Cricket (insect)
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? Gryllidae |
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 An Australian Brown Field Cricket
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Crickets, family Gryllidae (also known as "true crickets"), are insects related to grasshoppers and katydids (order Orthoptera). They have somewhat flattened bodies and long antennae.
Crickets are known for their chirp (which only male crickets can do; male wings have ridges that act like a "comb and file" instrument). They chirp by rubbing their wings or legs over each other, and the song is species-specific. There are two types of cricket songs: a calling song and a courting song. The calling song attracts females and repels other males, and is fairly loud. The courting song is used when a female cricket is near, and is a very quiet song. Female crickets have a long needlelike egg-laying organ ( ovipositor).
Crickets chirp at different rates depending both on their species and the temperature of their environment. Most species chirp at higher rates the higher the temperature is (approx. 60 chirps a minute at 13ºC).
There are about 900 known species of crickets, worldwide. The cricket tends to be nocturnal and is often confused with grasshoppers (which are related, but not the same), because they have a similar body structure including jumping hind legs.
In 1970, Dr. William H. Cade discovered that the parasitic fly Ormia ochracea is attracted to the song of the male cricket, and uses it to locate the male in order to deposit her young on him. It was the first example of a natural enemy that locates its host or prey using the mating signal. Since then, many species of crickets have been found to be carrying the same parasitic fly.
Crickets are popular pets and considered good luck in Asia, especially China. It is also common to have them as pets in appropriate cages in some European countries, at least in the Iberian Peninsula. Cricket fighting as a blood sport has also been popular, particularly in Macao.
They may be eaten in some cultures and are popular as live food for carnivourous pets.
Taxonomy
Subfamilies of the family Gryllidae:
- Acheta domesticus — House crickets
- Eneopterinae — Bush crickets
- Gryllinae — Common or field crickets; brown or black; despite the name, some of them enter houses.
- Mogoplistinae — Scaly crickets
- Myrmecophilinae — Ant crickets
- Nemobiinae — Ground crickets
- Oecanthinae — Tree crickets; usually green with broad, transparent wings; frequent trees and shrubs.
- Pentacentrinae — Anomalous crickets
- Trigonidiinae — Sword-tail crickets
In addition to the above subfamilies in the family Gryllidae, several other orthopteran groups outside of this family also may be called "crickets":
- Mole crickets
- Katydids
- Cave Crickets (also called camel crickets)
- Sand crickets
- Mormon crickets
- Weta crickets
- Jerusalem crickets
- Parktown prawns