A Chorus of Crickets!

 

A Chorus of Crickets!

With the spate warm evenings we’ve had in August, the rhythmic, steady, and incessant chorus of tree cricket chirps and trills fill the air during evening backyard dinners and late night strolls. These magical cricket choruses mark both the peak and the turning point of summer. The Willamette Valley hosts five species of tree crickets: Snowy, Western, Riley’s, Prairie and Four- spotted. Typically, the Snowy, Western and Riley’s Tree Crickets live in trees and shrubs, and the Prairie and Four-spotted Tree Crickets live in meadows. (From Boucher and Millbank, Neighborhood Naturalist, Summer 2019).

Crickets are in the insect order Orthoptera, the same order as grasshoppers, katydids, and locusts. Crickets and katydids have long, slender antennae, longer than their bodies, but grasshopper antennae are short and thick. Crickets and katydids are nocturnal, but grasshoppers feed during the day. Just how do crickets make those chirping sounds? Crickets and katydids rub a sharp-edge or “scraper” on the lower wing against a row of bumps called a “file” on the upper wing. Different species make different sounds, and, like birds, the males do most of the chirping in order to attract mates. Tree crickets are light green, providing perfect camouflage in plant foliage.

It’s been said that you can tell the temperature by counting cricket chirps, but does it work? Granted, crickets will chirp slower at cooler temperatures and speed up as temperatures increase, but different species chirp at different rates given the same temperature. Still, if you want to give it a try, Dolbear’s Law (1897) states that: (the # of cricket chirps in 14 seconds) + (40) = degrees Fahrenheit. So, before sultry summer evenings turn to chilly autumn nights, take a moment to marvel at our amazing tree crickets, those capricious, choral critters!

Loretta Brenner, Corvallis Evening Garden Club

For a fascinating video about finding crickets at night, and more tree cricket info go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W27Rd6QyiwMand to Neighborhood Naturalist newsletter Summer 2019 http://www.neighborhood-naturalist.com/newsletter.html

For More Info:

“Tree Crickets of Oregon” B.B. Fulton, 1926. Oregon Agricultural College Experiment Station Bulletin

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1456/49cb7d61bba5a14f2fbaf2936653fe0cf11b.pdf

Songs of Tree Crickets Article & Recordings

http://songsofinsects.com/crickets/snowy-tree-cricket

The Difference between Grasshopper, Crickets, Katydids, and Locusts and Insect Recipes

https://www.ohmybugrecipes.com/blog/coming-soon

For More Info:

“Tree Crickets of Oregon” B.B. Fulton, 1926. Oregon Agricultural College Experiment Station Bulletin

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1456/49cb7d61bba5a14f2fbaf2936653fe0cf11b.pdf

Songs of Tree Crickets Article & Recordings

http://songsofinsects.com/crickets/snowy-tree-cricket

The Difference between Grasshopper, Crickets, Katydids, and Locusts and Insect Recipes

https://www.ohmybugrecipes.com/blog/coming-soon

A Chorus of Crickets!

 With the spate warm evenings we’ve had in August, the rhythmic, steady, and incessant chorus of tree cricket chirps and trills fill the air during evening backyard dinners and late night strolls. These magical cricket choruses mark both the peak and the turning point of summer. The Willamette Valley hosts five species of tree crickets: Snowy, Western, Riley’s, Prairie and Four-spotted. Typically, the Snowy, Western and Riley’s Tree Crickets live in trees and shrubs, and the Prairie and Four-spotted Tree Crickets live in meadows. (From Boucher and Millbank, Neighborhood Naturalist, Summer 2019).

Crickets are in the insect order Orthoptera, the same order as grasshoppers, katydids, and locusts. Crickets and katydids have long, slender antennae, longer than their bodies, but grasshopper antennae are short and thick. Crickets and katydids are nocturnal, but grasshoppers feed during the day. Just how do crickets make those chirping sounds? Crickets and katydids rub a sharp-edge or “scraper” on the lower wing against a row of bumps called a “file” on the upper wing. Different species make different sounds, and, like birds, the males do most of the chirping in order to attract mates. Tree crickets are light green, providing perfect camouflage in plant foliage.

It’s been said that you can tell the temperature by counting cricket chirps, but does it work? Granted, crickets will chirp slower at cooler temperatures and speed up as temperatures increase, but different species chirp at different rates given the same temperature. Still, if you want to give it a try, Dolbear’s Law (1897) states that: (the # of cricket chirps in 14 seconds) + (40) = degrees Fahrenheit.   So, before sultry summer evenings turn to chilly autumn nights, take a moment to marvel at our amazing tree crickets, those capricious, choral critters! 

Loretta Brenner, Corvallis Evening Garden Club  

For a fascinating video about finding crickets at night, and more tree cricket info go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W27Rd6QyiwM and to Neighborhood Naturalist newsletter Summer 2019  http://www.neighborhood-naturalist.com/newsletter.html

 

 

For More Info:

“Tree Crickets of Oregon” B.B. Fulton, 1926. Oregon Agricultural College Experiment Station Bulletin

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1456/49cb7d61bba5a14f2fbaf2936653fe0cf11b.pdf

 

Songs of Tree Crickets Article & Recordings

http://songsofinsects.com/crickets/snowy-tree-cricket

 

The Difference between Grasshopper, Crickets, Katydids, and Locusts and Insect Recipes

https://www.ohmybugrecipes.com/blog/coming-soon

From the Corvallis Evening Garden Club

For More Info:

“Tree Crickets of Oregon” B.B. Fulton, 1926. Oregon Agricultural College Experiment Station Bulletin

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1456/49cb7d61bba5a14f2fbaf2936653fe0cf11b.pdf

Songs of Tree Crickets Article & Recordings

http://songsofinsects.com/crickets/snowy-tree-cricket

The Difference between Grasshopper, Crickets, Katydids, and Locusts and Insect Recipes

https://www.ohmybugrecipes.com/blog/coming-soon

Saving Seeds

Saving  Seeds

Save seeds from your flowers and vegetables to plant next year!

• Choose a plant that has characteristics that you want to save. Seeds from hybrid varieties will not remain true to type.

• Allow flowers and pods (like beans or peas) to mature on the plant. Mature fruits can be picked and seeds removed without first drying.

• Collect and clean the seeds. If the seeds are dry, remove husks, pods, or other plant debris. If the seeds are embedded in a wet fruit, remove as much pulp as possible from the seeds and allow them to dry.

• Store dry seeds in a cool dry place. Check for any signs of mold and discard seeds if it develops.

• About 1 month before planting, check a small sample of your stored seeds to check rate of germination.

Thanks to Jackie Calvert of the Civic Beautification and Urban Forestry for this post.

https://extension.oregonstate.edu/seed-saving-basics

https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/techniques/collecting-storing-seeds-your-garden

Photo - Joshua  Lanzarini

- What to do in the Garden in August -

                      

Maintenance and Clean Up

✦Make compost out of lawn clippings and garden plants that are ready to be recycled. Don't use clippings if
the lawn has been treated with herbicide, including "weed-and-feed" products. Don't compost diseased plants unless you are using the "hot compost" method.

✦Fertilize cucumbers, summer squash and broccoli to maintain production while you continue harvesting.

✦Deep water Camellias to develop flower buds for next spring.

✦Prune raspberries, boysenberries and other caneberries after harvest.

✦Prune cherry trees before fall rains begin to allow callusing in dry weather and minimize the spread of bacterial canker.

Planting and Propagation

✦Plant winter cover crops in vacant space in the vegetable garden

✦Plant winter kale, Brussels sprouts, turnips, parsnips, parsley, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and spinach.

From Benton County Master Gardeners -
Membership meetings: 3rd Monday Oct. to May 7:00pm - currently on Zoom