These Critters Are Actually Good At Something And It’s Telling the Temp!

You can tell the temperature by listening to the chirping of this insect!

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I have never liked crickets, and I'm sure most people would agree. My parents, on the other hand, love crickets. (I should clarify, they love the sound of crickets.)

But, nope! Not me.

My childhood room was in the basement, and somehow, every summer, a cricket would find its way into my room and chirp...ALL NIGHT LONG! It drove me nuts. 

So, yes, I came to despise this insect, but even I have to admit, this fact is fascinating.

The frequency of crickets' chirping varies according to the temperature. That's wild!

To get a rough estimate of degrees in Fahrenheit, count the number of chirps in 14 seconds and then add 40 to that number. The result is an approximation of the outside temperature.

I prefer to limit my interaction with crickets, but I do want to test this!

According to Scientific American, crickets are cold-blooded, which means they take on the temperature of their surroundings. This impacts how quickly chemical muscle reactions can occur in their bodies.

In other words, it's all about energy. When temperatures are higher, the chemical reactions happen faster, which means the cricket can chirp more rapidly due to higher levels of energy. Likewise, when it's colder, the chemical reactions occur slower, so less energy is produced, and the cricket chirps slower. 

In general, only male crickets chirp. According to the Library of Congress, the male cricket chirps attract females, alert danger, and assert dominance. 

The more you know!