Cricket

Cricket

Although close relatives of the grasshopper, crickets belong to a distinct group of insects that possess very large back legs in proportion to the rest of their body. Crickets come in many different types, but all have short life spans, with few living a single year. Crickets acquired their odd name from the chirping sounds they produce.

Identification

• The large back legs that enable them to jump as far as 20 to 30 times the length of their bodies are two identifying features of crickets. Crickets also have a pair of leathery wings on their fronts that shield their more delicate back wings. The eardrum of the cricket exists on its front legs, and female crickets possess an egg-laying organ called an ovipositor, which extends from the end of their abdomen. Most crickets are dark colors, but their length fluctuates, with some only 1/2-inch long and others more than 2 inches.

Types

• The Insecta Inspecta website declares that hundreds of individual species of crickets reside in North America. The field crickets and house crickets belong to the family called Gryllidae, and are among the most common crickets, and tree crickets in the same family actually look more like grasshoppers than crickets. Other types of crickets you might encounter in the United States include the camel cricket, mole cricket and cave cricket.

Habitat

• Cricket habitats vary by species. House and field crickets are nocturnal and can be found during the day under rocks, logs or in structures like a barn or garage. The tree crickets are at home in tall plants and in the limbs and foliage of trees. Cave and camel crickets inhabit dark, dank places such as caves, basements and near wells. The mole cricket is an underground species that burrows into the soil.

Diet

• The diet of crickets consists of both plant matter and animals. Crickets will devour other insects as well as their eggs, vegetation, seeds, wool, silk, paper and cloth. This wide array of potential foods means crickets are a common insect in many locations. In turn, the cricket is prey for such predators as spiders, birds and an assortment of mammals, reptiles and amphibians.