Voice of the Wild

This is Illinois Extension’s Voice of the Wild. a new wild voice in just a moment, so find someplace quiet, take a deep breath, and enjoy.

Some annual cicadas sing through the whole day, others only at dusk, but this cicada is unique; it sings almost exclusively in the morning. It begins its pulsating broadcast just after the late summer sun has cooked the cool of the night out of the low vegetation it tends to prefer. The song ends around noon, after which you’ll have to appreciate the cicada for its blueish wings, dark body, and notably humped back. While its known to have an affinity for swampy areas, i’ve heard it in Illinois in many habitats, so keep an ear open for this bug on morning walk past creeks and next to woodlands.

This is the Morning cicada; Neotibicen tibicen from the family Cicadidae. This family of insects is in the true bug order, hemiptera.

The Morning cicada’s song is harsh and rattling. It also tends to come in discreet 10 second phrases instead of being held for 20 seconds or longer as is common with some other annual cicadas. Here’s the morning cicada again.

Thank you to Wil Hershberger for letting us use the insect calls from SongsofInsects.com. You can find a link to that website in the description. And thank you for tuning in to learn a new wild voice with Illinois Extension.