The adult male cicada possesses two ribbed membranes called tymbals, one on each side of its first abdominal segment. Cicada calls are species-specific, helping individuals locate their own kind when different species of cicadas share the same habitat. Only the males sing with the purpose of attracting females for mating. Some species of cicadas ( Hemiptera) register over 100 decibels when singing.
In fact, it is the loudest song known in the insect world. The din of the cicada love song can be deafening. The males can expect to hear this courtship song in late in the summer.Ĭicadas make sounds by contracting special muscles. The call they produce sounds like "Katy did!"-which is how they got their name. Females chirp in response to the shrill of the males. Unlike crickets, in some species of katydids, the females are also capable of stridulation. When the males sing from just inside the burrow openings, the shape of the tunnel amplifies the sound enabling it to travel across a broader range of distance. Some crickets, such as mole crickets, dig tunnels in the ground with megaphone-shaped entrances. Crickets also chirp to establish their territory and defend it against competing males. Once she is near, the male switches to a courtship song to convince her to mate with him-and, in some cases, the male sings a post-copulation celebratory song as well. The female responds only to the unique, characteristic sound of her own species. The calling song, which may be heard for distances up to a mile, helps the female find the male. Crickets actually produce different calls for different purposes. Only male crickets produce sounds and not all species of crickets chirp. This method of producing sound is called stridulation, which comes from Latin, meaning "to make a harsh sound." The thin, papery portions of the wings vibrate, amplifying the sound. When the male cricket calls for a mate, he lifts his wings and pulls the file of one wing across the scraper of the other. The upper surface of the forewing is hardened, like a scraper. At the base of the forewing, there is a thick, ridged vein that acts as a file. Crickets and katydids produce sound by rubbing their wings together. Crickets, katydids, and grasshoppers all belong to the order Orthoptera.
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