Okay, so yesterday I was messing around trying to figure out what sound a beetle actually makes. You know, beyond just imagining a tiny “click” or something. Turns out, it’s a whole thing.
First step: Googling. Obviously. I typed in “what sound does a beetle make” and got a bunch of generic answers about chirps, squeaks, and rustling. Helpful, but not really.
Next up: YouTube. Figured someone must have recorded a beetle. I searched “beetle sounds” and scrolled through a bunch of videos about beetle infestations (ew) and some nature documentaries. Eventually, I found a few videos that isolated beetle noises. Some were clearly amplified a ton, but I got a general idea.
The experiment part: I decided to try and record some beetles myself. I live near a park, so I went out with my phone and a jar. Finding beetles wasn’t too hard. I found a few crawling on some logs. Gently scooped them up into the jar.
Recording Attempt 1: Just put the jar on the ground and hit record on my phone. Result? Mostly wind noise and me breathing. Beetles were silent… or maybe the phone mic just sucked.
Recording Attempt 2: Brought the jar inside. Quieter, but still not great. I tried putting the jar on a soft towel to reduce vibrations. A little better, but still mostly background noise.
Recording Attempt 3 (and the winner!): I remembered I had an old USB microphone for podcasting lying around. Hooked that up to my laptop, put the jar right next to the mic, and hit record in Audacity.
This time, I actually got something!
- I heard tiny scratching sounds: Like the beetles were walking around on the glass.
- Faint clicking: Seemed to be when they bumped into each other or the sides of the jar.
- Very subtle rustling: Probably their legs moving.
The conclusion: Beetles aren’t exactly noisy creatures. Their sounds are really subtle, and you need a decent microphone and a quiet environment to pick them up. It’s less of a distinct “sound” and more of a collection of tiny noises. It was kinda cool to actually hear them, though.
Next steps (maybe): I’m thinking about trying to analyze the sound waves in Audacity to see if I can isolate the different sounds more clearly. Or maybe I’ll just stick to Googling next time. It’s less buggy. Heh.
