Can Crickets Really Tell You the Temperature Outside

True or false: Crickets chirp faster when its warm and slower when its cold, so much so, that crickets can be used as natures thermometers? As wild as it sounds, this is one piece of weather folklore thats actually true! How a Crickets Chirp is Related to Temperature Like all other insects, crickets are cold-blooded, meaning they take on the temperature of their surroundings. As temperature rises, it becomes easier for them to chirp, whereas when temperature falls, reaction rates slow, causing a crickets chirp to also diminish. Male crickets chirp for multiple reasons including warning off predators and attracting female mates. But the sound of the actual chirp is due to a hard rigid structure on one of the wings. When rubbed together with the other wing, this is the distinctive chirp you hear at night. Dolbears Law This correlation between air temperature and the rate at which crickets chirp was first studied by Amos Dolbear, a 19th century American physicist, professor, and inventor. Dr. Dolbear systematically studied various species of crickets to determine their chirp rate based on temperatures. Based upon his research, he published an article in 1897 in which he developed the following simple formula (now known as Dolbears Law): T 50 ((N - 40) / 4) where T is temperature in degrees Fahrenheit, and N is the number of chirps per minute. How to Estimate Temperature from Chirps Anyone outside at night listening to crickets â€Å"sing† can put Dolbears Law to the test with this shortcut method: Pick out the chirping sound of a single cricket.Count the number of chirps the cricket makes in 15 seconds. Write down or remember this number.Add 40 to the number of chirps you counted. This sum gives you a rough estimate of the temperature in Fahrenheit. (To estimate the temperature in degrees Celcius, count the number of cricket chirps heard in 25 seconds, divide by 3, then add 4.) Note: Dolbears law is best at estimating temperature when tree cricket chirps are used, when the temperature is between 55 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and on summer evenings when crickets are best heard. See Also: Animals Creatures that Predict the Weather Edited by Tiffany Means