How Do Crickets Chirp?

Male crickets rub their wings together to attract female crickets, and the result is the “chirping” noise we hear. Male crickets are equipped with their own built-in fiddle system, and both male and females have their “ears” in their front legs below the knee. Each of the male’s wings has a rough surface on its underside, the file. In the same place on top of each wing is a scraper. The cricket rubs the scraper of either wing against the file of the other to make his music, or his mating call. This cricket music is called stridulation.

Crickets rest by day and become active at night. The warmer the weather, the more actively a cricket sings. But it won’t sing on nights when the temperature is below 55°. You can’t always follow a cricket’s sound; it can make its noise appear to be coming from somewhere else.
For centuries, crickets have been kept as pets. Known as suzumishi in Japan, thousands are distributed in tiny bamboo cages each summer to help people forget the heat.

Count the number of cricket chirps in 14 seconds. Add 40. The answer gives the exact temperature in degrees Fahrenheit!

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13 Comments

  1. Anonymous
    Posted 2008/11/02 at 11:31 am | Permalink

    wow that is cool

  2. Anonymous
    Posted 2009/03/31 at 5:54 pm | Permalink

    what if it’s negative some degrees?

  3. Anonymous
    Posted 2009/01/25 at 4:49 pm | Permalink

    wicked!

  4. cricketLuvr
    Posted 2009/03/31 at 9:09 am | Permalink

    :] I <3 crickets please please tell me more!!! do you know where the trick preforming cricket circus is? i heard its coming to town :) )))

    i am doing and experiment on mating crickets and they are hilarious!!!!
    haha

    i luuuuuuuuuuuuv dem

    crickets are my friends. they live with me and we do happy things together :D

  5. Anonymous
    Posted 2009/06/23 at 9:24 pm | Permalink

    I don’t see how that’s possible, why did you ask that?

  6. Anonymous
    Posted 2009/07/17 at 12:48 pm | Permalink

    Crickets will not chirp if it’s below 55 degrees.

  7. Anonymous
    Posted 2009/08/05 at 7:18 pm | Permalink

    “But it won’t sing on nights when the temperature is below 55°”

    Durrrr

  8. Jim
    Posted 2009/08/22 at 11:49 pm | Permalink

    If the temperature is negative: Count the cricket chirps for 40 seconds, add 1, and multiply by 11 trillion to get the U.S. national debt.

  9. suzie
    Posted 2009/09/08 at 8:51 am | Permalink

    i have a pet cricket lol, never started out that way, my son has a lizzard, say no more, one escaped and didnt wanna put it in with the lizard incase it had been around any harmful stuff while on the run so i put it in a box and called it jimminy, hes grown so much now and always chirping, day and night, hes just started to get use to me been around and in the daytime he sits next to my fish tank and goes up on his back legs lookin in the tank lol
    he eats all kinds of veg n stuff and is growing daily,

    i think they amazin little things

    i gave him a friend but he seemed to jump on it and try to hurt it so hes alone now, any ideas on stuff i can put in his tank so he has more to do n stuff

  10. Anonymous
    Posted 2009/10/27 at 8:52 am | Permalink

    put a piece of cardboard egg carton in the tank and the cricket will love going in the lil hole type things thats wat my cricketrs like

  11. Anonymous
    Posted 2010/01/14 at 2:16 pm | Permalink

    anyone can tell me about the crickets wing.. i don’t know if i should get one TY

  12. Kenzie
    Posted 2010/02/16 at 2:04 pm | Permalink

    i find the 14 second plus 40 fact to be very interesting

  13. nicole
    Posted 2010/03/10 at 2:37 pm | Permalink

    cool ?? think about it guys

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