Crickets are very sensitive to air temperature – so sensitive that they act as living thermometers. Crickets are cold-blooded and their bodies work faster or slower depending on how hot or cold the air around them. This relationship between activity and temperature I very accurate. By doing a little mental arithmetic it is possible to calculate the temperature in Fahrenheit by counting a cricket’s chirps.
There are two ways of doing this. You can count the number of chirps in one minute. Then take away forty. Then divide by four. And finally add fifty. The number you end up with is the temperature in Fahrenheit. That is the most accurate way.
A simpler, but rougher, method is to count the number of chirps in fourteen seconds and then add forty.
In both cases you will have to do another calculation to convert the Fahrenheit temperature, if you want it in Centigrade. To do this subtract thirty-two from the Fahrenheit total. Then divide by 1.8. Your answer will be the temperature in Centigrade.
Picture Credit : Google
