What, would you say, is the quintessential sound of summer? The lazy buzz of a lawnmower, the childish chimes of an ice-cream van or the crack of leather on willow when the cricket season is in full swing? Or could it be crickets of another kind?
These musical insects put me in mind of holidays in the Med: sitting out on a sultry evening with a glass of something cold in hand, listening to their soporific chorus. At home, I’m more in tune with the familiar chirruping of grasshoppers, but, surprisingly, there are over twice as many species of crickets in the UK than their (not that) close cousins.
There are several differences between these two, superficially similar, creatures. Crickets are mostly seen and heard at dusk, whereas grasshoppers are more active…
You're reading a preview of
The Simple Things (Digital) - 1 Issue, August 2024