Bugs that sing at night in SC, NC, and undoubtedly many other states—what are they?

[raccoon]

They sing at night in the trees in the summer. I heard them for the first time this year about two weeks ago.
I think they’re katydids.

[kentauros]

1. Cicadas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada

I like their sound, that is, when they can be heard over the scream of leaf-blowers... ;)

[TZ]

2. I was about to post that EXACT thing

However, its a little early for cicadas-usually they are heard at the end of July, beginning of August...

[kentauros]

7. Okay, thanks!

I'm not good on remembering what time of the year that they 'sing' only what it sounds like and that I'd like to ban all lawnmowers, weed-whackers and leaf-blowers when they're out :D

[raccoon]

4. You may be right, but in SC when the cicadas sing in the daytime,

they get louder and louder and reach a crescendo. Remember Sally Field picking cotton in PLACES IN THE HEART, and the cicada singing in the background?

At night the bugs maintain a steady volume. A LOUD volume, I might add.

[kentauros]

6. No, I don't remember that because I don't think I've seen the movie

;)

Besides, in a film that sound would have been inserted later by a foley artist because filming doesn't always coincide with what they want from nature :)

[Kali]

9. cicadas around here are diurnal and most definitely heat-activated

in fact to me, their sound is so associated with summer heat they make me feel hotter when I hear them:rofl:

[kentauros]

10. Yeah, well, your heat is dry, like an oven

:P

We have a wonderful south-easterly breeze and even more wonderful humidity to keep things at just the right temperature in the evenings, even in August. Well, just right for me; I know too many "native" Texans that don't seem to understand how to acclimate to our summers ;)

[Kali]

11. hey sometimes the humidity gets OVER 20% around here!

seriously though, it CAN get really humid in this area - August can be pretty brutal in the lower desert.

[kentauros]

12. I would expect August to be brutal - in a desert

;)

I live for humidity. It makes me feel better, I can breathe easier than in dry air (that tears up my sinuses something fierce) and it's a direct-connection to my motto: I'd rather sweat than shiver! :D

[Arkansas Granny]

3. We often hear katydids at night here in Arkansas and where I was raised in Missouri.

When I was a little girl, we thought the bugs were saying "Katy did, Katy didn't". I found this recording of a katydid, if it helps. Scroll down about 1/2 - 2/3 down the page. Recording # 2 is the one that I'm most familiar with.

http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/true_katydid.htm

[raccoon]

5. Recording 1 & 2 sound like what I've heard.

Recording #3 sounds like nothing I've ever heard...must be extraterrestrial aliens.

[Kali]

8. the night time bugs here are katydids, bush crickets, and "regular" crickets

the bush crickets are quite loud they are bright green like a katydid but not leaf shaped, smaller with long legs and REALLY long antennea

looking at the google they seem to be in the same family, Tettigoniidae which makes sense from the color and noise!

[jobycom]

13. Lookin' at you through a misty moonlight, Katydid sing like a symphony

One of my favorite country songs. The southern imagary makes me homesick. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfiYKaID_fE

Lookin' at you through a misty moonlight
Katydids sing like a symphony
Porch swing swayin' like a Tennessee lullaby
Melody blowing through the willow tree

What was I supposed to do
Standin' there lookin' at you
A lonely boy far from home
Maybe it was Memphis
Maybe it was southern summer nights
Maybe it was you maybe it was me
But it sure felt right

Read about you in a Faulkner novel
Met you once in a Williams play
Heard about you in a country love song
Summer nights beauty took my breath away

What was I supposed to do
Standin' there lookin' at you
A lonely boy far from home
Maybe it was Memphis
Maybe it was southern summer nights
Maybe it was you maybe it was me
But it sure felt right

Maybe it was Memphis
Maybe it was southern summer nights
Maybe it was you maybe it was me
But it sure felt right

Every night now once I've been back home
I lie awake at night drifting in my memory
I think about you on your momma's front porch swing
Talking that way so soft to me

What was I supposed to do
Standin' there lookin' at you
A lonely boy far from home
Maybe it was Memphis
Maybe it was southern summer nights
Maybe it was you maybe it was me
But it sure felt right

Maybe it was Memphis
Maybe it was southern summer nights
Maybe it was you maybe it was me
But it sure felt right
Maybe it was you maybe it was me
But it sure felt right
You know it sure felt right...