Insect Burglar Alarms

● In the Orient crickets sometimes serve as burglar alarms. Numbers of them are kept in little cages about the house. The owner of the house, accustomed to their sound, is not disturbed by their chirping throughout the night. But if a burglar enters the house, all the crickets become quiet. And it seems that this sudden silence acts as a kind of burglar alarm, for this quick change from noise to stillness is enough to awaken the owner from sleep.