Prairie Cicada, Tibicen dorsatus Say
by Carie Nixon
The 
hot, last days of summer during the late evening are the perfect time to hear the loud drone of male cicadas. After spending anywhere from one to six years underground as a nymph, the males loudly announce their arrival upon the scene. The call is produced, not by rubbing their wings or legs together, but by muscles vibrating a pair of drum-like membranes in the cicadas thorax. An air cavity acts as a resonator and connects to the outside through a pair of tiny holes called spiracles.
While many of us may be familiar with the dog day or annual cicadas found in our yards—prairies also support cicadas. People who've seen this insect in high quality prairies say they fly up like partridges when disturbed. The adult prairie cicada's body is large, approximately one and half to two inches long, and brownish yellow with conspicuous brown and white markings. Prairie cicada nymphs prefer to suck the sap of the long roots of prairie dock and compass plant, instead of feeding on the roots of trees like their city and forest cousins .
Whether you hear the song of the cicadas in your backyard, or on the prairie, enjoy the brief serenade from a male to a female cicada. It is better than a love song.