Hi--
Thanks everyone.
Not likely to be sprays at this location. I agree with Vicky that every yea=
r has its own personality. Its a very lush summer so far; rain has been goo=
d. A few years ago early and extended warmth led to several additional gene=
rations of hatches during the summer.
No large grasshoppers here like Curt describes. Mosquitos below average (co=
nsidering our rain), gnats above average, fireflies average. Frogs are no =
longer calling-- not even greens and gray tree frogs. No Katydids, no cicad=
as-- just marginal field crickets and some moths. My sister drove up from A=
rkansas (from the south) last week; her car had lots of insects on the gril=
le.
I ran through my log mentions over the last few years. Cicadas usually star=
t singing by now with field crickets established and katydids coming on. I'=
m at a warmer latitude than Curt-- about the same as Greg,
It does have a creepy "silent spring" impact to hear utter silence at night=
in July. My guess is some local uniqueness from the effects of the colder=
nights.
Rob
On Jul 19, 2014, at 10:49 AM, Curt Olson [naturereco=
rdists] wrote:
> We just got back from a couple days in St. Louis County, MN, north of Dul=
uth. We heard some those grasshoppers that make a loud crackling sound when=
they fly (sorry folks, I don't know their name). Plenty of fireflies... an=
d biting flies... and mosquitoes, of course! It all seemed pretty normal fo=
r mid-July in northern MN. I expect the racket should be increasing a lot o=
ver the next couple weeks.
>
> Curt Olson
> MinnesotaSoundscapes.com
>
> Rob D. wrote:
>
> >
> > Have others in the upper midwest US noticed almost no insect singing th=
is summer?
> > We had a very cold winter, a very slow fade-in spring and as yet no str=
etches of really warm days/nights.
> > Could populations just be really low? I've seen only a few small cricke=
ts and small grasshoppers.
> >
> > Its very eerie to have the windows open at night in mid July and hear n=
othing except a single cricket chirp for 2-4 seconds and maybe again in 15 =
minutes,..
> >
> > Thanks
> > Rob D.
>
>
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