Crickets living on the grass are almost as famous as cicadas. It is famous not only for singing, but also for living.
Most other insects hide in temporary shelters. It takes no effort to get their hidden benefits, and it is not a pity to lose them. Unlike them, crickets refuse to be happy. It often chooses its address carefully, and it must be well drained and sunny. It doesn't use ready-made caves, and its comfortable house is excavated bit by bit, from the hall to the bedroom.
How can crickets have a gift for building houses? Does it have any special tools? No. Crickets are not good at digging. Its tools are so weak that people are surprised at the fruits of its labor.
When I was a child, I went to the grass to catch crickets, locked them in cages and fed them with vegetable leaves. Now, in order to study crickets, I search their nests again.
On the shore facing the sun, there is an oblique tunnel hidden in the green grass. Even if there is a shower, it will dry up immediately. The tunnel twists and turns along the terrain, no more than nine inches deep and one finger wide. This is the cricket's residence. There is always a clump of grass at the exit, which is half covered, just like a door. Crickets come out to eat the young grass around them and never touch this clump of grass. The slightly inclined door was carefully raked and swept, and it was very flat. This is a cricket platform. When the surroundings are quiet, crickets will play the piano on this platform.
The interior of the house is not decorated, but the walls are smooth. Master has plenty of time to repair rough places. Generally speaking, the residence is simple, clean, dry and sanitary. If we think that the tools used by cricket to dig things are so simple, this house can really be regarded as a great project.
Crickets mostly build houses in October. In the cold of early autumn. It rakes the soil with its front foot and removes the larger clods with pliers. It steps on the ground with its powerful hind feet. There are two rows of saws on the hind legs, which are used to push the soil to the back and lay it diagonally.
The work was soon finished. If cricket feels tired after drilling under the soil, it will have a rest at the unfinished door, with its head facing outward and its tentacles swinging slightly. After a while, it went in again and continued to work with pliers and rakes. I watched it for two hours in a row, and I was a little impatient.
The important part of the house is almost finished. The hole has been dug two inches deep, which is big enough. The rest is long-term transformation, doing a little today and doing a little tomorrow. This hole can deepen and widen with the cold weather and the growth of its body. Even in winter, as long as the climate is mild and the sun shines on its door, you can see crickets constantly throwing dirt from it.
Brief introduction of the author
Jean-Henri casimir Fabres is a French entomologist, animal behaviorist and writer. Known as "Homer in the insect world (Homer is said to be the author of two famous ancient Greek epics, Iliad and Odyssey) and Virgil in the insect world". In the years after his birth, Fables lived with his grandparents in Malaval, not far from the village. At that time, he was attracted by lovely insects such as butterflies and slugs in the country.
Fabers insisted on self-study all his life, and successively obtained bachelor's degree, bachelor's degree in mathematics, bachelor's degree in natural science and doctor's degree in natural science. He is proficient in Latin and Greek and loves the works of Horace, an ancient Roman writer, and Virgil, a poet. He almost taught himself painting and watercolor painting, and many of his exquisite illustrations of fungi were praised by the Nobel Prize in Literature winner and French poet Frederic mistral. In his later years, Fabres's success in insects earned him the reputation of "Homer of Insects" and "Poet of Science", and his achievements were widely recognized by the society. Although fabrice has won many scientific titles, he is still as simple, shy and humble as ever, and leads a poor life. His talent was admired by scholars at that time, including British biologist Darwin, Belgian playwright maeterlinck, Nobel Prize in Literature winner of 19 1 1, German writer Jung, French philosopher Bergson, poet Malamei, Provence writer Roumani, and so on. Because Fables' experiment was accurately recorded in Insect Tales, which revealed many secrets of insect life and habits, Darwin called Fables an "imitative observer". When he lived in Cerini, many scholars and writers visited him in succession. Fabres had received Pasteur, British philosopher Mill and other scholars in his own residence, but his correspondence with them was not frequent. Victor Durui, Minister of Education, recommended Fables to Charles Louis Napolé on Bonaparte, who awarded him the Medal of Honor. French politician Raymond Poincare paid tribute to him by making a detour through Cerini. Fabres's works with multiple identities are varied: as a naturalist, he left many academic works on animals and plants, including Madder: Patents and Papers, Animals in avignon, Cuckoo, Mushrooms on Olive Trees, Grape Root Aphids and so on. As a teacher, he has compiled many textbooks of chemical physics. As a poet, he wrote many poems in Provence in southern France, and was affectionately called "Gadfly Poet" by the local people. In addition, he translated the works of some Provencal poets into French. In his spare time, he also creates some ditties with his small mouth. However, among Fabres's works, Insect is the longest, the most important and the most widely known one. This work not only shows his talent and literary talent in scientific observation and research, but also conveys his humanistic spirit and incomparable love for life to readers.
Fables is 92 years old.