Fun Facts About Crickets!
Crickets are members of the order Orthoptera and are distantly related to grasshoppers. Learn more about them here!
Noisy Critters
Crickets are very noisy, especially during the summer. Their chirping noise is meant to attract female crickets as part of their courtship ritual. Male crickets rub the edges of their forewings together to produce this sound, which is called stridulation. The rubbed edges make up anywhere from 50 to 300 little projections on the wings that make the chirp. It’s also believed that crickets chirp to distract predators and keep them away from the female cricket. This is why you’ll sometimes see crickets stop chirping when they are in the dark or if they think there might be a predator nearby. If you find yourself waking up to crickets chirping in your home or office, try using a masking sound. Popular sounds like pink noise and brown noise don’t work well against cricket noise because they aren’t as loud in the lower frequencies.
A Delicacy To Some
Crickets are an interesting food group, and they’re a lot more tasty than you might think. They’re packed with protein, prebiotic fiber (nutrition for probiotics), good fats, vitamins and minerals. In many countries around the world, crickets are eaten as a delicacy. In Oaxaca, Mexico for example, they are often served in tamarind sherbets and on pizza. Aside from being a tasty snack, they’re also an effective source of protein and feed for livestock. They need less feed to produce the same amount of meat as cows or pigs. This is because crickets are cold-blooded and require far less energy to maintain their body temperature, making it easier for them to convert feed into edible body mass. They only need about 2 grams of feed per kg of edible body mass, compared to 8 grams for beef and pigs. They’re also more sustainable than any other protein of animal origin in terms of the use of space, water and CO2 emissions.
A Pest To Many
Crickets are considered pests mainly because they can be an annoying nuisance inside houses. They typically make their way indoors when there is a change in temperature or when there is a lack of food or water outside. Fortunately, these nocturnal insects do not bite humans. They are also harmless to children and pets. However, they can still spread diseases like salmonella and other viruses, as well as parasites. They can also cause damage to your home by chewing holes in carpets and fabrics, and they may leave behind feces, which is very unsightly to look at. In fact, if you have a lot of crickets in your house, they can even start to smell and rot away the insulation.