Figuring the Temperature from Insects

Did you know that insects could help you while afield? Sounds bizarre, but they were used in days past with amazing accuracy.

The black field cricket (Gryllus assimilis) can give you an accurate temperature reading during certain times of the year when they are predominantly out. Up here in the North, that is typically late spring and right through the summer to early fall, depending on the temperatures with the season changes of course. The cricket, believe it or not can be even more accurate than a thermometer! Due to the lag time in the mercury, crickets become a more precise thermometer to the keen Woodsman.

Here’s how you use them. Count the amount of times a cricket chirps in a 14 second span, and then add 40 to that number. There you have your temperature of where the cricket is. Try it out sometime and see what happens. There is another insect that you can use for temperature and we will discuss her next.

More Woodsman Folklore coming soon!