strid·u·late / ˈstrijəˌlāt/ • v. [intr.] (of an insect, esp. a male cricket or grasshopper) make a shrill sound by rubbing the legs, wings, or other parts of the body together.DERIVATIVES: strid·u·lant / -lənt/ adj.strid·u·la·tion / ˌstrijəˈlāshən/ n.strid·u·la·to·ry / -ləˌtôrē/ adj. .

stridulate To produce sound by rubbing a file across a membrane. Insects have a wide variety of mechanisms for sound production. In some of the most common examples a file on one wing rubs across a roughened surface on the other wing, or a file on the leg is drawn across the edge of the wing. The volume of sound production achieved by these mechanisms is often startling. The sound may be amplified by resonation in a wing or (e.g. in mole crickets) by causing a column of air to resonate in a chamber excavated in the ground and shaped for the purpose.

stridulate To produce sound by rubbing a file across a membrane. Insects have a wide variety of mechanisms for sound production. In some of the most common examples a file on one wing rubs across a roughened surface on the other wing, or a file on the leg is drawn across the edge of the wing. The volume of sound production achieved by these mechanisms is often startling. The sound may be amplified by resonation in a wing or (e.g. in mole crickets) by causing a column of air to resonate in a chamber excavated in the ground and shaped for the purpose.