Sabrina Imbler

I know that he just totally is like, he just wakes up and he's like, I know my song.

I thank you. Many crickets look identical, at least to us. Dark almonds with short wings and elbowed legs. But in the 1950s, researchers trudging into fields with tape recorders discovered many more cricket species than they had identified by eye.

I thank you. Many crickets look identical, at least to us. Dark almonds with short wings and elbowed legs. But in the 1950s, researchers trudging into fields with tape recorders discovered many more cricket species than they had identified by eye.

I thank you. Many crickets look identical, at least to us. Dark almonds with short wings and elbowed legs. But in the 1950s, researchers trudging into fields with tape recorders discovered many more cricket species than they had identified by eye.

Although the first songs of early crickets, like their perma-stridalists, were little more than rasps, modern species have since developed a vast repertoire of songs that feature chirps, trills, rattles, and lisps. Carolina ground crickets make an impatient, sloping trill that suddenly catches, as if their wings needed to take a breath.

Although the first songs of early crickets, like their perma-stridalists, were little more than rasps, modern species have since developed a vast repertoire of songs that feature chirps, trills, rattles, and lisps. Carolina ground crickets make an impatient, sloping trill that suddenly catches, as if their wings needed to take a breath.

Although the first songs of early crickets, like their perma-stridalists, were little more than rasps, modern species have since developed a vast repertoire of songs that feature chirps, trills, rattles, and lisps. Carolina ground crickets make an impatient, sloping trill that suddenly catches, as if their wings needed to take a breath.

A tinkling ground cricket emits a quick, hushed series of cheeps, like a bird wrapped inside a blanket. The confused ground cricket buzzes two short syllables again and again, raised like a question. Some songs, especially those of tree crickets, which often have wings translucent as a sugar crust, sound more beautiful than others. This beauty is human bias.

A tinkling ground cricket emits a quick, hushed series of cheeps, like a bird wrapped inside a blanket. The confused ground cricket buzzes two short syllables again and again, raised like a question. Some songs, especially those of tree crickets, which often have wings translucent as a sugar crust, sound more beautiful than others. This beauty is human bias.

A tinkling ground cricket emits a quick, hushed series of cheeps, like a bird wrapped inside a blanket. The confused ground cricket buzzes two short syllables again and again, raised like a question. Some songs, especially those of tree crickets, which often have wings translucent as a sugar crust, sound more beautiful than others. This beauty is human bias.

The principles of cricket aesthetics remain a mystery to us, and is also the afterglow of evolution. After all, the first cricket song emerged as a mutation. An insect born with an unusually craggy wing rubbed it against the other to produce a sound so soft that it was only perceptible from nearby, perhaps to a mate.

The principles of cricket aesthetics remain a mystery to us, and is also the afterglow of evolution. After all, the first cricket song emerged as a mutation. An insect born with an unusually craggy wing rubbed it against the other to produce a sound so soft that it was only perceptible from nearby, perhaps to a mate.

The principles of cricket aesthetics remain a mystery to us, and is also the afterglow of evolution. After all, the first cricket song emerged as a mutation. An insect born with an unusually craggy wing rubbed it against the other to produce a sound so soft that it was only perceptible from nearby, perhaps to a mate.

Scientists suspect all the songs in a modern cricket's repertoire arose from this ancient intimacy. They needed to whisper before they could wail. But when they wailed, it was the males who became the first beacons of sound. Given the animal kingdom's penchant for male flamboyance, perhaps this is unsurprising.

Scientists suspect all the songs in a modern cricket's repertoire arose from this ancient intimacy. They needed to whisper before they could wail. But when they wailed, it was the males who became the first beacons of sound. Given the animal kingdom's penchant for male flamboyance, perhaps this is unsurprising.

Scientists suspect all the songs in a modern cricket's repertoire arose from this ancient intimacy. They needed to whisper before they could wail. But when they wailed, it was the males who became the first beacons of sound. Given the animal kingdom's penchant for male flamboyance, perhaps this is unsurprising.

Only males make themselves vulnerable with song, screeching out their presence both to potential lovers and potential predators. To protect themselves, males often hide while they sing. Nestled within clumps of grass and under rocks and leaves, they have no choice but to sing. even if it means opening themselves up to doom. I didn't start taking testosterone because I wanted to become a man.

Only males make themselves vulnerable with song, screeching out their presence both to potential lovers and potential predators. To protect themselves, males often hide while they sing. Nestled within clumps of grass and under rocks and leaves, they have no choice but to sing. even if it means opening themselves up to doom. I didn't start taking testosterone because I wanted to become a man.

Only males make themselves vulnerable with song, screeching out their presence both to potential lovers and potential predators. To protect themselves, males often hide while they sing. Nestled within clumps of grass and under rocks and leaves, they have no choice but to sing. even if it means opening themselves up to doom. I didn't start taking testosterone because I wanted to become a man.

Rather, I coveted certain manly flourishes. A wispy mustache. Flesh desperate to become muscle. A new mystery of a face. What I wanted most of all was a deeper voice. one that could drop into the abyss and skim the sea floor. As testosterone tilts your larynx and thickens your vocal cords, your voice sinks, stretches, and breaks. Mine skipped like a broken record.