the former might be how i describe a cicada ...

location might matter ... this MI boy.. isnt sure he ever heard a locust ...

ken

Locusts are grasshoppers.

The sounds recorded for the program are most likely that of cicadas, many kinds of crickets, katydids, and a large variety of tree frogs and toads.

thats what i thought ...

and I thought locust is a descriptive term for hordes of grasshopppers.. not really a different insect ... though once they horde... something physical might happen ...

but thats way to much info on grasshoppers.. wonder where i got it from... that old wild kingdom or something like that ....

i just wasnt sure if it wasnt some down south common term.. used to confuse me ...

ken

I only watched it once but if I'm remembering a documentary correctly, grasshoppers are the norm. But, if certain triggers occur, they morph into locust form, go into swarm mode.

This link looks like it covers that same info, only had a min to skim it:

http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/a-brain-chemical-changes-locusts-from-harmless-grasshoppers-to-swarming-pests

Aren't there various kinds of cicadas? When I lived in OH, I remember news stories about a kind that only comes out every 17 yrs. No idea if the same thing happens here in AL, or if there might be various ones with a long span of time between appearances?

Some nature sites have audio files where you can hear the sounds of various critters. Anyone know one for cicadas?

I am still wondering about the two sounds, are they both the same creature just in a different part of the orchestra?

They both sound off during day time in hot muggy August. One is a steady buzz while the other is that "ner. ner. ner..." that starts off slow, speeds up, increasing in volume then slows down decreasing in volume. It lasts about 30 seconds or so, definitely not an evening sound.