Lesson 1
A cage around a nerve
Insects have tiny sensors called chordotonal organs (say "kor-doh-TOE-nul"). They feel sounds, vibrations, and how the insect's body bends and stretches.
In each sensor, a nerve cell sends a thin tip upward. The scolopale cell wraps around that tip. It builds stiff rods around it, like the bars of a tiny birdcage. A cap cell on top ties it all to the skin.
Wow!A cricket's ears are on its front legs! And mosquitoes and fruit flies hear with sensors near the base of their antennae.
Lesson 2
Hold steady, feel the shake
When a sound wave or a bend shakes the insect's skin, the cap pulls on the sensor. The scolopale cell's stiff cage keeps the nerve tip lined up, so the pull stretches the tip just right.
That stretch makes the nerve cell send a message: "I hear something!" or "My leg just bent!"
Inside your ear, there are hair cells that feel sound by being bent too. Different animals, a similar idea!
Try thisPut your hand on your throat and hum. Feel the buzz? Sound is a shake! Now press Hear a sound on the 3D model.