Archive-News
Column
19-11-2020
Column: Nature Notes - NIGHT AND DAY INSECT CHORUS
Column: Nature Notes - NIGHT AND DAY INSECT CHORUS
Higher ambient temperatures trigger increased activity in insects, including calling. During the day we are serenaded by cicadas and in the evening the Orthopterans – grasshoppers, locusts, crickets and katydids, take the stage. We can only hear the calls within human audio range and much of this insect chorus is above or below the auditory sense abilities of humans.
The well-known song of the cicada is a mating call, which is made only by males. A broken erratic distress call can also be emitted when an individual is captured.
There are more than 200 species of cicada in Australia, each species has its own distinctive mating call. Australian cicadas are the loudest insects in the world; large species such as the double drummer and greengrocer can produce noise intensity in excess of 120 decibels.
Organs called tymbals, which are ribbed membranes at the base of the abdomen, produce the cicada’s song. Contracting and relaxing the tymbal muscles produce a pulse of sound.
Male and female cicadas can hear throu

BE SOCIAL & SHARE THIS PAGE

MORE SCENIC NEWS

LOCAL BUSINESS

COLUMNS

Share by: