A Chorus of Crickets!
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
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).
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
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