Strange discovery Incan v Cree

[cfromc]

Last night I went outside to scare a raccoon away. After that I was walking around and heard a cricket chirping. I shined my overdriven P91 on it and watched it chirp for a good 30 seconds. I found a couple other ones and watched them for a second or two also. Tonight, when I got home from dinner my kid was looking for the crickets so I looked also, but this time with a Cree drop-in. I looked in the same exact spot as last night and the cricket stopped chirping and ran and hid. I found 2 other crickets and as soon as I even got close with the beam of the Cree, they stopped chirping. As I moved to other areas, the crickets started chirping again; when I came back to them, they stopped. Obviously, the incan doesn't seem to bother them at all but the LED does. I post this just because I thought it was weird but I'm sure there is an explanation.

 

[FlashCrazy]

I've noticed a similar thing. There was a spider in my bathroom, and I shined a white LED light on it...it didn't budge. I happened to have a blue and also a green Luxeon equipped light...the green didn't bother it either. Soon as I shined the blue light on it, it would scramble. Turn the light off, it would sit there...turn it on, it would go crazy again. Strange.

I guess even stranger would be the fact that I took the time to experiment with different lights to see if the spider would be affected. LOL

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

I've noticed a similar thing. There was a spider in my bathroom, and I shined a white LED light on it...it didn't budge. I happened to have a blue and also a green Luxeon equipped light...the green didn't bother it either. Soon as I shined the blue light on it, it would scramble. Turn the light off, it would sit there...turn it on, it would go crazy again. Strange.

I guess even stranger would be the fact that I took the time to experiment with different lights to see if the spider would be affected. LOL

That's just as coincidence. Spiders aren't bothered by lights, they are not visual creatures. Their primary sense is air or ground vibration, not images, nor lights or heat. Only small jumping spiders use their vision as primary sense. I deal with a lot of spiders...

 

[cfromc]

I've heard that some lights (like the Kroma among others) can make a noise like a high-pitched hum. Is there some chance that a spider (or other insect) could detect something like that?

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

I've heard that some lights (like the Kroma among others) can make a noise like a high-pitched hum. Is there some chance that a spider (or other insect) could detect something like that?

Unlikely, as spiders don't have ears. Spider's "ears" are its sensitive hairs located on the body and legs. So unless this high-pitched noise produce vibrations (which I doubt) the spider won't "hear" a darn thing. However, the spider knows you are there because you are producing a lot of vibration and air movement, humans aren't exactly stealthily LOL. On the other hand, some insects like crickets and cicadas have a primitive ear but I am not sure if this type of typanic membrane would to be able to detect or be bothered by that kind of sound.

 

[TORCH_BOY]

Have you tried it with a direct drive Led light,

 

[Empath]

Since the behavior was split between two different nights, it may be other differences between the nights besides your choice of light. The light may have made no difference the first night, and there may have been some behavior altering difference that made them react differently the second night.

Crickets are subject to temperature differences, even to the point that their chirping can be used to calculate the temperature. There may have been a temperature difference or humidity difference, background sound, or something else. Or, it may have been only the different light used. Who can say?

It's interesting, though.

 

[flash_bang]

So unless this high-pitched noise produce vibrations (which I doubt) the spider won't "hear" a darn thing.

Ummmmm, A sound *is* a vibration, cept it's through the air particles, not through a wall or another solid object.
HAGO,
Flash

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

Ummmmm, A sound *is* a vibration, cept it's through the air particles, not through a wall or another solid object.
HAGO,
Flash

I know that. I was referring to common vibrations that are able to trigger the spider's sense (is it food? Is it a predator?). Spiders don't react to loud music blowing out of speakers, which are vibrations too. They had evolved to react to insect/prey movement and the likes. Spiders don't care if you are playing guitar in front of them or blowing a train horn, they are not mammals, they don't have any kind of ear.

 

[flash_bang]

righto
hago,
Flash

 

[Burgess]

to the OP:


Very interesting observation.


-

 

[leukos]

Some insects stop moving entirely and tend to curl their legs under them when exposed to certain hotwire mods.

 

[LuxLuthor]

I know that. I was referring to common vibrations that are able to trigger the spider's sense (is it food? Is it a predator?). Spiders don't react to loud music blowing out of speakers, which are vibrations too. They had evolved to react to insect/prey movement and the likes. Spiders don't care if you are playing guitar in front of them or blowing a train horn, they are not mammals, they don't have any kind of ear.

I have to admire/respect anyone who can work with spiders or snakes. They both terrify me more than anything....so I can never appreciate them like other things in nature.

 

[FlashCrazy]

Some insects stop moving entirely and tend to curl their legs under them when exposed to certain hotwire mods.

 

[martonic]

Since the behavior was split between two different nights, it may be other differences between the nights besides your choice of light. The light may have made no difference the first night, and there may have been some behavior altering difference that made them react differently the second night.

Crickets are subject to temperature differences, even to the point that their chirping can be used to calculate the temperature. There may have been a temperature difference or humidity difference, background sound, or something else. Or, it may have been only the different light used. Who can say?

It's interesting, though.

The way to figure it out is to try various lights on the same night. If the behavior of the crickets is consistent, the only difference being the type of light, then clearly they are reacting to the light (or possibly, something related to the light like a sound it makes), however unlikely that seems.

 

[Mike Painter]

That's just as coincidence. Spiders aren't bothered by lights, they are not visual creatures. Their primary sense is air or ground vibration, not images, nor lights or heat. Only small jumping spiders use their vision as primary sense. I deal with a lot of spiders...

"Wolf" and "jumping" spiders make up a huge percentage of spiders and for the most part hunt by sight and during the day.

 

[doc_felixander]

Was that Cree drop-in PWM regulated?

 

[Learjet]

Perhaps the cricket is blind to the yellow incan light and goes about it's business. The cricket can see the blue in the LED so it goes quiet. Yellow lights are used in front of after hours stores because they don't attract insects. Bug zappers are blue and do attract insects. I suspect it all has something to do with their behavior to colour.

 

[dano]

Here's an odd one, also:

I found some nasty big Asian Cockroaches around the area where I work. They will run (or fly) when an incan light is shone on them. BUT, when an LED light (in this case a modded Gladius) lights them up, they stay where they are...

Odd...

 

[Dinan]

Here's an odd one, also:

I found some nasty big Asian Cockroaches around the area where I work. They will run (or fly) when an incan light is shone on them. BUT, when an LED light (in this case a modded Gladius) lights them up, they stay where they are...

Odd...

Perhaps they're feeling the heat of the infrared light from the Incan which disturbs them. LED's emit almost no light in the IR spectrum if I remember correctly... while incan's emit almost all of their light in the IR spectrum.