The chirping of grasshoppers. The melodious sound of a cricket, or the musical abilities of an insect

Contrary to the loud statement in the first line, the poem “I do not seek harmony in nature” is dedicated precisely to natural phenomena, which the poet reflects deeply on. The brief analysis “I am not looking for harmony in nature” is intended to be an analysis of these thoughts. You can use it in a literature lesson to explain to 8th grade students the essence of the work.

Brief Analysis

History of creation- a work called programmatic, written in 1947 in Moscow.

Theme of the poem- glorification of the maternal principle of nature, its wildness, which man, without touching the foundations, can lead to reasonable harmony.

Composition- the poem is compositionally divided into three parts: the first supports the assertion that nature is inherently disharmonious, the second shows its essence, and the third summarizes the first two, describing the dream of a peaceful union of nature and man.

Genre- philosophical lyrics.

Poetic size– iambic pentameter with pyrrhic.

Epithets – “clear firmament”, “fierce singing”, “blind night”, “hard work”, “human pain”, “wild freedom”.

Metaphors – “the heart does not hear”, “the singing of the winds”, “embraced by the weak radiance”, “the half-sleep of exhaustion”, “the wires filled with current“.

History of creation

The poem was written in 1947, when Nikolai Zabolotsky, who had only recently returned from Stalin’s camps (the poet spent five years there) was looking for a philosophical basis for his works. Having lost his previous guidelines, he turns to the theme of nature, but, unlike the classics of literature, he does not approach it at all romantically.

Subject

The poem is dedicated to nature, namely, its maternal nature. The poet views her as an unreasonable mother, who at the same time sincerely loves her child. She doesn’t know where to use her wild power, but her son, that is, a person, can help. The most important thing is not to rape its essence, but to move towards coexistence, towards harmony. This is the main idea of ​​the verse.

Composition

Despite the fact that Zabolotsky considers the same idea, in the work it is revealed from three different sides, which determines the three-part compositional division.

In the first part, the poet reveals the idea of ​​why he does not look for a harmonious principle in nature: in his opinion, the very essence of the surrounding world, excluding what is created by human hands, is disharmonious.

However, the second part somewhat contradicts the first - it describes nature at a moment of peace, when it falls asleep, prepares for everything to calm down and plunge into a sweet slumber.

And in the third part, the poet considers her as the mother of humanity - yes, this is a wild force, but wildness itself is not nice to her. She dreams of a world where technology will guide her towards harmony, without changing her essence.

Genre

This work is a classic example of philosophical lyrics; in it, Zabolotsky discusses the meaning of his work, looking for topics that he could address. For him, such reasoning was especially relevant, because he had to look for his poetic path in a difficult personal situation.

The iambic pentameter with pyrrhic, which the poet used to create the poem, makes it simple and rhythmic.

Means of expression

• Epithets- “clear firmament”, “fierce singing”, “blind night”, “hard work”, “human pain”, “wild freedom”.
• Metaphors- “the heart does not hear”, “the singing of the winds”, “embraced by a weak radiance”, “a half-sleep of exhaustion”, “wires filled with current”.

They all work to develop a deeper understanding of the topic.

In the summer outside the city you can hear a pleasant chirping sound - the characteristic sound of a cricket. This insect, which lives all over the world, “sings” not for fun. Its chirping trills serve to communicate with its relatives. To reproduce its incessant song, the cricket uses wings that have a special structure.

Brief information about the insect

Crickets are a family of orthoptera insects. Their closest relatives are grasshoppers, locusts, and cockroaches. From an evolutionary point of view, they all have a fairly respectable age, because their group was formed approximately 300 million years ago, during the Late Carboniferous era. This is 120 million years earlier than the beginning of the Jurassic period.

There are 2,300 species of this insect around the world. Most of them live in hot and humid climates, and only about 50 of them inhabit the territory of the CIS countries. The most common and famous of them are the field cricket (preferring life in fields, meadows and the edges of light deciduous forests) and the brownie, which chooses proximity to humans. It often climbs into houses and adjacent buildings, living in secluded corners and feeding on other insects.

Externally, a cricket looks like a grasshopper. But they differ in the structure of their legs and the way their wings fold. In addition, grasshoppers thrive in dry climates, while crickets prefer high humidity.

How does a cricket sing?

The difference in structure between the male and female allows the former to make chirping sounds. The fact is that only male crickets have a special acoustic apparatus that allows crickets to sing, and serves them for certain purposes.

How do crickets make sounds? The insect's musical instrument is the elytra, and the mechanism of their operation during singing is reminiscent of playing the violin. They have veins, small wrinkles or folds. Their distribution over the surface is uneven, so when a certain area is exposed, a sound corresponding to it is produced. This makes the cricket's repertoire much richer than that of similar grasshoppers. The second elytra acts as a bridge with a jagged vein. The insect rubs its elytra against each other, creating vibration, and due to this, chirping appears. The intonation and character of the “music” produced by the winged “singer” depend on the frequency of vibrations.

The sound apparatus of crickets is much more complex than that of grasshoppers. Therefore, it can make a variety of sounds, each of which is suitable for a specific situation.

Why is he doing this?

Of course, nature tried for a reason. The complex structure of the elytra is given to crickets in order to simplify one of the most important purposes of the existence of individuals - leaving behind offspring. Therefore, males sing only during the mating season.

Why do crickets chirp? Musical abilities are given to them for communication with each other and for solving three problems at once:

1. The most important purpose of singing is to invite females to take part in procreation. The mating song of a cricket is the most ear-pleasing “work” in the insect’s repertoire. It sounds unobtrusive, but at the same time very melodic. The male either makes ringing sounds or begins to crackle or buzz. It is not limited to singing alone: ​​the trill is accompanied by a mating dance, in which even the mustache is involved. Several females may live on the territory of a male or in the neighborhood, and with his melodies he tries to keep them around him.
   

   Female crickets are not always faithful. If a new male who has settled nearby begins to emit a special and loud singing, then she may change her gentleman.

2. Marking the boundaries of your site. Crickets are characterized by solitary living, and each male has his own territory, in which he can allow several females to live. To make it clear to strangers that the area is occupied by it, the cricket emits shrill signals warning possible rivals.
3. If a skirmish could not be avoided, then the male tries to influence the enemy with sharp but loud sounds. Crickets are very aggressive. If two individuals get into a fight, then there is a high probability of the death of one of them. In this case, the winner can eat the loser. In the best case, the fight ends with the loss of antennae, legs or wings. In such a fight, the chirping is a kind of battle cry, designed to suppress the opponent and frighten him.

Only sexually mature individuals are capable of making sounds. Young males learn to do this by imitating their adult neighbors.

Where can you listen to cricket?

To get acquainted with the singing of crickets, just go out of town in the summer. These common insects are found almost everywhere. Their mating season begins with the onset of warm weather, and at this time ringing trills and threatening chirping are heard in the air. Crickets sing almost all day long. True, it is very difficult to get closer to the insect: it is very shy, and when a person approaches, it hides in its hole, from which it does not move far.

If it is not possible to meet a cricket in the wild, then there are many audio and video recordings of their sound on the Internet. They are pleasant to listen to, have a calming effect and promote relaxation.

House cricket

In the East, insects that produce beautiful melodies, such as the cricket and the cicada, were kept in special cages in homes, just like songbirds. And today, some exotic animal lovers keep crickets to enjoy their sounds.

To do this, use an aquarium, terrarium or special insectarium. Insects need systematic care. It is especially important to change the soil every 3 days, otherwise the unusual pet may die. Although crickets are predators in their natural habitat, when kept at home they are also fed plant foods: vegetables, fruits, and herbs.

The singing of crickets is very beautiful and varied. It's worth a trip out of town.

Contrary to popular belief, grasshoppers do not make any sounds with their paws. The stinging apparatus of insects of the order Orthoptera, which, by the way, includes not only grasshoppers, but also locusts and crickets, is located on the upper leathery pair of wings (elytra). Insects produce acoustic signals by rubbing the vein of one elytra (frame or bow) against another elytra, which is called a mirror.

It is interesting that in different species of Orthoptera the structure of the stridulatory apparatus is different, which allows them to produce different trills. If the beat frequency of the vein coincides with the vibration frequency of the second elytra, then the resonance of the sound system emits pure sound signals. If there is no correspondence, the insect’s trills are heard as separate clicks. Experienced chirping entomologists are able to determine which insect is producing it.

Sounds of music

Any chirping by grasshoppers is not just for fun, but for a specific purpose. Most often, males attract females in this way. But scientists were able to find out that the different structure of the elytra is determined not only by the type of insect, but also by some features of its life and behavior. So, for example, those species of Orthoptera that chirp in tall grass, which can be an obstacle to the propagation of a sound signal, have a wider range of sound frequencies. This is necessary to increase immunity to interference. But species that chirp in flight make do well with a narrower frequency range - after all, in open space, sound travels very far.

How does chirping happen?

A chirping grasshopper can often even be seen in the grass. Only he moves his legs and wings so quickly that it is impossible to understand what exactly is happening. However, scientists have discovered this too. The chirping process, as it turns out, occurs in most grasshoppers during the closing of the elytra. At the same time, they move in approximately the same way as the leaves of scissors. The grasshopper closes and opens the elytra, as a result of which a vibration of a certain purity is transmitted to them, and then rubs them against the frame of the bow. This is how a sound is heard that can be heard in the summer in a field or at the edge of a forest.

By the way, female Orthoptera catch the singing of their gentlemen with a special apparatus located on their paws. In some species the “ear” is located in the sternum area.

The working rhythm puts a lot of stress on the nervous system. And a person wants to relax, forget about work. It is especially difficult to work in the city in the summer, when vacation will only be in winter.

To keep your nervous system healthy and not lose performance, you just need to go out of town or get into a remote place in a city park. And as soon as you spend a little time in silence, the music of nature begins to flow - the chirping of grasshoppers.

Why do grasshoppers chirp?

The chirping of a grasshopper resembles a sharp crackling sound, gentle, sometimes quieter, sometimes louder. It seems that the grasshoppers persistently and sharply “break” dry grass and stems. In fact, grasshoppers rub their front or hind legs against each other or against their wings, which are equipped with bristles. The bristles are quite hard, so there is a cracking sound that is so familiar to every person.

Only males can chatter. These are their mating songs. They attract and fascinate females with their “charming” sounds. Females do not need this, so they simply do not have the “tools” for cod.

When danger approaches, grasshoppers instantly fall silent. This saves the grasshoppers from real enemies. That's why, when you walk through a field, meadow or clearing in a park, you don't hear grasshoppers nearby. But if you stand still and remain motionless for at least a few minutes, you will be rewarded with the choral singing of all the males in the area.

It is not easy to spot a grasshopper in the grass. If they jump, you will see their bodies flashing in the grass. They adapt to the surrounding grass on which they feed. Therefore, they come in green, brown-green, and brown colors.

But if you stand for a minute without moving, the owners of the meadows and fields will begin to choose convenient places on your body. Some will jump on your shoes, while others will reach your shoulder. The higher you are, the better you can see.

True, grasshoppers do not use sight, but they have perfect hearing. Don’t scare off the guest, try to look at him carefully. And if a male jumps on you, then you will examine his entire “musical” instrument.

It has been proven that the sound of a grasshopper has a beneficial effect on the human nervous system. It is monotonous, not intrusive and rhythmic. If nothing distracts you, then after listening to the chirping for about five minutes, you will no longer distinguish it from other sounds of the surrounding nature. And you will hear the music of nature, which will free you from unnecessary stress and cleanse you from the sounds and voices of the city. Refreshed, you return to your business.