Ever heard the sound of katydids?

The meadow katydids, the true katydids, the round-headed katydids, the bush katydids and the shiedback katydids?

They're all there, in all their glory.

Entomologist/educator/author/lecturer/photographer/broadcaster Art Evans of Richmond, Va., today posted a link to "Songs of Insects" on his Facebook page with these words: "The evenings and mornings are filled with the songs of crickets, kaytdids and cicadas."

The web page showcases a CD that's the work of Lang Elliott and Wil Hershberger.  

Evans say this is "a great way to start identifying these songs of the season."

Indeed, it is. 

And his Facebook fans agreed.

Wrote one: "I have a friend who fell in love with tree crickets after hearing a male sing on her balcony...fast forward a few years and she's a tree cricket expert who co-described a new species! As little a thing as an insect's song can change lives...."

Added several others:

•  "Art--For this reason I love living in the higher rainfall portions of this latitude (nearly the same as Richmond's). The frosts of fall are sad, though--the sudden nocturnal silence."
• "A genuine gift for those of us in Seattle, which is definitely singing insect-deprived!"
• "So now I'll never get to sleep. I'll be trying to identify all those songs that used to lull me into dreamland. Thanks anyway, Art."

Katydids, found throughout most of the world, belong to the family, Tettigoniidae and order Orthoptera.  

Among the sounds you'll hear:

Meadow katydid:
Gladiator - Orchelimum gladiator

Conehead katydid:
Sword-bearing - Neonconcephalus ensiger

Shieldback katydid:
Least - Atlanticus monticola

If you're not partial to katydids, not to worry. The web page also includes the sounds of assorted crickets and cicadas.