PHOTO PROVIDEFD Pictured is a katydid, which is a member of the grasshopper family.

Upon returning from our trip to Washington State, my first chore was to mow the grass, which was so high the lawnmower and I both struggled. The mowing revealed grasshoppers, crickets and one toad that had been hiding in the grass.

Since returning I heard my first katydid of the year. Many years ago a neighbor showed me a jar containing a rather large bug and wanted to know what kind of bug it was. He told me that the bug had made an unusual noise as he was putting it in the jar. At first glance, I knew the jar contained a katydid.

The katydid’s call is more familiar to us than its appearance. The reason for this is that not many people are curious enough to take the time to locate where the calling is coming from. The katydid is known as the “true katydid” because it was the first species to have its call transcribed

The common true katydid (Pterophylla camellifolia) produces the repetitive song for which katydids are named: the song sounds as if the grasshopper is saying “katy-did, katy-didn’t.” However, each species of katydid has its own rasping song, which is produced when the forewings (one of which is ridged) are rubbed together. Although katydid songs are species-specific, different species are able to hear one another’s calls. Songs differ as to their purpose, which could be reproductive, territorial, aggressive or defensive in nature.

The katydid’s call is not actually a call because it is made by the insect rubbing its wings together. This built in fiddle can play only one monotonous two or three-note tune “Katy-did or Katy-didn’t” all depending on what you want to hear. My insect book tells me that the three note “Katy-didn’t” is heard less often.

Katydids are members of the family of long-horned grasshoppers. They are leaf green in color, which allows blending in with the surrounding leaves. This is another reason why many are unable to identify the katydid.

The katydid hatches from an egg and has neither wings nor voice at birth. After eating leaves throughout the summer, the bug reaches its winged state in August, and now, the fiddling call is heard.

It is the male that does the fiddling, and the female is silent. The calling is done to attract a mate. Most of this calling is done at night but can sometimes be heard on dark, cloudy days.

After being bred, the female will lay her eggs on the bark of trees and stems of shrubs. The eggs will overwinter and hatch in the spring when the process begins again.

Another familiar insect that makes its call by fiddling is the cricket. The cricket’s fiddling is produced by scraping a file on the underside of one wing against a file on the underside of the opposing wing. In early autumn, we begin to hear and see crickets. After a male cricket establishes his territory and chases other males away, the singing starts. A cricket lives in a single hole in the ground and hides under stones, boards or leaf litter.

If a cricket finds another cricket in its hole, a fight ensues. This fight consists of biting and often ends in death for one of the fighters. The winner usually eats the loser.

When the singing begins to summon a female, the male begins to produce a standard tone, a triple chirp familiar to all of us. In the presence of a female, the male makes a much higher pitched call and moves rapidly about. Some of these sounds are made at the rate of a thousand vibrations per second and are hardly distinguishable to the human ear.

As the end of summer nears the male’s calling to the female increases. They must meet and mate before hard frosts occur several nights in a row. The sub-freezing temperatures will bring their lives to an end.

After mating, the female deposits her eggs into the ground. In the spring, the eggs hatch, and the young crickets emerge from the ground. The young appear much like their parents except they have no wings. Their wings will not develop until later in the summer, and then, we will once again hear the cheerful chirping (fiddling) sounds of the male crickets.

During the months of August and September, we can hear the callings of many insects warning us that a frost is coming. To me, the callings of the katydids and the crickets are announcing that summer is coming to an end.

Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.