It should give you the approximate temperature in degrees F. This equation (which is one of the oldest and easiest to use cricket-thermometer equations) is published in the Farmers' Almanac. How close were the numbers to one another?Īverage the number of chirps in the 14-second intervals.Īdd 40 to the average number of chirps in 14 seconds. How many? Write this number down.ĭo this two more times, counting how many chirps the cricket makes in two more 14-second intervals.

Pick out the chirping sound of a single cricket.Ĭount how many chirps the cricket makes in 14 seconds. Make sure you hear some chirping.Īlternatively, if you purchase crickets, set them outside in a cage in the shade that allows the outside air to easily reach them. While it's between 55 and 100 degrees F outside (and keeping in mind that evenings are usually best for hearing crickets chirping) go to the area where crickets are. Set up a thermometer to measure the outdoor temperature in the area where you will observe the crickets. Outdoor temperature between 55 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit (12 and 38 degrees Celsius)-during an evening is idealĪccess to an outdoor area with crickets or purchase crickets from a pet store It's somewhat like running your finger along the teeth of a comb. When they want to make their sound, they raise their wings to a 45-degree angle and draw the scraper of one wing across wrinkles on the underside of the other wing, called a file. Generally only male crickets do this there's a special structure on the tops of their wings, called a scraper. How do crickets make their distinctive chirp? They use a process called stridulation, where special body parts are rubbed together to make a noise. Conversely, as the temperature falls, the reaction rates slow, causing the chirping to diminish along with it. As the temperature rises, it becomes easier to reach a certain activation energy, thereby allowing chemical reactions, such as the ones that allow a cricket to chirp, to occur more rapidly. Specifically, a formula called the Arrhenius equation describes the activation, or threshold, energy required to make these reactions occur. This affects how quickly these chemical muscle reactions can occur.

Crickets, like all insects, are cold-blooded and take on the temperature of their surroundings. How is a cricket's chirp related to temperature? Crickets, like all living things, have many chemical reactions going on inside their bodies, such as reactions that allow muscles to contract to produce chirping. However you feel about crickets, their chirps hold a surprising message-they can report the temperature! In this activity, you'll investigate how the chirps of these tiny creatures can be used as a kind of thermometer! Some people find the sound pleasing and peaceful whereas others find it loud and annoying, especially if a cricket happens to find refuge from the cold inside a home. Do you love to hear the pulsing chirp of crickets as you fall asleep? It is an unmistakable sound.

Cricket sounds night