Tree crickets are awesome!

This is a tree cricket (Orthoptera: Gryllidae Oecanthus sp.). 

Tree crickets, like all crickets, are closely related to grasshoppers and katydids (see this previous post for some info on how to tell them apart). You may not see tree crickets as often as some other kinds of crickets because they usually blend in with the vegetation that they hang out on. I was lucky enough to find this one on a pink flower. Tree crickets are very interesting but poorly understood insects. Here is a link to a great website created by an amateur entomologist that is very enthusiastic about them. Tree crickets feed on a variety of things from plants to other insects and even fungi. Some species are more predaceous than others, but they are rarely considered pests in the garden.
Tree crickets hear through special membranes on their forelegs.

Hearing is very important for crickets, because they use sound to find their mates. In tree crickets, the male calls females by chirping with his wings. Once, the female locates a male, they engage in some very interesting mating behavior.