Where are a cricket's ears located? Uncovering the true location of a cricket's ears

Crickets are extremely widely distributed and prefer to live on slightly moist hillsides, in fields, among piles of loose stones and in clumps of grass. In summer, whether you are walking along a country path, a tree-lined avenue, or in a mountain forest, you can hear their crisp, rising and falling calls. But do you know where a cricket's ears are located, or do you think crickets have no ears at all? Let's take a look below!

Where are a cricket's ears located

A cricket's ears are located on its lower legs. The main purpose of having ears on the legs is to serve as a sound direction finder. When a cricket hears a sound, a slight turn of its body lets it accurately determine the direction the sound is coming from. It is precisely because a cricket's ears are in such a special position that crickets react keenly and differently to sounds from different directions. Generally speaking, crickets distinguish sounds coming from the left or the right most clearly and sharply. But if the sound comes from directly in front or directly behind, the cricket's hearing becomes vague and its judgment of the sound is not one hundred percent accurate.

Why do crickets chirp?

Crickets use their wings to make sound. On a cricket's right wing there is a short file-like spine, and on the left wing there is a hard, knife-like spur. The two wings open and close, rubbing against each other. Vibrating the wings produces a pleasant sound. In addition, the different tones and frequencies of a cricket's chirp can express different meanings. At night, a cricket's loud, long-rhythmed chirp both warns other males to stay out and serves to court a mate. When another male enters its territory, it chirps sternly and rapidly as a solemn warning.

What are the living habits of crickets?

1. Crickets like to live in burrows, often dwelling on the ground surface, under bricks and stones, in earthen holes and among grass. They rest by day and go out to be active at night. They are omnivorous animals, and various crops, seedlings, vegetables and fruits can all become their food. In agriculture, people classify crickets as a pest.

2. Crickets are solitary by nature and generally live independently, never allowing themselves to live together with another cricket. Only during the breeding and mating period will a male cricket live together with a female cricket. Otherwise they cannot tolerate each other. If they meet, they will not hesitate to bite and fight. Hence the folk activity of cricket fighting.

3. Reproduction and mating among crickets is not accomplished through mutual “romance”. Instead, male crickets engage in exceptionally fierce struggles, and only the victor can have a mate. In the world of crickets, there is also a “polygamous” system. But because of this survival-of-the-fittest breeding method, most of the offspring crickets produce are very healthy.

4. The chirping of crickets is not unfamiliar to humans at all. But only male crickets can produce the loud chirping sound; female crickets have no ability to make sound. Male crickets vibrate their wings to produce sounds of varying strength and length, using them to represent what they want to express.

5. At the end of September each year, the female cricket inserts her ovipositor into the ground and lays her eggs underground, about 0.5cm below the surface. Between May and June of the following year, the eggs begin to hatch. The newly hatched 1st-instar larva molts into a 2nd-instar larva after a few days. Each time a cricket molts, it grows a little. Generally in late August comes the final molt, emerging as an adult. 23 days after emergence, it can begin to chirp.