Crickets!
Scientific Name: Gryllus rubens
Common Name: Cricket
At the end of summer, you can't help but notice crickets. When you go outside at night, you'll hear them. Almost everyone knows what a cricket sounds like, right? Just in case, we've got a cricket call right here:
The most common cricket that we see in Minnesota is the Field Cricket. It has a shiny, black body that ranges in size from 1/4 to 3/4 inch in length. Crickets have long antennae. They also have wings that they keep folded over the side of their body. Female crickets have long, spear-shaped ovipositers that they use to lay eggs.
Crickets belong to the order Orthoptera. The insects in this order all have big hind legs that let them jump. Ever tried to catch a cricket? They're pretty fast and can always be "one jump ahead of you."
Crickets are also nocturnal, meaning they sleep during the day and look for food and do cricket stuff at night. You'll usually hear them "singing" or chirping at night when they're out and about.
Why do crickets sing?
Only male crickets sing, and they sing to attract a female cricket for a mate. They make their chirping song by either rubbing their wings together, or rubbing a leg against a wing. The scientific term for cricket chirping is called "stridulation."
Each cricket species has its own unique chirp. Females hear the males through their "ears" that are on the front side of their foreleg. That's a pretty weird place for an ear. The "ear" is a small pit or depression in the leg that has a thin membrane stretched over it. The ear picks up the vibrations of the chirps and helps the females find the males.
Females lay their eggs one by one (not in groups) right in the dirt. The put them there through a long ovipositer on the rear end of their body. Eggs are usually laid in late summer and early fall and winter over in the dirt until they hatch in May and June. The baby crickets look just like adult crickets, except they're lots smaller.
What do crickets eat?
Crickets eat just about anything -- they're omnivorous. You'll find them in your garden eating rotten tomatoes and other debris. They'll even eat other insects, including each other. They can also get into your house and eat paper, clothes, or anything else they feel like eating. Sometimes they'll chew on something that's wet, just to get moisture. And once they're in your house, they'll wake you up in the middle of the night with their chirping songs.
What eats crickets?
Anything that is a meat eater and can catch a cricket will eat it. Frogs, toads, snakes, birds, and even mammals, like fox, skunk and raccoon will eat crickets. That's why they hide during the day and have evolved long legs that help them escape from predators.
Crickets make good thermometers
Did you know that you can tell the temperature by counting cricket chirps? Here's how you do it. Go outside at dusk or at night and find a chirping cricket -- don't get too close or it will stop chirping. Count the number of chirps it makes during a 15-second period. Then, add 40 to the number of chirps. The total will be pretty close to what the actual temperature is in Fahrenheit. Pretty cool, huh!
Crickets make good snacks
Did you know that lots of people around the world eat insects on purpose?! Many insects are very nutritious and a good source of protein. If you're brave enough you can try eating some. Here's a recipe for chocolate-covered crickets:
- 25 live adult crickets
- 4 squares of semi-sweet chocolate
Rinse the crickets, pat them dry and freeze them for half an hour until they're dead. Once they're dead, take them out of the freezer and pull off their legs and heads. Then, put them in an oven set at 250 degrees until they're crunchy (about 15 to 20 minutes). While the crickets are baking, melt the semi-sweet chocolate in a double-boiler (keeps it from burning). Once the crickets are done, dip them in the melted chocolate and put them on a sheet of wax paper so the chocolate can set. Then, once they've cooled off, invite your friends over for a treat!
If you want to know about more edible insects and recipes for them, check out these Web sites:
Crickets make good pets
Crickets make interesting pets. For centuries, people have kept crickets as pets, sometimes believing that a cricket in the house would bring good luck. Lots of people keep crickets so they can feed them to their other pets -- especially reptiles.
If you want to keep crickets as pets, make sure you have a good cage that they can't get out of, or they'll become a pest in your house.
Feed your crickets bran and lettuce. The bran gives them all the nutrients they need and the lettuce gives them the moisture they need. Make sure you clean out their cage regularly, or it will start to stink really bad. Crickets will eat just about anything so it isn't hard to feed them. They really like to hide, so put stuff in their cage that they can crawl under.
If you want to learn more about keeping crickets as pets, check out these Web sites:
Now that you know lots of stuff about crickets, you'll know that the funny chirping sound you hear at night is just some crickets stridulating.
Special thanks to Bob Suchanek of the MPCA for recording the stridulating cricket.
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