How do crickets chirp?

Crickets, any of various grasshopper-like insects of the large order Othoptera, are noted for singing. They have on their hind legs, special noise-generating equipment and ears to receive the sounds. Stridulation, normally by males, plays an important role in the courtship of many species. The song differs between species, thus ensuring that only females of the correct species are attracted for mating. The song may also be important for males in distracting from one another. There are 2 basic mechanism used by these insects to sing. In one, specialized veins on the bases of the forewings are rubbed together. This is a tooth and comb technique. It is found mainly in species of the sub-order Ensifera (crickets).

The other mechanism used largely by the sub order Caelifera (locusts and short-horned grasshoppers) could be termed as wash board technique as it involves friction between a ridge or rows of pegs on the inside of the hindleg and one or more pronounced veins on the forewing. Many other techniques are employed but these are the most characteristic of the order. Ears of the orthopterans are found on the abdomens or legs and consist of a thin membrane to the back of which are attached specialized receptors. Due to the design of the sound producing apparatus orthopterans produce loud sounds. However one family, the mole crickets burrow in such that it magnifies his song so that on a still evening it may be heard 2 km away. Recent and sophisticated advances in the loud speaker design have recently produced, with the use of a computer, something which appears to copy almost exactly the burrow of a mole cricket.