I often find this insect in the Autumn, not only when visiting southern Illinois, but also in my home state of Ohio.
This pale green species occurs over a wide distribution in the northern United States and parts of southern Canada.
The Snowy Tree Cricket is known for having a chirping rate highly correlated with ambient temperature. This relationship is known as Dolbear’s Law and was published in 1897 in an article called “The Cricket as a Thermometer.”
As their name implies, these creatures live in trees and shrubs, for which they are well camouflaged. The bodies of tree crickets are long and skinny compared to the bodies of other types of familiar crickets.
Like other species of in their family, they feed on a wide range of items like plant parts, other insects and even fungi.
The call of the Snowy Tree Cricket is commonly used as a background sound in movies and on television in order to depict a warm Summer evening.
This is a neat, delicate-appearing invertebrate that I enjoy coming across, whether while doing yardwork or out herping.