Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 4, 1994 TAG: 9410190005
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PATRICIA HELD
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
What is it that makes crickets more likable than the other insects? They are not graceful or colorful. And a cricket really isn't beautiful. It is its song that makes this creature so special. Anyone who has listened to its rhythmic chirping on a summer or early fall evening can testify that it is one of the purest sounds of all of the insect orchestras.
Of the cricket's song, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote, ``If moonlight could be hard it would sound like that.'' And Keats described the singing of the cricket as the ``poetry of earth.''
The male cricket is the songster. His sound producing organ is formed from a major wing vein that crosses the wing near the base. This bears hundreds of tiny transverse ridges to form a file. The inner wing margin contains a hardened portion or scraper. The file moving against the scraper produces the chirp.
Although both of the cricket's wings are equipped with a file and a scraper, most crickets sing with their right wing overlying the left. The small percentage of crickets that are left-winged produce a less musical and weaker song.
A cricket does not sing to entertain us. The song is designed purely to find a mate. The sounds that we hear are known as ``calling songs'' and are produced by the male. Other crickets pick up these songs through their ears, which are located near their front leg joints. A female cricket responds to the loudest song and goes directly to the source.
Male crickets spend the majority of the time in one place. In contrast, the female moves about, keeping an ear open for the familiar call of a male cricket.
Field and house crickets are the most common in our area. Each species has its own song with a rhythm and tone all of its own. In fact, the only way to positively identify some species is by their song. This can get quite complicated. Pulses per second, chirps per minute and pulses per chirp must all be considered.
At one time some people thought crickets made ideal pets. Both clean and inexpensive, they were easy to keep and did not require much space. In traditional Chinese culture, crickets have been treated as honored guests. Housed in gilded cages, the insects traveled everywhere with their masters. Upon their deaths they were placed in tiny silver caskets and solemnly buried.
Crickets were also trained and kept for fighting. These courageous crickets were given special attention and were fed a diet of lotus seeds and mosquitoes. Tournaments were staged for heavy-, middle- and light-weight crickets. Betting during these contests was often quite heavy. Champion crickets were traded and sold for high prices, often exceeding $100, at the time the price of a good horse.
Most of us cannot imagine keeping a cricket as our faithful companion. But compared to fleas, mosquitoes, flies and termites, crickets are by far the most welcome of our uninvited guests!
by CNB