Shilihe Market
Returned to Shilihe for the insects again during Thursday afternoon. I thought the warmer time of day would bring more insect sellers and more singing from the insects – and yes, indeed it was the case. Sellers brought some huge bundles of cages of the guoguo’er [which is definitely the katydid Gampsocleis gratiosa, as confirmed by a cricket expert from the Institute of Zoology, Dr Liu Chun-Xiang, the next day]. The singing was deafening – an amazing sound – really too loud to do a decent recording. Though it is an incredible experience, it is better to record just a few, or one, insect at a time. My equipment could not effectively capture the surround sound or top volume nature of the experience. As you stand surrounded by the singing the experience becomes a physical vibration as your body resonates to the sound waves. Not unlike the experience beside one of the huge dub sound systems during the Notting Hill Carnival, where the sound is felt as much as heard. The insects are much higher in pitch though, with no bass element. I find it constantly surprising that such small creatures can produce such a loud sound – and these aren’t even cicadas, which are the loudest of all insects.
