Cricket Season Review
Friday, September 30th, 2022 09:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snoozefestaudioWell... I started this blog in June, looking forward to August and September... with all kinds of crazy theories and hopes about the crickets of 2022, and the recordings I might be able to make of them. So, now that September is over, I guess it's time to review all of that, and see where I stand.
The big overview is that this was not a very good year at all for recording. There just were not many field crickets to be found, and the wing tappers also were very weak this year which was a surprise.
That said, I think my alternating brood theory for field crickets was blown to hell!
If that were true, this should've been a big year for them, but instead they were weaker than last year.
I also had several theories about juvenille field crickets that... are all looking sketchy at this point.
The main idea... that these higher pitched field crickets (that I've documented well this year) are just juvenile field crickets, is the first theory I'm now questioning. I might be right, or... they might be just some other species of smaller cricket.
Assuming they are juveniles, then the theory that at some point they would all grow up and there would be a period of zero juveniles... was totally wrong!
I have been hearing them in large numbers... straight through all of August and September.
It would take more research online to figure out whether they are truly just juvenille field crickets, or some other species so... for me, and for now, it's a big mystery.
But this does open the door to the idea that there may be this new species of field crickets that might be replacing the old species... and what does that have to do with climate change?..
Or it could be down to the lingering effects of the Tordon I bombed the yard with last year... shortening the life spans of the adult field crickets, and revealing how many juveniles there really were in the background all along.
Or... it could be some other thing I'm just not aware of.
Basically... I went into 2022 thinking I knew a few things... and now I realize that I do not know shit about anything!
--<>--
As for lights over the back yard, and rock gardens, and theories about streetside versus deep block interior preferences... it does seem to have held true that the big field crickets are more prevalent by the street.
But the lights in the back yard didn't seem to do anything, and the rock gardens did seem to be places where they hung out during the day... but they couldn't be heard anywhere near them at night... and I have no idea why.
--<>--
I have no explanation for the poor performance of the wing tappers this year... again, these are tree dwelling katydids. They always went strong all night before this year, even in the cold...
But this year, they arrived late... and were only active around sunset, and went silent later at night, reguardless of the weather.
That could be Tordon at work?.. or if not... I have no clue.
--<>--
The weather was slightly more favorable than last year... in terms of less rain, and less wind...
But then again we cooled off a lot sooner in September than last year... which is why I haven't recorded last week or this week... because lows are down in the 40sF.
So in that sense, the season was cut short. But... they are still alive out there, and will come back to life if we have a warm up in October... but... in October, that does become less likely.
--<>--
A big shock was the total absence of late night speeders this season... something I never would've imagined was possible.
My theory about that is the high gas prices and the supply chain issues, but... it's a little spooky, what that says about the economy. Like... by their metric, this is already a depression!
And I don't even want to think about how that ties into possible environmental collapse that would affect something as basic as field crickets.
--<>--
Thunderwise... again.. the poorest year!
I do have enough material to cobble together something for the thunder playlist... and I am still holding out for a late season, October storm to give me a bit more material, but we really did not get jack shit in 2022, compared to 21, 20, 19, and 18.
--<>--
In the final analysis... I know nothing...
And I'm really hoping it was just coincidence that this was a bad year for thunder, field crickets, and speeders, at the same time!..
Because if the lack of all three were related?... that would point to a metorological, biological, and economic collapse!.. all at the same time!
It feels like that's way too dramatic a conclusion to be real?.. so I'm hoping it's proven wrong in the coming years as soundly as any other of my crackpot theories.
--<>--
I do still have hours of recording to sift through and edit from this season, and a small hope of a bit more in October.
But I also have plans for the off season, with the wind chimes, and with the SONO sound effects, that will hopefully keep the engagement up on the Soundcloud.
I also have that YouTube channel to flesh out this winter, with past content.
So... the endeavor continues, and I do intend to keep up with this blog just as often as I have been over the summer.
--<>--
I'm hoping to edit a new track tomorrow night, and drop it on Sunday morning.
And then... we'll just see what October is all about!
°¦}
https://soundcloud.com/snoozefestaudio
The big overview is that this was not a very good year at all for recording. There just were not many field crickets to be found, and the wing tappers also were very weak this year which was a surprise.
That said, I think my alternating brood theory for field crickets was blown to hell!
If that were true, this should've been a big year for them, but instead they were weaker than last year.
I also had several theories about juvenille field crickets that... are all looking sketchy at this point.
The main idea... that these higher pitched field crickets (that I've documented well this year) are just juvenile field crickets, is the first theory I'm now questioning. I might be right, or... they might be just some other species of smaller cricket.
Assuming they are juveniles, then the theory that at some point they would all grow up and there would be a period of zero juveniles... was totally wrong!
I have been hearing them in large numbers... straight through all of August and September.
It would take more research online to figure out whether they are truly just juvenille field crickets, or some other species so... for me, and for now, it's a big mystery.
But this does open the door to the idea that there may be this new species of field crickets that might be replacing the old species... and what does that have to do with climate change?..
Or it could be down to the lingering effects of the Tordon I bombed the yard with last year... shortening the life spans of the adult field crickets, and revealing how many juveniles there really were in the background all along.
Or... it could be some other thing I'm just not aware of.
Basically... I went into 2022 thinking I knew a few things... and now I realize that I do not know shit about anything!
As for lights over the back yard, and rock gardens, and theories about streetside versus deep block interior preferences... it does seem to have held true that the big field crickets are more prevalent by the street.
But the lights in the back yard didn't seem to do anything, and the rock gardens did seem to be places where they hung out during the day... but they couldn't be heard anywhere near them at night... and I have no idea why.
I have no explanation for the poor performance of the wing tappers this year... again, these are tree dwelling katydids. They always went strong all night before this year, even in the cold...
But this year, they arrived late... and were only active around sunset, and went silent later at night, reguardless of the weather.
That could be Tordon at work?.. or if not... I have no clue.
The weather was slightly more favorable than last year... in terms of less rain, and less wind...
But then again we cooled off a lot sooner in September than last year... which is why I haven't recorded last week or this week... because lows are down in the 40sF.
So in that sense, the season was cut short. But... they are still alive out there, and will come back to life if we have a warm up in October... but... in October, that does become less likely.
A big shock was the total absence of late night speeders this season... something I never would've imagined was possible.
My theory about that is the high gas prices and the supply chain issues, but... it's a little spooky, what that says about the economy. Like... by their metric, this is already a depression!
And I don't even want to think about how that ties into possible environmental collapse that would affect something as basic as field crickets.
Thunderwise... again.. the poorest year!
I do have enough material to cobble together something for the thunder playlist... and I am still holding out for a late season, October storm to give me a bit more material, but we really did not get jack shit in 2022, compared to 21, 20, 19, and 18.
In the final analysis... I know nothing...
And I'm really hoping it was just coincidence that this was a bad year for thunder, field crickets, and speeders, at the same time!..
Because if the lack of all three were related?... that would point to a metorological, biological, and economic collapse!.. all at the same time!
It feels like that's way too dramatic a conclusion to be real?.. so I'm hoping it's proven wrong in the coming years as soundly as any other of my crackpot theories.
I do still have hours of recording to sift through and edit from this season, and a small hope of a bit more in October.
But I also have plans for the off season, with the wind chimes, and with the SONO sound effects, that will hopefully keep the engagement up on the Soundcloud.
I also have that YouTube channel to flesh out this winter, with past content.
So... the endeavor continues, and I do intend to keep up with this blog just as often as I have been over the summer.
I'm hoping to edit a new track tomorrow night, and drop it on Sunday morning.
And then... we'll just see what October is all about!
°¦}
