Nightfall transforms the outdoors into a stage of hidden music. From fields to forests, small creatures produce a range of sounds—soft trills, rapid chirps, and continuous drones—that give the darkness its distinct rhythm.
These sounds are rarely random. They often serve as courtship signals, allowing one to attract a mate while advertising strength and vitality. The night air carries these calls far, cutting through the stillness.
In many cases, the noises also act as a warning or challenge. Repeated patterns or sharp bursts can signal territory, discouraging rivals from venturing too close.
Some nighttime sounds serve a defensive role, confusing predators or startling would-be attackers. In this way, the noises are as much about survival as reproduction.
For many people, these sounds are a quintessential and comforting backdrop to warm evenings. They have inspired countless cultural references in art and literature, often symbolizing contemplation, loneliness, or the height of summer.
Insects That Make Noise at Night
Crickets
Crickets are perhaps the most iconic nighttime noisemakers. Males produce their familiar chirping by rubbing their forewings together, a process called stridulation. The rate and rhythm of chirping vary by species and environmental conditions such as temperature. At night, their sounds serve as mating calls to attract females, filling gardens and fields with rhythmic chirps.
Katydids
Katydids, close relatives of crickets, are famous for their loud, rasping “katy-did, katy-didn’t” calls. They make noise by rubbing their wings together, and their songs can range from soft trills to piercing rasps depending on the species. Katydids are typically heard in warm summer nights in wooded or shrubby areas, where males compete for female attention.
Cicadas (Night-Singing Species)
While most cicadas are daytime singers, some species—especially in tropical regions—vocalize at night. Cicadas produce sound with specialized organs called tymbals, which they vibrate rapidly to create loud buzzing or droning. Nocturnal cicada calls can be surprisingly intense and carry long distances, serving as powerful mating signals.
Grasshoppers (Certain Species)
Though many grasshoppers are diurnal, some species produce sounds after dusk. They create chirping or rasping noises by rubbing their hind legs against their wings or by snapping their wings in flight. These nighttime calls are less common than crickets’ but add to the chorus of insect sounds in open fields and grasslands.
Water Crickets (Aquatic Insects)
Some aquatic insects, like water crickets or water boatmen, produce nocturnal sounds that may be faint to human ears but are significant underwater. They generate sound by rubbing their legs or body parts against ridges. At night, when other noise levels are lower, these sounds become more noticeable near ponds or marshes.
June Beetles (and Related Scarabs)
June beetles, also called May beetles, often create loud buzzing or droning sounds during their nocturnal flights. While not a “song” in the same sense as crickets, the persistent whirring of their wings can be heard around lights or trees at night. These noises often announce their presence as they collide with windows or circle outdoor lamps.
Deathwatch Beetles
Though more famous in folklore than in everyday hearing, deathwatch beetles produce a tapping or ticking sound at night. The sound is created when the beetle hits its head or jaws against wood, usually as a mating signal. Historically, people associated the noise with omens of death in quiet, candlelit rooms, giving the insect its eerie name.
Tiger Moths (and Other Noctuid Moths)
Certain moths, especially tiger moths, produce ultrasonic clicks at night using specialized organs. These sounds are often inaudible to humans but serve critical functions, such as deterring bat predators or signaling to mates. While most humans don’t detect them, sensitive equipment reveals their buzzing and clicking contributions to the nighttime soundscape.
Tree Crickets
Tree crickets are slender, pale-green insects often called the “thermometers of nature” because their chirp rate is closely tied to temperature. Males rub their wings together to produce a soft, melodic trill that is especially noticeable on warm summer nights. Their gentle, rhythmic tones form the background hum of meadows and wood edges after dark.
Conehead Katydids
These katydids, with their elongated cone-shaped heads, produce loud, buzzing songs at night. Their calls can resemble electrical buzzing or continuous droning, and they are usually heard in tall grasses and weedy fields. The males’ persistent nighttime calls are designed to carry long distances to attract females.
Mole Crickets
Mole crickets are subterranean insects that create distinctive trills by amplifying their songs in specially dug burrows that act like natural speakers. At night, their low-pitched, vibrating calls resonate through the ground and can be heard over long distances. Their songs are an important part of nocturnal soundscapes in warmer climates.
Snowy Tree Crickets
Sometimes called “nature’s thermometers” as well, snowy tree crickets emit a soft, steady chirping sound at night. Unlike their relatives, their calls are soothing, almost musical, and often associated with calm summer evenings. Their uniform rhythm is a favorite sound in quiet rural areas.
Bush Crickets (Tettigoniidae Family)
Bush crickets, which belong to the same family as katydids, make a wide variety of nighttime sounds ranging from sharp ticks to long buzzing trills. They are common in grasslands, shrubs, and forest edges. Each species has a unique song, which males use for species recognition and mate attraction.
Field Crickets
Field crickets are robust black or dark brown insects whose strong, chirping calls dominate many nighttime soundscapes. Unlike the softer tree cricket, field cricket songs are louder, more insistent, and continuous throughout the night, especially in open areas like fields and gardens.
Bush Katydids
Bush katydids produce short bursts of raspy sounds at night, often interspersed with long silences. Their songs are less musical than crickets but distinctive in shrubby habitats and forest understories. Males produce these calls to advertise their presence to females while avoiding predators.
Periodical Cicadas (Certain Night-Calling Broods)
Although most cicadas are diurnal, some species of periodical cicadas are known to extend their calling into twilight and early night. Their droning, chorus-like buzz can continue well past dusk, creating an eerie but fascinating backdrop in areas where broods emerge in massive numbers.