katydids – Lee Duigon

Bonus Video: Katydids’ Orchestra

leeduigonAugust 29, 2021

To me this is the quintessential sound of a summer night. We’ve always had katydids in our neighborhood; and yes, they really do sound like they’re saying “Katy did, Katy didn’t.” By far the world’s longest-running stupid argument.

Depending on the species, they can make a lot of different sounds, and some of the tropical species are as big as your hand. The ones around here are about the size of your thumb. Like the one that tried to climb up Patty’s pants-leg (still laughing over the ensuing war dance…).

A Nice Big Katydid

leeduigonAugust 6, 2017

Hi, Mr. Nature here, with a thrilling tale from our kitchen.

Yesterday Mrs. Nature was making supper when she suddenly screamed. “What’s going on out there?” “It’s in my pants! It’s in my pants!”

Sure enough, it was a big bug crawling up her leg inside her pants–our cats were totally fascinated–and then it fell out on the floor. She thought it was a praying mantis at first, but it was just a harmless katydid. Relying on camouflage for protection, these move slowly and their leaf-like wings make a nice safe handle by which to pick them up and release them outdoors.

If you turn up the volume on this video, you can actually hear some katydids in the background. It’s one of the sounds of summer, katydidding away at night. It’s some of God’s stuff, and a joy to listen to.

Katydid Warning

leeduigonSeptember 11, 2016

We interrupt our coverage of Hillary Clinton’s fainting tour to bring you good advice concerning katydids.

They bite.

Hi, Mr. Nature here–and if you must handle these strikingly beautiful green bugs, be aware they’re quite capable of giving you a nasty nip if they don’t like the cut of your jib. Forsooth, the ones in the Amazon rain forest can really, really bite you.

The man in this video would have been munched on if the katydid hadn’t been in a good mood.

I think I’m gonna stick with bugs for a while, though, and not go back to the political arena: except to say I would vote for an insect over Clinton, any day.