9 Types of Crickets:
The Amazing World of Crickets
The nocturnal insects known as crickets are a vital part of our ecosystem. They break down plant material feeding on organic material including decaying plants and fungi.
All types of crickets serve as a food source for other animals including rats, snakes, and owls to name just a few. Different types of crickets are widely known to cause damage both in homes and outside.
They are mostly found in the areas that have high moisture. However, when the weather is scorching, cold or dry, they move inside our homes or other indoor places. The constant chirping of crickets can irritate anyone. Interestingly though, only the male crickets chirp. They chirp to either attract females or create an alert when they sense any danger. The female crickets lay eggs in the late summer or early autumn.
Types of Crickets
Up until now, 900 different species of cricket have been discovered. Let us glance at some important types of crickets:
#1. Mole Crickets – These crickets look like moles! They have a cylindrical body shape and a size of about 1.25 inch. Brown in color and hair all over their body they live underground. Though these crickets have sharp legs, they do not destroy clothes or paper items like other crickets.
Mole Cricket by Clemson University – USDA Cooperative Extension Slide Series, Bugwood.org
#2. Cave or Camel Crickets – Cave crickets have a humped back, and they are brown. Due to a humped back, these crickets have also been named as camel crickets. When young, these crickets have a translucent body. They are usually two inches in size and are called cave crickets as they are mostly spotted in damp places like damp leaves, decayed logs, caves, and other such areas.
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When weather conditions are extreme, these crickets move to the cool and moist places like bathrooms, basements or crawl spaces.
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#3. Sand Treaders – The sand treaders are called so because they are found in dunes. They stay in the sand during the daytime to compensate the water loss and become active during the night. These crickets are pale in color, and their legs have firm bristles attached to them. These bristles help in digging sand. Using their limbs and antennae, the sand treaders find their food. They can be found in basements and caves.
#4. Ground Crickets – When compared to house crickets and field crickets, the ground crickets are smaller in size. Being less than 1/2 inch in size, they look quite small. These crickets are brown and have movable spines on the hind limbs. They produce a soft, but high-pitched sound found mostly in pastures and lawns.
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These types of crickets are highly active during the night and get extremely attracted towards lights.
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#5. Snowy Tree Cricket – These crickets can be spotted in shrubs, trees, weeds or high vegetation areas. Their chirping sound changes with the temperature. They lay eggs on the stems of fruits or stems of ornamental plants.
Interestingly, the chirping sound of these insects is mostly recorded to be used in movies, videos, etc. Snowy tree crickets are about 5/6 to 7/8 inch in size. They have a light yellow-green or white- green color. They have wide paddle-shaped wings that lay flat on the back. The front wings of female snowy tree crickets are narrow, and stay closely folded to the body.
House Cricket by Joseph Berger, Bugwood.org
#6. House Crickets – The house cricket is the most frequently found of all crickets. Usually, they are found in outdoor areas, such as dustbins or big garbage containers. However, these crickets try to come inside the house when temperature reduces outside. They can jump quite high, and even bite when they get annoyed due to some reason.
The house crickets generally feed on wool, silk, wool, nylon, and rayon. The adult house cricket is quite big, about 3/4 inch to 7/8 inch in length, and have a pale yellowish-brown color with dark bands on the top area of their head. Their antennae are even longer than their entire body. An antenna kind of structure can also be seen at the abdomen side. The female house crickets have an ovipositor that is used for laying eggs.
#7. Field Crickets – Field crickets are 1/2 to 11/4 inches in size. They have a plum body and are black. They also contain long slender antennae and big hind legs. There are many types of field crickets which differ in size to a great extent. The field crickets keep on chirping during the day and night.
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The female field cricket can lay almost 150-400 eggs at a time.
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#8. Mormon Crickets – Mormon crickets have taken their name from the Mormon area in Utah. These are a katydid species and have a type of shield which can be brown, red, black, green or purple. The Mormon crickets can be 3 inches in size and can travel for more than 2 km in a day.
They cover the distance during the swarming stage. The abdomen shows stripes. The ovipositor of female Mormon crickets looks like a stinger. During the swarming phase, the Mormon crickets are in colorful form. But otherwise, they have a single color. The female Mormon crickets lay eggs in the soil.
Jerusalem Cricket by Eugene E. Nelson, Bugwood.org
#9. Jerusalem Crickets – The Jerusalem cricket belongs to the western United States. It is flightless and is also known as potato bugs or old bald man. But do not mistake this cricket for feeding on potatoes as it does not like eating potatoes.
It is also worth mentioning that the Jerusalem crickets are not true crickets. These crickets produce sounds that are audible. They rub their hind legs against the abdomen area to create a heckling sound. It does not possess ears and senses through vibrations.
While we have described the most important species of crickets above, there are so many other species of crickets that are worth knowing about!***
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