Frequently Asked Questions About Insects - Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University

Frequently Asked Questions

Topic:	Cicadas, katydids
Question:	There are insects that live in the trees in the Hill Country that make short, very loud noises after sunset, typically in the spring and early summer. They kind of sound like brzzzzzt, brzzzzzt, brzzzzzt, and repeat that over and over. There are also insects that make a loud, continuous droning noise in the trees during the heat of the day, like zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I have heard the latter called "heat bugs", and I believe they are a type of cicada. What are the former bugs? Are they the same cicada, and just giving off their night sound as opposed to their day sound? Or are they katydids? They are not crickets, because crickets are not nearly so loud and don't generally live in the trees.
Answer:	Cicadas make the loud buzzing noise from trees during the day. Katydids and tree crickets chirp after dark. There is almost no overlap in the time that they "sing." They are very different insects. Kaydids and tree crickets spend time in trees. You might check them out in our Field Guide to Common Texas Insects at the link below.
Related Link:	http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/aimg82.html
Related Link:	http://insects.tamu.edu/imagegallery/sounds.html
Image Link: **
Response by:	John A. Jackman, Ph.D.
Title:	Professor and Extension Specialist
** Most of the Related Links above also contain images.