Out in the woods of North America and wondering what the temperature is? Slip down to the nearest stand of deciduous trees and bushes to search for the wee Snowy Tree Cricket, Oecanthus Fultoni. Listen for their tell-tale high pitch triple chirp sound over the wind and resident birds. Simply count the number of chirps over a seven second period and add five to learn your local temperature in Celsius.
Snowy Tree Crickets double as thermometers and wee garden predators, preferring to dine on aphids and other wee beasties.
It is commonly accepted that weather conditions affect the occurrence and rate of calling in orthopterans. The classic example is that of the Snowy Tree Cricket (Oecanthus fultoni, T. Walker), where increases in temperature give tightly correlated increases in the rate at which calls are produced (Edes 1899). This pattern appears to hold true for calling orthopterans in general (Walker 1975). For all species, calling ceases at certain low temperatures and for many species, calling begins at or around dusk.
