FEBRUARY 28 – Vision ? This is one aspect of observing tree crickets that puzzles me. You can be walking near plants, and one tree cricket will dart under a leaf, one might jump to the ground, and then there’s that one that just sits there. You can be out after dark and shine a light on a singing male, and he might stop singing and dart off…and then another will just sit there and keep singing – even if you shine the light in their face. I have seen this behavior rather often – a pair of tree crickets in a confined space with the female ‘hiding’ under a leaf, and the male seems to have no idea where she is!  Why can’t he see her, or smell her with his antennae?? He knows she is there because he was just touching her!  ?? …and how about this guy?  Yikes.  His vision and olfactory are both off. It is late in the season, his coloring is yellowed from old age, and his song sounds weak…apparently confusion has also set in. Tomorrow: March will be a month of species FEBRUARY 27 – Flying and Leaping I do not know a great deal about the flying ability of tree crickets. I have personally witnessed ‘travelling’ four times. The first involved a female Narrow-winged tree cricket. I placed her on some vegetation, and she made what I call a flying leap. From what I have seen, they do use their wings, but don’t seem to be able to sustain flight. She leapt a distance of about 3 feet. The second episode involved a Two-spotted tree cricket. I had placed it on a patio plant. It moved onto an adjoining railing, and then took a flying leap to a different plant. This flight … Continue reading February