insects such as crickets (family gryllidae) are well known for their ability to produce loud song, however the mechanism of sound production differs greatly from most other animals. many insects generate sound by mechanical rubbing of body structures, a mechanism known as stridulation. orthopteran insects, including crickets and katydids (family tettigoniidae), have been especially well-studied for sound production. these insects use scraper-like structures on one wing to sweep over file-structures on an opposing wing to create vibrations, producing a variety of trilling and chirping sounds. locusts and other grasshoppers (suborder caelifera) stridulate by rubbing hind legs against pegs on wing surfaces in an up and downward motion. cicadas (superfamily cicadoidea) produce sound at much greater volumes than orthopterans, relying on a pair of organs called tymbals on the base of the abdomen behind the wings. muscle contraction rapidly deforms the tymbal membrane, emitting several different types of sounds. insects thus produce a variety of sounds, using various mechanisms distinct from other animals.