How Crickets Produce & Hear Sound
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Background on Crickets
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The word cricket comes from a French word. It means "little creaker." In some cultures, crickets were kept as pets and not caged. They were said to have lived near a hearth, oven or other location, but these stories may may be more folktale than reality. Generally, only a male cricket makes the sounds we know so well. Crickets are related to the grasshopper. They have flattened bodies, long antennae and are nocturnal. They eat organic material, plants, fungi and seedlings. Crickets have powerful jaws. They usually mate in the late summer and lay eggs in the fall. A fertile female cricket can lay about 2,000 eggs. Frogs, lizards and spiders eat crickets. They are eaten by humans in some Asian and African cultures. They are usually brown or black in color. The antennae are often long and the wings lie flat against the body.
Male Crickets and Sound
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Male crickets are the ones who chirp or sing. The sound produced by crickets varies depending on the species. Crickets scratch together the bottoms of the forewings. It is a way to advertise their prowess. Each scratch produces a single chirp. The sounds carry two distinct messages. One message is to the female crickets, and it means, "come on over." The second message is for competing male crickets, and it means, "stay away." Females can tell the size of the male cricket by listening to his chirps.
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Crickets Chirping
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Crickets rub an edge of the forewing called a scraper against the ridge on the forewing to produce the sounds we hear. It is also known as a file, and each wing has a file, which is a thick-ridged vein, and a scraper. Crickets use both wings to make the sounds. The wings vibrate, making the sound louder. If two males crickets are chirping at once, often, one male cricket will stop and move to a different location. A female cricket will respond to the most robust male cricket, and the one that sings a song specific to her species. Cricket chirps are usually heard in the summer--they do not like the cold.
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