Many people lump katydids, cicadas, and crickets into one category -- likely because they all make droning noises that can either annoy or remind one of long summer days and evenings. This tourtle explains the difference.. What Is The Difference Between Cicadas And Katydids? Katydids are akin to long-horned grasshoppers, and it's very common to come across these large bugs during summer. While both cicadas and katydids frequent most Southern states, some places—like Texas and South Carolina—are known for hosting many katydid broods.
Here in the Midwest, you've probably seen and heard the bugs commonly referred to as 'cicadas', 'locusts', or 'katydids'. Most people use the three terms interchangeably, but we are typically referring the same bug when we're saying it.. Katydid and cicada songs sound buzzy, raspy, or whiney, because their carrier frequencies are less pure and are higher than those of crickets. Cicadas call almost exclusively during daylight hours and at dusk, usually from trees and shrubs, whereas most katydids call only at night and many are not resticted to woody vegetation.