for cicada. thanks, wikipedia.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 9:40 PM on August 28, 2010


If it was at night, I would guess katydid rather than cicada. However, honestly, I think that "peep, peep, peep", which is what I presume you are asking about, might be just a cricket.

I found a couple of links that can really help posted as answers in a similar previous question. In that thread, trip and a half posted a link to the Singing Insects of North America database. Additionally, zamboni suggested that, "When you need a recording of an animal, check with the Macaulay Library."
posted by ob1quixote at 9:44 PM on August 28, 2010


Sounds like cicadas going for it, to me.
posted by Decani at 11:46 PM on August 28, 2010


I've heard the bug you're talking about -- assuming you mean the quiet "tick tick tick" noise, not the crickets. I'm not sure what it is but I know it isn't a cicada (I'm in Utah, cicadas aren't common) or a katydid (wrong noise).

Maybe a grasshopper?
posted by mmoncur at 5:47 AM on August 29, 2010


It's not a cicada. My first thought was grasshopper, or maybe some kind of tree frog.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 6:24 AM on August 29, 2010


Best answer: Here are a bunch of katydid sound clips. They can vary quite a bit, but #4 & #10 sound like they are in the same ballpark as yours, with slow rhythmic clicking.
posted by gimli at 9:49 AM on August 29, 2010


Response by poster: 2:22 am GMT, but was 9:22 pm local time. the clip starts with crickets in background, and it's the last 4 seconds or so that the slow clicking is what I heard. earlier, before I started recording, that slow clicking was done in one tree, then repeated by something in another tree. the katydid noise is close, but not quite. We have cicadas, this was not a cicada, unless high 60F temps is enough to really alter the sound of a cicada.
posted by jrishel at 7:01 AM on August 30, 2010


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