I’m visiting Sweet Home Chicago this week, staying out in Arlington Hts. I’m curious as to the bugs in the trees. They’re quiet until mid-afternoon and then the racket starts. Are they related to the 17 Year Locust (Cicada?)? Is the noise related to mating?
W/regard to the Elgin/bldg question…I was on Rte 31 driving south from I-90. Off to the left, on Chicago Ave maybe, is an older tall building, relatively narrow. Looks like 20 stories or so. Anyone know who was the original occupant of it and what type of business it was. To me, anyway, it’s a very unusually-designed building.
Unbelievable din, but mostly in the suburbs. Quieter here in the city. The cicadas seem louder than usual this year, though not to the level of 2007. This is true in both the city and burbs. Not sure why; have wondered whether it has anything to do with the heat. As I recall the cicadas were also loud when I was a kid in the 50s and 60s, an era known for its hot summers.
I would suspect the heat probably has something to do with it – I don’t live in Chicago and this year the cicadas are especially loud and the noise lasts a long long time, noticeably more than normal. It’s also hotter than normal and has been for a while.
The article is: Ambient temperature and sound power of cicada calling songs (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Tibicina), Jérôme Sueur and Allen F. Sanborn, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Biologie et Évolution des Insectes, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France and School of Natural and Health Sciences, Barry University, Miami Shores, FL, U.S.A. Physiological Entomology, Volume 28 Issue 4, Pages 340 - 343, Published Online: 11 Dec 2003
Abstract: Male cicadas produce a loud calling song that attracts females at long range. In some cases, ambient temperature has been shown to have an effect on the temporal structure of this acoustic signal. Here, a positive correlation is reported for the first time between the ambient temperature and the sound power of the calling song. This relationship is illustrated in three species of the Palaearctic genus Tibicina: Tibicina corsica fairmairei Boulard, Tibicina garricola Boulard and Tibicina tomentosa Olivier. It is suggested that the males thermoregulate behaviourally. The minimal ambient temperature range that the Tibicina species need to call is 22–24 °C. The effect of ambient temperature on calling song power is assumed to be the result of thermal effects in the response of the acoustic system (i.e. muscle activity of the acoustic system being temperature-dependent). Inter-individual and interspecific differences in calling song power are interpreted in the general context of the Tibicina sound behaviour.