[.ca] The Songs of Insects (ISBN 0618663975)

Turning Dusk into a Time to Appreciate the Singing Insects Around You:
At the start of the attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean, at Disneyland in California, you board a boat that takes you through a replica of Midwestern river dock at dusk. The most realistic part of that ride that gets you into the mood to shift focus away from the mob scene outside onto the scenes about to be revealed within is the sound of a cricket. If I think about that ride, I can hear that cricket. Whenever I hear insect sounds at dusk and in the evening, I always wonder what kind of insect is making the sounds. That's something I've wondered since I was a small boy. Until now, I had few clues except for the occasional cricket I had observed while singing. But regardless of where I am, those sounds help me relax and become more peaceful. With The Songs of Insects, I've added exponentially to my ability to relax, identify insects, and explore new dimensions of the insect songs. I was very impressed with the combination of CD and book. I started by listening to the CD because I was so interested in hearing new songs and knowing which insect made which song. I noted down the familiar sounds of my neighborhood in the woods and was astounded to see that we have katydids in our area. Checking the maps in the books, I was pleased to see confirmation that it was reasonable to expect those katydids in our area. Next, I dived into reading about the katydids, crickets, and cicadas that I had heard before. But it was hard to take my eyes off the stunning photographs of those insects, displayed both against a white and a natural background. After that, I went back and read the whole book and found myself intrigued by the opportunity to keep crickets as pets to bring the singing indoors. I was pleasantly surprised to see the graphic representations of the songs in the book as sonagrams in terms of time and pitch. I was also interested to read how much we lose our ability to hear in the upper ranges of insects: That explained why I couldn't hear anything in six places on the CD. Oops! No wonder people think I'm getting hard of hearing. But at least I could see what I am missing. Later, as dusk fell, I found that the chorus outdoors became more distinct in my mind. I'm sure it's always as loud as it was last night, but I normally don't notice it. I'm grateful for this book and CD bringing my local symphony into greater awareness. The CD also has samples from a CD entitled Insect Concertos. Based on these samples, I highly recommend the idea of acquiring that CD as an invitation into relaxation whenever you need one. I highly recommend you acquire this book and CD if you have any interest in insect song, insect identification, or relaxation.