Chapter 17 insects remember crickets

1. Housekeeping The crickets that live in the grass are almost as famous as the cicadas.They perform quite well among a few exemplary insects.The reason why it is so famous is mainly because of its residence, but also because of its excellent singing talent.Possessing only one of these items is not enough to make them achieve such a great reputation.An animal storyteller, La Fontaine, only talked a few words about it, as if he didn't notice the genius and fame of this little animal. In addition, there is a French fable writer who once wrote a fable about crickets, but unfortunately, it lacks authenticity and a subtle sense of humor.Moreover, the fable writer wrote in this cricket story: The cricket is not satisfied, and is sighing its own fate!Facts can prove that this is such a wrong view.Because, no matter what kind of person, as long as he has personally studied crickets and observed their living conditions, even if it is only a superficial observation and research, he will feel that crickets are very concerned about their own residence and their natural singing ability. It's very satisfying and enjoyable.Yes, the fame brought to them by these two points is really enough to make them feel lucky.

At the end of this story, he acknowledges this satisfaction of the cricket.He wrote: "My cozy little home is a happy place, if you want a happy life, live in it!" In a poem that a friend of mine did gave me another feeling.I think what this poem wants to express is more authentic and more powerfully expresses the cricket's love for life. Here is the poem my friend wrote: Once upon a time there was a story about an animal, a poor cricket ran out to its door, warmed itself in the golden sun, and saw a strutting butterfly. She is flying, with her proud tail dragging behind her. Half-moon-shaped blue patterns are lined up lightly and quickly in long rows. The dark yellow star spots and long black belts are lightly brushed by the proud flyer.

The hermit said: "Fly away and wander among your flowers all day long. No matter whether the chrysanthemum is white or the rose is red, they are not enough to compare with my humble family." Suddenly there came a storm, and the rain caught the Flyer, and her tattered velvet dress was stained, and her wings were covered with mud. The crickets hid, out of the rain, watched with calm eyes, and sang. The majesty of the storm has nothing to do with it, and the storm passes unhindered by it. Get out of this world! Don't enjoy its happiness and prosperity too much. A low-lying family is comfortable and quiet, at least it can give you time without worries.

From this poem, we can get to know the lovely crickets. I can often see crickets rolling their tentacles at the door of their dwelling to keep the front of their body cooler and the rear warmer.They are not at all jealous of the various flowers and butterflies dancing in the air.On the contrary, the crickets feel pity for them.Their sympathetic attitude is like that we often see, the kind of people who have families, people who can appreciate the joy of having a family, whenever they talk about those who are homeless and lonely, they will Show the same compassion.The cricket never complains or is pessimistic. It is always optimistic and positive. It is quite satisfied and pleased with the house it owns and its simple violin.In a sense, it can be said that Cricket is an authentic philosopher.It seemed to know clearly the futility of all things, and to feel the advantage of being safe from the distractions of those who are in the blind, mad pursuit of pleasure.

By the way, this description of our crickets should, at any rate, be correct.Still, a few lines are needed to make the virtues of crickets public.The cricket has waited a long time to be described, to be introduced, to be taken seriously, ever since that animal storyteller, La Fontaine, neglected them.Their friends - humans ignore them. For me, a naturalist, the most important point of the two fables mentioned above is the cricket's nest, on which the lesson is built. The allegorist speaks of the cricket's comfortable retreat; and La Fontaine, of his humble family.Therefore, from this point of view, the most noticeable thing is undoubtedly the house of the cricket.Its dwellings have even attracted the gaze of poets to observe them, though they often do little to notice what is really there.

Indeed, when it comes to building nests and homes, crickets can be considered exceptional.Among all kinds of insects, only crickets have a fixed family after they grow up, which can be regarded as a reward for their hard work!During the worst time of the year, most other species of insects just take refuge in a temporary shelter from the ups and downs of nature.Therefore, the convenience gained by their shelter is not a pity to give up it. Many times, these insects also create something surprising in order to make their own home.For example, cotton bags, baskets made of various leaves, and towers made of cement, etc.There are many insects, they lie in ambush for a long time, waiting for the opportunity to capture their long-awaited prey.For example, the tiger beetle.It often digs a vertical hole and then, with its own flat, bronze-coloured little head, plugs its opening.If any other species of insects set foot on this deceptively ensnaring gate, the tiger beetle will act immediately, relentlessly lifting the side of the gate to catch it.Thus, the unlucky traveler fell into a trap carefully disguised by the tiger beetle and disappeared.

Another example is the antlion.It will be on top of the sand, making a sloping tunnel.The victims here are ants.Once the ants go astray, they will involuntarily slide down this slope, and then they will be killed by a burst of rocks immediately.The hunters who waited for their prey in this tunnel made their necks into a kind of catapult. However, the examples mentioned above are all just a temporary refuge or trap, and it is really not a long-term solution. The home constructed by hard work, insects live in it, whether it is a spring full of vigor and vitality, or in the winter season with biting cold wind and snow, the insects are extremely dependent and do not want to migrate to live anywhere else.Such a real place to live is built for safety and comfort, with a long-term perspective in mind, not a home built for hunting, as mentioned earlier.Or deferrals like so-called "childcare homes."Only the cricket's home, then, is built for safety and warmth.On some sunny grassy slope, the cricket is the owner of the hermit's yard.While other insects, who may be living solitary wandering lives, or lie in the open, or lie in wait under dead leaves, stones, and the bark of old trees, are troubled by not having a stable home, the cricket Becomes a superior inhabitant of nature with a permanent abode.It can be seen that it is far-sighted.

It's not that simple to make a solid dwelling, but it's no longer a big problem for crickets, rabbits, and finally humans.Not too far from where I live, there are fox and badger burrows, most of which are only irregular rock formations, and it can be seen that these burrows are rarely repaired.For this kind of animals, as long as there is a hole to survive temporarily, "even though the cold kiln is broken, it can shelter from the wind and rain" will be fine.In contrast, rabbits are smarter than them.If, in some places, there are no natural burrows for rabbits to live in, so as to avoid all the invasion and annoyance of the outside world, then they will look around for their favorite places to dig.

Crickets, however, are far smarter than any of them.In choosing its dwelling place, it often underestimates the species that it comes across that make its home in natural shelter.It is always very careful to choose the best home address for itself.They like to choose a location with good drainage and plenty of warm sun.Any such place.All are regarded as good places, and priority should be given to selection.The cricket would rather give up the ready-made natural burrows, because these burrows are not suitable, and they are all sloppyly built and have no security.Sometimes, other conditions are also poor.In short, this kind of hole is not the first choice.Cricket requires that every point of his villa must be excavated by himself, from its hall to the bedroom, without exception.

Except for humans, I have not found any animal so far that is more advanced in building technology than crickets.Even man, before the invention of mixing sand and mortar to set it and plastering walls with clay, used caves as shelters to fight wild beasts and wrestle with nature.Why, then, has such a very specific instinct been given to this animal alone by nature?The humblest of animals, yet can dwell with perfect perfection and comfort.It has a home of its own, which has many advantages unknown to civilized humans: it has a safe and secure place to lie down and hide; , it is impossible for anyone to live down and become their neighbors.No one can compare to crickets except us humans.

What is puzzling and puzzling is how can such a small animal have such a talent?Could it be that nature favors them and bestows them with some special tool?Of course, the answer is no.Cricket, he is not a first-class expert in digging technology.In fact, people are very surprised at the results of crickets' work and the construction of such houses only because they see that the tools used by crickets are very weak. So, is it because the cricket's skin is too soft to withstand the test of wind and rain, so it needs such a stable house?The answer is still no.For, like its brothers and sisters, it has soft, sensitive skin, but they are not afraid of being out in the open, of being exposed to nature. Is not, then, his superior ability to build his safe and comfortable dwellings due to his anatomy?Does it have special organs for this job?The answer is no again.In the area near where I live, three different species of crickets live.These three kinds of crickets are very similar to those in the field in terms of appearance, color, and body structure.At first, as soon as I saw them, I often took them for crickets in the field.However, none of these same kind carved out of the same mold knew how to dig a safe place for themselves.Among them was a spotted cricket, which made its home only in a haystack in a damp place; Jumping around, like a tramp; and what is more, like the Bordeaux cricket, even came into our house without scruples, without fear, really an uninvited guest, against the wishes of the owner .From August to September, alone in those dark and especially cold places, he sang cautiously. It would be pointless to continue with the problems already mentioned.Because the answers to those questions are all in the negative.The natural instincts of the cricket never give us the reason for the answer.It is equally impossible to hope to find answers in the cricket's posture, body structure, or the tools with which it works.All the things that grow on insects, nothing can provide us with some satisfactory explanations and answers, or let us know some reasons, and can't give us any powerful help. Of the four similar species of crickets, only one is capable of digging burrows.Therefore, we can learn that the origin of the cricket's instinct is still unknown to us. Is there anyone who does not know the home of the cricket?Who has not visited the hermit's house when he was a child and observed it?No matter how careful you are, how lightly your steps are, this little animal always senses, always feels your visit.Then, it immediately became alert and responded, and immediately hid in a more secluded place.And when you finally get close to the settlement of these animals, at this moment, the front door of this house is empty, which is very disappointing. I think anyone who has been through this will know how to lure these hidden people out of hiding.You can take a piece of grass, put it in the cricket's burrow, and turn it gently a few times.This way, the little cricket will definitely think that something is happening on the ground.Then the cricket, already tickled and somewhat annoyed, will come running up from the back room.Then, it stayed in the aisle, hesitating, and at the same time, agitating its thin tentacles to carefully and vigilantly inquire about all the movements outside.Then, it gradually ran to a place with light. As long as this little thing ran outside, it would be a trap for itself, and it would be easily caught.Because, the series of things that happened before have confused the simple mind of our poor little animal, after all, how low its intelligence level is!If the little cricket escapes this time, it will be suspicious and vigilant, and its vigilance will be raised at all times, and it will not take risks easily and run out of its hiding place.In this case, you have to choose other means of coping.For example, you can use a glass of water to flush a cricket out of its burrow. Thinking of our childhood, that time is really worthy of nostalgia and envy.We went out into the meadows and caught crickets all over the place.When you catch them, bring them home.Just keep them in cages.Pick some fresh lettuce leaves to feed them.This is really a great childish fun! Now, let's go back and talk about my situation here.In order to be able to study them better, I searched for their nests everywhere.What happened when I was a child seems like it just happened yesterday.When another little friend of mine——Little Paul—a child who can be called an expert in using grass whiskers, after a long time of implementing his strategy and tactics, suddenly, he was very excited and excitedly cried out : "I got it! I got it! A cute little cricket!" "Quickly," I said to little Paul, "I have a bag here. Jump into it, my little prisoner, and you can live in it. There is plenty of food and drink in it. But there is a The condition, that is, you must not let us down! You must hurry to tell us something, some answer that we are eager to know and are looking for. Among these things, the first thing you need to do is: Show me your home." 2. Its house is in the green grass. If you don't pay attention, there will be a tunnel with a certain slope hidden without anyone knowing it.Here, even a torrential downpour dries up in no time.This hidden tunnel is no more than nine inches deep and as wide as a human finger.Tunnels are either curved or vertical according to the situation and nature of the terrain.Almost as a law, there must always be a blade of grass half-covering the dwelling, and its effect is obvious, like a covering wall, concealing the passage to and from the cave in darkness.The cricket never touches this patch of grass when it comes out to eat the surrounding grass.The slightly sloping doorway was carefully cleaned with a broom, and it was very spacious.Here was their platform, where the cricket would gather at ease and begin to play its ukulele when all was quiet about it.What a warm summer music! The interior of the house is not luxurious, with exposed but not rough walls.The occupants of the house have a lot of free time to fix the rough places.At the bottom of the tunnel is the bedroom, which is slightly more refined and spacious than other places.On the whole, it was a very simple dwelling, very clean, not damp, and everything in keeping with sanitary standards.On the other hand, if we take into account the simplicity of the tools the cricket uses to dig the soil, it is quite a feat of engineering.If we want to know how it does it, when it started such a big project, we must go back to the time when the cricket just laid its eggs. The cricket, like the black katydid, lays its eggs only in the soil, to a depth of about three-quarters of an inch, and it arranges them in groups, numbering from five hundred to six hundred in all.What an amazing machine this egg is.When hatched, it looks like a long off-white bottle with a neat hole in the top.There is a small cap next to the hole, like a cover.The reason for removing the cover was not that the grubs were constantly pounding inside and breaking the cover, but because there was a kind of thread around it--a thread with very weak resistance, which would split of itself. Two weeks after the eggs were laid, two large grubs appeared at the front, a grub in swaddling clothes, tightly clothed, not yet fully recognizable.You will remember that the katydid hatches in the same way, and when it comes to the ground it likewise wears a tight protective coat.The cricket is the same animal as the katydid, and it wears the same uniform, though it doesn't actually need to.The katydid lays its eggs in the ground for eight months, and in order to get out it has to struggle with the hardened soil and needs a long coat to protect its long legs.But crickets are generally short and stubby, and the eggs are only a few days in the ground. When they come out, they just need to pass through the powdery soil.There is no need to fight against the land.For these reasons it does not need a coat, which it discards in its rear shell. When it was unswaddled, the cricket was almost completely gray and began to fight the dirt in front of it.It uses its big gills to bite out some irresistible soil, and then sweeps them aside or simply kicks them to the back. It will soon be enjoying the sun on the soil surface, and risking to fight with its kind. Conflicting dangers come to life, such a puny wretch, no bigger than a flea! Twenty-four hours later it was a small black worm, now the color of ebony to rival a full-fledged cricket, all gray and white until only a white shoulder band around the breast remained, it There are two black spots on the body.At the upper point of these two points, just above the head of the long bottle, you can see a wrapping, thin, raised line.The shell will crack at this line in the future.Because the egg is transparent, we can see the knots growing on this little animal.Now is the time to pay attention, especially in the morning. Good luck comes with loving care, and if we keep going to the egg, we will get paid for it.Around the raised line, the resistance of the shell will gradually disappear, and one end of the egg will gradually split open, and being tapped by the head of the small animal inside, it will rise and fall aside, like the cap of a small perfume bottle, a prisoner of war. Just jumped out of the bottle. When it is out, the egg shell is still long, smooth, complete and white, with a restaurant-like lid hanging on one end of the mouth.Chicken eggs are cracked by the small hard bump on the tip of the beak; cricket eggs are more ingeniously made, similar to ivory boxes, and the lid can be opened.The top of its head is big enough to do the job. We said above that when the cover is removed, a young cricket pops out, but this statement is not quite accurate.It is very sensitive and lively, from time to time it uses its long and often trembling tentacles to inquire about what is happening around it, and it runs around impatiently.When one day, it gets fat and can no longer be so presumptuous, it will be really funny! Now we have to look at why the female cricket lays so many eggs.This is because most small animals are to be sentenced to death.They are often massacred with great cruelty by other animals, especially the small gray polyps and ants.Ants are such pesky rogues that often don't leave a single cricket in our garden.It can grab the poor little creatures in one bite and gobble them up. Alas, this hateful villain, please think about it. We also put ants among the more advanced insects, wrote many books about them, and even praised them greatly.The voice of praise is endless.They are admired by naturalists, and their reputation is increasing day by day.In this way, animals, like people, have the most ingenious way of attracting attention, which is to hurt others. The beetles, which do a very useful cleaning job, attract no attention, praise, or even attention; but the mosquitoes, which eat human blood, are known to everyone; Poisonous swords, irascible and pompous wasps, and ants who specialize in evil.The latter, in our southern villages, used to go into people's houses and break the rafters, and they were as happy as figs when they did this evil. The crickets in my garden have been completely wiped out by the ants, so I have to go outside and look for them.Under the fallen leaves in August, where the grass had not been completely dried by the sun, I saw young crickets, which had grown to a relatively large size, and their whole bodies were already black, with no trace of the white shoulder strap left. During this period, its life is wandering. A dead leaf and a flat stone are enough for it to cope with some things in the great world. Many crickets that escaped the ants and survived are now the victims of the wasps.They hunt these travelers and bury them in the ground.In fact, as long as the crickets are protected several weeks in advance, they will not be in this danger.But they have never thought of this, and they always cling to the old habits, as if seeing death as home. It was not until late October, when the cold began to set in, that the crickets began to build their nests.The job is simple, if we judge by our observations of crickets kept in cages.Burrowing does not take place in bare ground, but often in places where lettuce leaves—remains of food—cover up.Or some other substitute for blades of grass, which seemed to be indispensable in order to keep its dwelling secret. The miner uses its forefeet to grab the ground and bites away larger stones with its jaw-like pincers.I saw it stomping on the ground with its powerful hind feet, with two rows of sawtooth-like things growing on its hind legs.At the same time, I also saw it sweeping the dirt pushing it to the back, spreading it out at an angle.In this way, you will know all the ways the cricket digs its nest. Work started quickly.In the soil in my cage, it stays under the ground for two hours, and after a while, it will come to the entrance and exit.But it is often towards the back, constantly sweeping the dust.If it feels tired, it can rest for a while at the door of the unfinished house, with its head facing outside and its tentacles wobbling weakly, looking tired.Presently it went in again, and continued its work with tongs and rake.Later, the rest time gradually lengthened, which made me feel a little impatient. The most important part of the job has been done.The hole is already more than two inches deep, enough to meet temporary needs.The rest can be done slowly, a little today and a little more tomorrow. The hole can be enlarged and deepened as the weather gets colder and the cricket grows.If the weather is warmer in winter and the sun shines on the door of the house, you can still see the crickets throwing dirt from the burrow.In the joyous spring weather, repairs to the home continued.The work of improvement and ornamentation is always continued without rest until the death of the master. Towards the end of April the cricket began to sing, at first a shaky and shy solo, and soon they combined into a wonderful chorus, which every piece of soil praised as a very good player of beautiful music.I am happy to place it at the head of the singers of spring.In our deserted lands, when the thyme and peppermint are in bloom, the larks fly like rockets, open their throats to sing, and spread their melodious songs from the sky to the earth.As for the crickets staying below, they couldn't help being attracted, and sang a song loudly, in order to correspond with the acquaintance.Their song is monotonous and artless, but its art is attuned to the monotonous joy of its resurrection, a vigilant chant known and savored by the budding seed and the first leaf.For this duo piece, we should judge the cricket as the winner of the best.Its number and uninterrupted syllables are enough to deserve it.After the lark's song had ceased, these fields, where the lime-grey peppermint grew, these critics, who swayed their fragrance in the sun, could still enjoy a song of praise from such a simple singer, and thus keep them company. Spend every lonely moment.What a helpful companion!It rewards nature beautifully. 3. Its Musical Instrument For the sake of scientific study we can say frankly to the cricket: "Show us your musical instrument." Like all things of value, it is very simple.It is very like the instrument of the katydid, and on the same principle it is but a bow with a hook on it, and a kind of vibrating membrane.The right wing sheath covers the left wing sheath, almost completely, except for the back and turning part of the body side, which is the opposite of the pattern we have previously seen in grasshoppers, katydids, and their kind.For crickets, the right covers the left, and for grasshoppers, the left covers the right. The construction of the two wing sheaths is exactly the same.To know one is to know the other.They are spread on the body of the cricket respectively.On the side, it suddenly slanted down to form a right angle, tightly wrapped around the body, and there were small veins growing on it. If you take the two scabbards off and look carefully into the light, you can see that it is a very pale reddish color, with a large triangle in front and a small triangle in back, except where the two join. The ellipse has vague wrinkles on it, these two places are its vocal organs, the skin here is transparent, tighter than other places, only slightly smoky gray. There are five or six black stripes in the gap at the back edge of the front part, which look like the steps of a ladder.They rub against each other, thereby increasing the number of points of contact with the bow below to increase its vibration. On the underside, one of the two vein lines surrounding the void, ribbed.Cut into the shape of a hook is the bow, which has about one hundred and fifty triangular teeth, neatly aligned almost geometrically. This is indeed a very delicate instrument.The one hundred and fifty teeth on the bow are embedded in the steps of the wing sheath on the opposite side, so that the four sounders vibrate at the same time, the lower pair directly rubs, and the upper pair is an oscillating friction device. It uses only four of them. Only the pronunciation device can transmit music to a place hundreds of yards away. You can imagine how urgent the sound is! Its sound rivals the clear chirping of cicadas without the harshness of the latter.In comparison, the cricket's chirp is better because it knows how to adjust its tune.The cricket's wing sheaths protrude in two different directions, so they are very open.This forms the damper, and if you lower it a bit, you can change the intensity of the sound it makes.Depending on the degree of their soft body contact with the cricket, it can sing from a soft low note to a very high pitched note. The complete resemblance of the two wing discs in crickets is very remarkable.I can clearly see the function of the bow above, and the movements of the four pronunciation places.But what is the use of the lower one, the bow on the left wing?It is not resting on anything, and nothing touches the hook, which is also adorned with teeth.It is utterly useless unless the two parts can be reversed so that the lower part can be put on top.If this can be done, its instrument will function as before, only this time it will be played with the bow it does not now use.The lower huqin bow becomes the upper one, but the tune played is still the same. At first I thought the crickets were useful for both bows, at least some of them use the left one.But the result of observation is exactly the opposite of my imagination.Without exception, all the crickets I have observed (and there are many) have right wing sheaths over left wing sheaths. I even do it artificially.Very lightly, with my pliers, I put the cricket's left wing sheath on the right wing sheath, without breaking the skin a bit.It's easy to do with a little skill and patience.Things are in good shape in all respects, no shedding on the shoulders, no wrinkling of the patagium. I wished very much that the cricket could still sing in this state, but I was soon disappointed.It starts to revert back to its original state.I fiddled with it several times over and over again, but the cricket's stubbornness finally defeated me. I afterwards thought that this test should be done while the wing-sheaths are still new and soft, that is, when the grub has just shed its skin.I got a larva that had just molted. At this time, its future wings and sheaths were shaped like four tiny flakes. Its short shape and the way it lay flat in different directions reminded me of a baker wearing A short waistcoat of the kind that I used to wear, and the grub took off this layer of clothing before my eyes. The wing sheaths of the little cricket grew up little by little, and gradually became bigger. At this time, it was not clear which wing sheath was covering it.Later, the two sides approached, and in a few minutes, the one on the right would soon cover the one on the left.So now is the time for me to intervene. I used a piece of grass to slightly adjust the position of the sheath so that the left wing sheath covered the right one.Although the crickets resisted a little, I succeeded in the end.The left wing sheath is pushed forward slightly, though only a little.So I put it down, and the wing sheaths gradually grew while changing positions.The cricket gradually developed to the left.I really hope that it uses the left bow that its family has never used to play an equally beautiful and moving piece of music. On the third day, it started.First, I heard a few friction sounds, as if the gears of the machine hadn't been properly fitted and were being adjusted.Then the tune begins, its own tune. Alas, I trust too much in my violation of the laws of nature.I thought I had created a new type of musician, but I found nothing.The cricket still draws its right bow, and often does.It tried desperately to put the wing sheath that I placed upside down in its original position, which caused its shoulder to dislocate. Now it has gone through several efforts and struggles of its own, and put the wing sheath that should have been on it back to its original position. above, what should be placed below remains below.I guess the way to make it for a left-handed player is unscientific.It mocks my actions with its actions, and in the end, it spends its life as a right-handed luthier. Enough about the instrument, let's enjoy its music!The cricket sings at the door of its own house. Under the warm sunshine, it never hides in the house to enjoy it.The wing scabbard makes a soft vibration sound of "Clickley".The tone is full, very loud, clear and beautiful, and the extension seems to be endless.In this way, the lonely leisure of the whole spring passed away.The hermit originally sang to make himself happier.它在歌颂照在它身上的阳光，供给它食物的青草，给它居住的平安隐避之所。它的弓的第一目的，是歌颂它生存的快乐，表达它对大自然恩赐的谢意。 到了后来，它不再以自我为中心了，它逐渐为它的伴侣而弹奏。但是据实说来，它的这种关心并没收到感谢的回报，因为到后来它和它的伴侣争斗的很凶，除非它逃走，否则它的伴侣会把它弄成残废，甚至将吃掉它一部分的肢体。不过无论如何，它不久总要死的，就是它逃脱了好争斗的伴侣，在六月里它也是要死亡的。听说喜欢听音乐的希腊人常将它养在笼子里，好听它们的歌唱。然而我不信这回事，至少是表示怀疑。第一，它发出的略带烦嚣的声音，如果靠近听久了，耳朵是受不了的，希腊人的听觉恐怕不见得爱听这种粗糙的，来自田野间的音乐吧！ 第二，蝉是不能养在笼子里面的，除非我们连洋橄榄或榛系木一齐都罩在里面。但是只要关一天，就会使这喜欢高飞的昆虫厌倦而死。 将蟋蟀错误地作为蝉，好像将蝉错误地当作蚱蜢一样，并不是不可能的。如果如此形容蟋蟀，那么是有一定道理的。它被关起来是很快乐的，并不烦恼。它长住在家里的生活使它能够被饲养，它是很容易满足的。只要它每天有莴苣叶子吃，就是关在不及拳头大的笼子里，它也能生活的很快乐，不住地叫。雅典小孩子挂在窗口笼子里养的，不就是它吗？ 布罗温司的小孩子，以及南方各处的小孩子们，都有同样的嗜好。至于在城里，蟋蟀更成为孩子们的珍贵财产了。这种昆虫在主人那里受到各种恩宠，享受到各种美味佳肴。同时，它们也以自己特有的方式来回报好心的主人，为他们不时地唱起乡下的快乐之歌。因此它的死能使全家人都感到悲哀，足可以说明它与人类的关系是多么亲密了。 我们附近的其它三种蟋蟀，都有同样的乐器，不过细微处稍有一些不同。它们的歌唱在各方面都很像，不过它们身体的大小各有不同。波尔多蟋蟀，有时候到我家厨房的黑暗处来，是蟋蟀一族中最小的，它的歌声也很细微，必须要侧耳静听才能听得见。 田野里的蟋蟀，在春天有太阳的时候歌唱，在夏天的晚上，我们则听到意大利蟋蟀的声音了。它是个瘦弱的昆虫，颜色十分浅淡，差不多呈白色，似乎和它夜间行动的习惯相吻合。如果你将它放在手指中，你就会怕把它捏扁。它喜欢呆在高高的空气中，在各种灌木里，或者是比较高的草上，很少爬下地面来。在七月到十月这些炎热的夜晚，它甜蜜的歌声，从太阳落山起，继续至半夜也不停止。 布罗温司的人都熟悉它的歌声，最小的灌木叶下也有它的乐队。很柔和很慢的“格里里，格里里”的声音，加以轻微的颤音，格外有意思。如果没有什么事打扰它，这种声将会一直持续并不改变，但是只要有一点儿声响，它就变成迷人的歌者了。你本来听见它在你面前很靠近的地方，但是忽然你听起来，它已在十五码以外的地方了。但是如果你向着这个声音走过去，它却并不在那里，声音还是从原来的地方传过来的。其实，也并不是这样的。这声音是从左面，还是从后面传来的呢？一个人完全被搞糊涂了，简直辨别不出歌声发出的地点了。 这种距离不定的幻声，是由两种方法造成的。声音的高低与抑扬，根据下翼鞘被弓压迫的部位而不同，同时，它们也受翼鞘位置的影响。如果要发较高的声音，翼鞘就会抬举得很高；如果要发较低的声音，翼鞘就低下来一点。淡色的蟋蟀会迷惑来捕捉它的人，用它颤动板的边缘压住柔软的身体，以此将来者搞昏。 在我所知道的昆虫中，没有什么其它的歌声比它更动人、更清晰的了。在八月夜深人静的晚上，可以听到它。我常常俯卧在我哈麻司里迷迭香旁边的草地上，静静地欣赏这种悦耳的音乐。那种感觉真是十分的惬意。 意大利蟋蟀聚集在我的小花园中，在每一株开着红花的野玫瑰上，都有它的歌颂者，欧薄荷上也有很多。野草莓树、小松树，也都变成了音乐场所。并且它的声音十分清澈，富有美感，特别动人。所以在这个世界中，从每棵小树到每根树枝上，都飘出颂扬生存的快乐之歌。简直就是一曲动物之中的“欢乐颂”！ 高高的在我头顶上，天鹅飞翔于银河之间，而在地面上，围绕着我的，有昆虫快乐的音乐，时起时息。微小的生命，诉说它的快乐，使我忘记了星辰的美景，我已然完全陶醉于动听的音乐世界之中了。那些天眼，向下看着我，静静的，冷冷的，但一点也不能打动我内在的心弦。why?因为它们缺少一个大的秘密——生命。确实，我们的理智告诉我们：那些被太阳晒热的地方，同我们的一样，不过终究说来，这种信念也等于一种猜想，这不是一件确实无疑的事。 在你的同伴里，相反的啊，我的蟋蟀，我感到生命的活力，这是我们土地的灵魂，这就是为什么我不看天上的星辰，而将注意力集中于你们的夜歌的原因了。一个活着的微点——最小最小的生命的一粒，它的快乐和痛苦，比无限大的物质，更能引起我的无限兴趣，更让我无比地热爱你们！