Ricky B sent us this sound file of a cicada that he recorded in August of 2010 in Chicago:

Cicada MP3 (735 KB file size).

Can you guess which species it is?

Hint: try sites like Insect Singers and Songs of Insects sites for ideas.

Hey,

If you’re interested in North American cicada species, and you’re looking for sound files of those cicada’s songs, check out Insect Singers, a new website from cicada researchers David Marshall and Kathy Hill. It has dozens of audio samples. Awesome!

Update: Brood XIX straggler photos by Lenny Lampel.

Here’s a treat. Lenny Lampel, Natural Resources Coordinator for Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Conservation Science Office in Charlotte, NC, uploaded these videos that feature the calls of Magicicada tredecassini to YouTube.

Magicicada tredecassini chorus:

A small chorus of one year early Magicicada tredecassini stragglers of Brood XIX calling from the Lower McAlpine Greenway in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 10, 2010.

Magicicada tredecassini calls :

One year early Magicicada tredecassini stragglers of Brood XIX calling from the Lower McAlpine Greenway in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 10, 2010.

Here’s some D. viridifascia calls recorded by Joe Green. You can hear them, but you won’t see them in the video.

They sound like Maracas to me.

D. viridifascia calling by Joe Green from Cicada Mania on Vimeo.

D. viridifascia calling by Joe Green from Cicada Mania on Vimeo.

There’s plenty of pictures of D. viridifascia on the Bug Guide website.

Joe Green recently provided Cicada Mania with videos of various cicadas calling, and I posted them on Vimeo.

Here’s a selection of T. resonans calls, including alarm calls:

T. resonans alarm call by Joe Green from Cicada Mania on Vimeo.

T. resonans alarm call by Joe Green from Cicada Mania on Vimeo.

T. resonans calling by Joe Green from Cicada Mania on Vimeo.

T. resonans calling by Joe Green from Cicada Mania on Vimeo.

Joe’s Tibicen resonans were recorded in Florida. Here is a photo of a T. resonans also by Joe.

Joe Green sent me a couple of CDs worth of North American cicadas calling and has graciously allowed us to use them for the site. The highlight of these videos is that they feature cicada calls.

I have to add descriptions, and about 50 more videos, but for now check out what’s uploaded so far.

Here’s a sample:

hieroglyphica 6-07 044 from Cicada Mania on Vimeo.

Lately we’ve received quite a few emails asking for audio samples of cicadas and katydids so folks can A) tell them apart, and B) tell what species they are. There’s plenty of sites on the web that feature cicada sounds; look for links tagged AUDIO on my cicada links page. Two particularly good sites for sound files Massachusetts Cicadas and Cicada Central.

In my search for good cicada and katydid sounds, many people recommended the book “The Songs of Insects” by Lang Elliott and Wil Hershberger. I ordered it immediately, and it arrived today. I am truly amazed by this book (and audio CD). The book profiles 75 North American singing insects including cicadas, katydids, crickets, and grasshoppers. Each profile features two excellent color photos of each insect, a map of where you can find them, a description, and the audio CD includes the insects song. The book is over 225 pages long, and a high quality paperback. If you or your kids are interested in signing insects, there’s no better book to buy. All my nieces and nephews are getting this book for Christmas.

The authors of the book have a webpage featuring the songs of the insects featured in the book. Note that the book is lacking in species found in the western U.S. — if you live east of the Rockies this book is awesome.

Listing for bugs is a fun thing to due in these hot summer months — buy this book before the summer ends.

5 out of 5 Marvins.