Gordon Charles

Are you one of those people who believes bugs that bug you have no other place in life? Well, it’s easy to think that when being attacked by mosquitoes, black flies, or others trying to put the bite on you.

Nature counter-balanced those unpopular creations with a whole batch of others that sing for you. Some insects, of course, don’t say anything, but their relatives make up for it. For example, a cricket makes a steady chirp but that might have something to do with calling a mate or finding food.

Entomologists (bug experts) say all insects fall into four classes: tapping, flight, rasping, and forced air.

The click beetle is a good example of tapping. No, he doesn’t tap dance, but if he happens to fall onto his back you will hear a distinct “click” as he tries to snap his hard shells over his wings. This usually propels him into the air to land him on his feet. If not, he tries until he succeeds.

One sound most of us could do without is caused by rapid wing movements. A mosquito can buzz up a storm in your ears when you are trying to sleep. A housefly in early morning can also drive you goofy. You don’t need a musical ear to tell which is bugging you.

Scientists declare a housefly hums at the “F” key of the middle octave. Bees hum at the “A” key of the middle octave, but drop to the “E” key when they get tired. (Yes, busy bees do get tired at times.)

If the colony is without a queen, or angry, the swarm can change wing beats. None of this is apt to sound very musical to a mere human, but bees know all about it.

Grasshoppers are musically inclined just during the day and only the males are so talented. Spines on the hopper’s rear legs are rubbed over the wing edge to make the sounds. The leg is actually used something like a violin bow, while the wing serves as the amplifier.

A cricket can chirp night or day, and both sexes produce their unique music. They merely rub hardened parts of their wings together to make vibrations. These are what we hear. The chirping rate also has some relation to temperature, with more chirps as the weather gets hotter.

Common crickets chirp their songs and pay no attention to others of their kind engaged in similar song nearby. At least one kind of cricket, however, has evolved to something like the “barbershop quartet” style. Nobody knows who leads off, but at the proper signal all crickets of this type join in to sing in unison. How would you like those in your basement?

In some Asian countries, crickets are used like burglar alarms and are kept as pets. If disturbed by a prowler, they quit singing, and the sudden silence wakes the homeowners.