The melodious sound of a cricket, or the musical abilities of an insect. How a cricket chirps Brief information about the insect

Short summer night the chirping can be heard far away field cricket. You can sneak up to the singer three steps, but it is difficult to determine from which place the chirping is heard. Another step and the invisible singer falls silent, diving into the hole.

Together with grasshoppers, mole crickets, locusts, stick insects and cockroaches, crickets belong to the order Orthoptera. This systematic group of insects appeared on Earth about 300 million years ago. Their metamorphosis is incomplete: egg, larva, nymph (older larva) and imago (adult insect). There is no stationary pupal stage, as in, say, beetles and butterflies.

In the East, crickets and cicadas were kept indoors for their singing, just like birds. And the Chinese, Malays and Thais love to watch crickets fight. This activity turned into a kind of sport for them. A female and two males are released onto the battlefield. The winner is the cricket that tries to crawl away, and the winner is the one “remaining in the arena.”

There are 2,300 known species of crickets. They live mainly in the tropics and subtropics. About 50 species are found in our country; the most famous of them are field and brownie. It is the latter’s song that sounds behind the stove in old wooden houses.

The last pair of legs of these insects are modified and often enlarged for jumping. Crickets have wings and use them to sing, and their ears are located in the shins of their front legs. The female has a long ovipositor at the end of her body, with which she bores into the soil to lay eggs. The body of crickets is covered with a chitinous shell, which reduces moisture loss in the body and protects the insect from mechanical damage.

Hobbyists keep crickets to listen to their singing, which sounds no worse than a bird's song. Only the male sings: raising his elytra, he quickly, quickly rubs them against each other. If the singer is not disturbed, his song sounds from dawn to dusk. In captivity, crickets sing during the day.

The territory of each cricket occupies several tens of square centimeters, and the owner of the site regularly walks around his property to drive away strangers.

If two males meet nose to nose, a fight cannot be avoided. Dueling crickets first of all strive to bite off the enemy's antennae, or even paws. The fight may end in the death of one of them. Then the winner eats the loser. But usually a bitten mustache is enough to stop the fight.

The one who loses his mustache immediately flees from someone else's territory. The fact is that crickets without whiskers cannot occupy the highest places in the cricket hierarchy. Entomological scientists have proven this through various experiments. For example, they covered the eyes of a dominant cricket. He himself did not see the opponents, but the other crickets were still afraid of him. Crickets with half-shortened antennae and a small card on the neck (to make them harder to recognize) maintained their ranking position. But crickets without antennae at all turned into outcasts, whom everyone despised.

The songs of crickets are different not only different types, but also depend on other circumstances. Young males do not sing very musically; they are still learning, imitating their elders. When threatening an opponent, males tut sharply, which is perceived by humans as an annoying chirping. The most complex and pleasant song in front of the female. It sounds quiet but melodious and includes ringing and buzzing trills. In addition, the male performs a mating dance, spins around in front of the female, and taps her on the back with his antennae. Several females live in the territory of one male, and he vigilantly watches them, not letting them leave the boundaries of the territory. But sometimes females move from male to male, attracted by a special high-pitched song designed to lure other females and return their own.

Crickets are kept in small terrariums with shelter. You can put moss, soil, and twigs here. Females are most willing to lay eggs in wet coconut shavings. Crickets are heterovorous: they are fed with vegetables, fruits, pieces of white bread, rolled oats and fish food, dried hamarus or daphnia; In addition, crickets eat hard-boiled eggs.

The optimal temperature for keeping insects is 31-32 C.

During her life, one female can lay up to 600 eggs. Young crickets emerge after about a month, and after three months last time moult, turning into adults. In the first hours after molting, the new adult has a bizarre appearance: it carries a white train of soft wings on top, sometimes they are crumpled and puffy on the back. He dries them in the light until they harden and darken. It will take several more days before the cricket becomes sexually mature and sings its first song.

The best warblers are Indian (palm) and two-spotted crickets.

Grasshopper - arthropod insect, belongs to the superorder New-winged insects, the order Orthoptera, the suborder Long-whiskered Orthoptera, the superfamily grasshoppers (lat. Tettigonioidea).

The Russian word “grasshopper” is considered a diminutive of the word “smith”. But, most likely, it has nothing to do with the forge, but comes from the Old Russian “izok”, meaning “June”. Almost 7 thousand known species grasshoppers live on all continents except Antarctica. Due to such diversity, even an experienced entomologist cannot always determine the species identity of a particular individual.

The complex hearing apparatus, that is, the grasshopper's ears, is located on the shins of the insect's front legs. Thus, we can say that the grasshopper hears with its feet. The oval membranes, which are located on both sides of the lower leg, act as eardrums. In some species of grasshoppers, the membranes are open, in others they are closed with special caps. The structure of the hearing aid consists of nerve endings, muscles, and sensory cells. The structure also includes 2 tracheal branches that connect to the eardrums.

Grasshoppers have noticeable sexual dimorphism: females are much larger than males and have a sickle-shaped or straight, arrow-like ovipositor. The lifespan of a grasshopper, including the egg stage, is only one season.

and chestnuts), and some of them are noted as serious agricultural pests. Unlike the same related locusts, which eat farmers' crops, grasshoppers are more beneficial. For example, they help get rid of fields that have taken a fancy to them.

In conditions of autonomous maintenance and absence nutrients grasshoppers have even been seen engaging in cannibalism, that is, eating their own kind. A simple experiment showed that if you put several of these insects in a closed jar and leave them without food for a couple of days, the group will eventually suffer losses among their relatives.

It may seem surprising, but if the grasshopper does not receive its “dose” of protein and salts from ordinary food, then it does not disdain to feed on feces and carrion, and also eats its weaker relatives with appetite.

Do you know? That crickets, like many living organisms, are able to perceive sounds environment.

But, unlike the usual hearing organs that mammals have - ears, the cricket does not have them. How do these insects pick up sound vibrations? These chirping inhabitants have tympanic organs. They are the hearing organs of crickets. Their location is very different from what we are used to. They are not located on the head at all, but on the front legs and the end of the abdomen and resemble the eardrum in our ear. It is capable of transmitting vibration of air or water, but, unlike the drum, it helps to perceive not only sound vibrations, but also all vibrations occurring in the environment. A person has a limited perception of the sounds made by insects, but each of us has heard the chirping of a cricket. He cannot make vocal sounds, but he can rub some parts of his body against others, the cricket's elytra participate in this process, and the well-known chirping vibrations are formed. This process is scientifically called stridulation. Crickets often use this mechanism within their species, for example, males invite females on a date this way. And this was proven by an interesting experiment, when the male began to chirp into the microphone of the phone, the female, hearing him at the other end of the line, hurried to the phone. She heard him.

COMBINE USEFUL WITH PLEASANT!

Target

Demonstrate how crickets make sounds.

Materials

Clear adhesive tape
Cardboard card
Nail file or sandpaper

Work progress

Use clear tape to secure one of the long sides of the card to the table.
Holding the other long side of the card by the corner, lift it about 5 cm above the table.
Slowly move the nail file back and forth along the raised edge of the card. Listen to the sound.
Repeat step "3" only move the nail file quickly.

Results

The result is sound. The faster you move the nail file, the higher the pitch of the sound.

Why?

The sound is produced when an uneven surface rubs against a sharp edge of something. In a male cricket, the uneven surface of one wing rubs against the sharp edge of the other wing. As with a nail file, the faster the wings move, the higher the frequency of the sound produced.

MORE FUN FACTS ABOUT CRICKETS!

It turns out that ambient temperature affects the speed at which these creaking creatures chirp. The hotter it is outside, the more intensely they will chirp. They are like thermometers that help determine the weather. This feature was noticed by physicists back in the 19th century. They tried to identify the relationship between the number of chirping sounds and the ambient temperature. Formulas were developed that helped calculate the relationship between these indicators.

You can try this too. To do this, you can visit a forest or park where you can clearly hear the chirping of crickets.

Now divide the resulting number by 3, and then add another 4. You should get an air temperature of at the moment time. Try to compare with official information.

But it is worth remembering that such a determination of temperature is possible only when environmental indicators exceed 13°C . If it's cooler outside, the crickets simply won't sing. This temperature is uncomfortable for them, so they hide.

IN summer time outside the city you can hear a pleasant chirping sound - the characteristic sound of a cricket. This insect, which lives all over the world, “sings” not for fun. Its chirping trills serve to communicate with its relatives. To reproduce its incessant song, the cricket uses wings that have a special structure.

Brief information about the insect

Crickets are a family of orthoptera insects. Their closest relatives are grasshoppers, locusts, and cockroaches. From an evolutionary point of view, they all have a fairly respectable age, because their group was formed approximately 300 million years ago, during the Late Carboniferous era. This is 120 million years earlier than the beginning of the Jurassic period.

There are 2,300 species of this insect around the world. Most of them live in hot and humid climate, and only about 50 of them inhabit the territory of the CIS countries. The most common and famous of them are the field cricket (preferring life in fields, meadows and edges of light deciduous forests) and a brownie who chooses to be close to a person. It often climbs into houses and adjacent buildings, living in secluded corners and feeding on other insects.

Externally, a cricket looks like a grasshopper. But they differ in the structure of their legs and the way their wings fold. In addition, grasshoppers thrive in dry climates, while crickets prefer high humidity.

How does a cricket sing?

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

Cricket folds its wings horizontally

How do crickets make sounds? Musical instrument The insect's wings are the elytra, and the mechanism of their operation during singing is reminiscent of playing the violin. They have veins, small wrinkles or folds. Their distribution over the surface is uneven, so when a certain area is exposed, a sound corresponding to it is produced. This makes the cricket's repertoire much richer than that of similar grasshoppers. The second elytra acts as a bridge with a jagged vein. The insect rubs its elytra against each other, creating vibration, and due to this, chirping appears. The intonation and nature of the “music” produced by the winged “singer” depends on the frequency of vibrations.

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. Complex structure Elytra were given to crickets to simplify one of the most important purposes of the existence of individuals - leaving behind offspring. Therefore, males sing only during the mating season.

Why do crickets chirp? Musical abilities are given to them for communication with each other and for solving three problems at once:

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

Female crickets are not always faithful. If a new male who has settled nearby begins to emit a special and loud singing, then she may change her gentleman.
Marking the boundaries of your site. Crickets are characterized by solitary living, and each male has his own territory, in which he can allow several females to live. To make it clear to strangers that the area is occupied by it, the cricket emits shrill signals warning possible rivals.
If a skirmish could not be avoided, then the male tries to influence the enemy with sharp but loud sounds. Crickets are very aggressive. If two individuals get into a fight, then there is a high probability of the death of one of them. In this case, the winner can eat the loser. In the best case, the fight ends with the loss of antennae, legs or wings. In such a fight, the chirping is a kind of battle cry, designed to suppress the opponent and frighten him.

Only sexually mature individuals are capable of making sounds. Young males learn to do this by imitating their adult neighbors.

Where can you listen to cricket?

To get acquainted with the singing of crickets, just go out of town in the summer. These common insects are found almost everywhere. Mating season they begin with the onset of warmth, and at this time ringing trills and threatening chattering are heard in the air. Crickets sing almost all day long. True, it is very difficult to get closer to the insect: it is very shy, and when a person approaches, it hides in its hole, from which it does not move far.

If it is not possible to meet a cricket in wildlife, then there are many audio and video recordings of their sound on the Internet. They are pleasant to listen to, produce a calming effect and promote relaxation.

House cricket

In the East, insects that produce beautiful melodies, such as the cricket and the cicada, were kept in special cages in homes, just like songbirds. And today, some exotic animal lovers keep 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 unusual pet may die. Although crickets are predators in their natural habitat, when kept at home they are also fed plant foods: vegetables, fruits, and herbs.

The singing of crickets is very beautiful and varied. It's worth a trip out of town.

Contrary to popular belief, grasshoppers do not make any sounds with their paws. The stinging apparatus of insects of the order Orthoptera, which, by the way, includes not only grasshoppers, but also locusts and crickets, is located on the upper leathery pair of wings (elytra). Insects produce acoustic signals by rubbing the vein of one elytra (frame or bow) against another elytra, which is called a mirror.

It is interesting that in different species of Orthoptera the structure of the stridulatory apparatus is different, which allows them to produce different trills. If the beat frequency of the vein coincides with the vibration frequency of the second elytra, then the resonance of the sound system emits pure sound signals. If there is no correspondence, the insect’s trills are heard as separate clicks. Experienced chirping entomologists are able to determine which insect is producing it.

The Sound of Music

Any chirping by grasshoppers is not just for fun, but for a specific purpose. Most often, males attract females in this way. But scientists were able to find out that the different structure of the elytra is determined not only by the type of insect, but also by some features of its life and behavior. So, for example, in those species of Orthoptera that chirp in tall grass, which can be an obstacle to the spread sound signal, the audio frequency range is wider. This is necessary to increase immunity to interference. But species that chirp on the fly get by just fine with a narrower frequency range - after all, open space sound travels very far.

How does chirping happen?

A chirping grasshopper can often even be seen in the grass. Only he moves his legs and wings so quickly that it is impossible to understand what exactly is happening. However, scientists have discovered this too. The chirping process, as it turns out, occurs in most grasshoppers during the closing of the elytra. At the same time, they move in approximately the same way as the leaves of scissors. The grasshopper closes and opens the elytra, as a result of which a vibration of a certain purity is transmitted to them, and then rubs them against the frame of the bow. This is how a sound is heard that can be heard in the summer in a field or at the edge of a forest.

By the way, female Orthoptera catch the singing of their gentlemen special apparatus, which is located on the paws. In some species the “ear” is located in the sternum area.