Heâs Too Quiet for His Mate to Hear Him. So He Makes a Megaphone.
Some tree crickets amplify their calls with leaves, giving them an opportunity to mate that they otherwise might miss.
Oecanthus henryi, a type of cricket, uses leaves to amplify its calls to attract mates, a practice called âbaffling.âCredit...Rittik Deb
Dec. 15, 2020
For better or for worse, female tree crickets tend to prioritize two traits in their mates: loudness and size. The louder the boy cricket, the more likely a lady is to be wooed by his serenade. The larger he is when she finds him, the more time she will stay locked in a sexual tryst â in some cases, up to an hour of rollicking, sperm-shuttling fun.