The melodious sound of a cricket, or the musical ability of an insect

In the summertime outside the city you can hear a pleasant chirping - the characteristic sound of a cricket. This insect, which lives around the world, "sings" not for fun. His chirping trills serve to communicate with his relatives. To reproduce his non-stop song, the cricket uses wings with a special structure.

Insect Brief

Crickets are a family of orthoptera. Their closest relatives are grasshoppers, locusts, cockroaches. From the point of view of evolution, they all have a fairly respectable age, because their group formed about 300 million years ago, in the era of the Late Carbon. This is 120 million years earlier than the beginning of the Jurassic period.

2300 species of this insect live around the world. Most of them live in hot and humid climates, and only about 50 of them inhabit the territory of the CIS countries. The most common and famous of them are field cricket (who prefers life in the fields, meadows and edges of light deciduous forests) and a brownie, choosing a neighborhood with a person. He often climbs into the houses and adjacent buildings, living in secluded corners and eating other insects.

Outwardly, a cricket looks like a grasshopper. But they differ in the structure of their legs and the way of folding the wings. In addition, grasshoppers feel great in a dry climate, while crickets prefer high humidity.

How does a cricket sing?

The difference in structure between the male and the female allows the first to make rattling sounds. The fact is that only males have a special acoustic apparatus that allows crickets to sing, and serves them for certain purposes.

How do crickets make sounds? The elytra is a musical instrument of the insect, and the mechanism of their work when singing resembles playing the violin. Veins, small wrinkles or folds are located on them. Their distribution on the surface is uneven, therefore, when exposed to a certain area, a corresponding sound is produced. This makes the cricket's repertoire much richer than the grasshoppers similar to it. The second elytra acts as a bow with a serrated vein. The insect rubs the elytra against each other, creating a vibration, and due to this, chirping appears. The intonation and character of the "music" published by the winged "singer" depends on the frequency of the oscillations.
The sound apparatus of crickets is much more complex than that of grasshoppers. Therefore, it can make a variety of sounds, each of which is suitable for a specific situation.

Why is he doing this?

Of course, nature tried for a reason. The complex structure of the elytra is given to crickets in order to simplify one of the most important goals of the existence of individuals - the abandonment of offspring. Therefore, males sing only during the mating season.

Why do crickets chirp? Musical abilities were given to them for communication among themselves and for solving three problems at once:

1. The most important purpose of singing is the invitation of females to take part in procreation. The cricket mating song is the most enjoyable “work” in the insect’s repertoire. It sounds unobtrusive, but at the same time very melodic.The male then makes loud noises, then begins to crackle or buzz. He is not limited to singing: the trill is accompanied by a mating dance, in which even the mustache is involved. Several females can live on the territory of the male or in the neighborhood, and with his melodies he tries to keep them around him.
   

   Female crickets are not always distinguished by fidelity. If a new male, who settled nearby, begins to publish a special and loud singing, then she can change the gentleman.

2. Marking the boundaries of your site. Crickets are characterized by living separately, and each of the males has its own territory, on which he can allow several females to live. To make it clear to strangers that the site is occupied by them, the cricket emits piercing signals warning potential rivals.
3. If the skirmishes could not be avoided, then the male tries to influence the enemy with sharp, but loud sounds. Crickets are very aggressive. If two individuals came together in a fight, then the probability of the death of one of them is high. In this case, the winner can eat the vanquished. In the best case, the duel ends in the loss of the antennae, legs or wings. In such a fight, chirping is a kind of battle cry, designed to crush the opponent and scare him.

Only mature individuals can make sounds. Young males learn to do this by imitating adult neighbors.

Where can I listen to crickets?

To get acquainted with the cricket singing, just go out of town in the summer. These common insects are found almost everywhere. Their mating season begins with the onset of heat, and at this time, sonorous trills and menacing chirps are heard in the air. Crickets sing almost day and night. True, getting closer to the insect is very difficult: it is very shy, and when a person approaches, it hides in its mink, from which it does not move far.

If there is no way to meet a cricket in the wild, then on the Internet there are many audio and video recordings of their sound. They are pleasant to listen to, have a calming effect and promote relaxation.

Homemade cricket

House cricket - a type of insect - often climbs into the house and lives in it in secluded corners. Previously, they lived behind a stove, but today they can hide behind furniture or in crevices. According to popular belief, the appearance of this insect in the home speaks of a peaceful and calm environment in the family, and is a favorable sign. Moreover, cricket does not cause harm. On the contrary, it feeds on other insects: parasites and pests. It is not worth worrying about an increase in the number of individuals: a male who has settled in the house will surely drive away other applicants for the territory.

Captivity

In the East, insects that publish beautiful melodies, such as crickets and cicadas, were kept in special cages in houses, as well as songbirds. And today, some lovers of exotic animals start crickets to enjoy their sounds.

To do this, use an aquarium, terrarium or a special insectarium. Insects need systematic care. It is especially important to change the soil every 3 days, otherwise an unusual pet may die. Although crickets are predators in their natural habitats, when kept at home, they are also fed plant foods: vegetables, fruits, and herbs.

Singing crickets is very beautiful and diverse. It is worth it to go out of town.