Adult male crickets produce loud song to attract females, but the song, which permeates the environment, can be overheard also by unintended receivers – such as young males unable to produce song due to a mutation they carry.

Until now researchers have not understood how non-singing male crickets use the song of singing males to modify their behavior or physical attributes to their advantage.

Now biologists at the University of California, Riverside have shed light on this mystery.