Find the Temperature Using Crickets
More Articles Related to Tips And TricksWhy and How of Cricket Chirping
You have no doubt heard crickets chirping away in the grass and bushes. The male cricket chirps at regular intervals in order to attract female crickets, ward off predators, or establish territory. He creates the cricket chirping sound by rubbing one of his wings on a hard rigid structure located on its other wing.
You can use these cricket chirps as a way to determine the temperature. But first, a little lesson on why this works:
Cricket Metabolism
Like all insects, crickets are cold blooded. This means that unlike you and me (warm blooded creatures) a cricket produces little or no body heat of its own. Instead, a cricket’s body temperature tends to match the temperature of its surroundings
Because the metabolism of an insect is proportional to its body temperature, if it is too cold the cricket cannot even move. As the temperature of its environment warms, the cricket's body also becomes warmer. Its metabolism increases and the insect can move faster.
You have probably witnessed this increase in insect metabolism as the temperature increases. For example, ants will run must faster when on a hot sunny sidewalk as compared to when it is cool.
Calculating Cricket Temperature
What does all this cold-blooded-temperature-of-the-environment stuff have to do with finding the temperature using crickets? Plenty. You see, the warmer the ambient temperature of the crickets surroundings, the warmer the cricket. And the warmer crickets increased metabolism allows it to chirp faster.
In 1898 Amos Dolbear noticed that warmer crickets seemed to chirp faster. Dolbear made a detailed study of cricket chirp rates based on the temperature of the crickets environment and came up with the cricket chirping temperature formula known as Dolbears Law:
T = 50 + (N - 40) / 4
Where
T = temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
N = number of chirps per minute.
For those of you who cannot remember your elementary school math, here is the wordy version of the same cricket temperature formula:
Count the number of chirps the cricket makes in 1 minute (60 seconds)
Subtract 40 from this number.
Divide the result by 4
Add 50.
The result of this calculation is close to the temperature of the environment the cricket is in. For example, if the cricket chirps 120 times in one minute then the temperature is about 50 + (120 - 40)/4 = 70 degrees.
If you are working in degrees Celsius here is the Dolbears Law formula for degrees C:
T = 10 + (N - 40) / 7
A simplification of Dolbears Law can sometimes be found listed as something like:
Temperature = Number of chirps in 13 seconds + 40
Which seems to closely agree with the more complicated formula Amos Dolbear came up with.
When Determining Temperature Using Crickets
It is important to note that the cricket chirp temperature formula is based on the temperature of the cricket, which is not necessarily the temperature of where you are. Be aware that the temperature of the grass or bushes close to the ground where the cricket is may be quite different than the temperature several feet off the ground.
Another factor that must be considered is that Amos Dolbear came up with his revolutionary cricket temperature formula while experimenting with Snowy Tree Crickets. Other crickets may give varying results based on the cricket species and age.
Estimating the temperature using cricket chirps is a good approximation of the temperature. Give it a try and amaze your friends!
Spokane
New Mexico
Fanscinating science! I heard you can buy a thing called a "thermometer" seems to work pretty good.
Okinawa, Arkansas
Great article. Crickets can also be considered a rare delicacy in the food industry. Peanut butter brittle cricket cream cakes are the popular choice of the Japanese tradition.
University of North Carolina
Greetings, my fellow cricket enthusiasts! Cricket research has always been a stimulating research for me for many years.
Kalamazoo
The correct simplified formula should be:
Temperature = Number of chirps in 15 seconds + 40
- Survival Topics Admin - Jay, the formula for cricket chirps and temperature varies somewhat depending upon the source.
south east london suburbs UK
Fantastic! I saw finding the temperature with crickets mentioned on a tv show called James burkes connections as a lad, I've been trying to find more about it (on and off) for about 20 years.
Mexico
The formula for crickets chirps and temperatrue is:
(N/4) + 40 = temperature using cricket chirps.
I tried your formula with our crickets outside my house. 94 chirps/ min. With your formula it comes out well below freezing. With the above it comes out about right. We have the same crickets here as in the States Gryllus assimilis (I know, I'm an entomologist).
Survival Topics - yes, it does vary somewhat. Also, the temperature zone the cricket is in, right next to the ground, may be quite different than where you are taking temperature.
caceres, spain
Interesting, but it seems that in order for this to work that you first have to catch a cricket, which is another task on its own. Otherwise you would be listening to numerous crickets chirp which would throw off your experiment.
Survival Topics - well, maybe if you are listening to a cage full of crickets. Outdoors I have never had the problem you describe.
Canada
Do you think that a cricket chirps uninterrupedly for 1 minute? And mostly are there more than one crickets what make it pretty hard to count the chirps.
Survival Topics - as with all things, you can find exceptions and minor difficulties that can be overcome with patience.
You are welcome to share this Survival Topic with others. I only request that you use a short blurb (not the entire survival content) and this code to
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Tulsa OK