Spring field cricket
The spring field cricket, belonging to the Gryllidae family, is a small insect primarily found in grassy habitats across North and South America. Named for its active presence from May to July, this cricket thrives in tall grass fields where it can find shelter under logs and stones, as well as burrow into the soil for protection. Typically around one inch long, its body is dark and shiny with light-brown wings that are not used for flight. The life cycle begins when the cricket hatches from eggs in the soil as a larva, progressing through several molts before becoming an adult.
Mating occurs in late spring, marked by the male's distinctive calling sound, which serves to attract females. After mating, females lay eggs in the soil using an ovipositor. The lifespan of the spring field cricket is generally about one year, culminating shortly after the mating season. Its close resemblance to the fall field cricket, which appears later in the year, adds to the intrigue of this seasonal insect. Observing the spring field cricket not only highlights the beauty of nature but also signals the transition from spring to summer.
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Spring field cricket
The spring field cricket gets its name from the fact that it is found, and heard, mostly in May through July throughout fields and other grassy habitats of North and South America.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Family: Gryllidae
Genus: Gryllus
Species: Veletis
The spring field cricket is found in North and South America. It typically inhabits fields of tall grass where it can hide under logs and stones. The spring field cricket also burrows into the soil for protection and to lay its eggs. This cricket is often found in the weeds and grasses around houses.
The spring field cricket is extremely similar in size, shape, and genetic makeup to the fall field cricket, or Gryllus pennsylvanicus. Though they inhabit the same general area, the spring cricket is most prevalent in the spring and dies before the fall field cricket population grows.
As a full-grown adult, the spring field cricket grows to be about one inch (2 1/2 centimeters) long. Like other insects, its body is divided into the three main parts of head, thorax, and abdomen. The head and thorax, or middle section, of the spring field cricket are shiny and black or brown. The abdomen, or tail section, of this insect is not as easily seen. It is covered with thin, veiny, flightless, light-brown wings.
The body of the spring field cricket is mostly rectangular and flat with a rounded head and a pair of antennae reaching forward from the front of its head. The spring field cricket has six jointed legs extending from its thorax. Like other crickets and grasshoppers, the spring field cricket's hind legs are larger and more defined than its other four legs.
The spring field cricket, like many crickets, begins its life under the soil. It hatches in the early summer as a young worm-like larva and molts, or sheds, its skin immediately after hatching. After this first molting it looks like a tiny copy of its parents. This nymph, or young spring field cricket, spends the first summer of its life crawling along the ground under logs and stones in grassy fields. As it moves through the warm, grassy fields the nymph feeds on the leaves, stems, and roots of many plants. When the nymph matures into an adult spring field cricket it also feeds on some smaller insects. As the summer passes, the nymph molts and grows. After seven or eight molts the nymph burrows into the soil for its hibernation, or winter sleep.
When the warmer weather of spring arrives, the nymph comes back out of the soil, molts two or three more times and finally transforms into a full-grown spring field cricket.
After the hibernation and transformation into an adult spring field cricket, it is time for this creature to mate. Mating season generally takes place from May to July. The process begins with the male spring field cricket attempting to attract a mate. He does this by rubbing the veins of his forewings across one another to make a calling sound. This sound increases by echoing in the space between the cricket's wings and the ground. The sound of the male spring field cricket's calling to his mate is a common sign of the end of spring and the beginning of summer.
Eventually, the female responds to the male's call, and the two mate. After mating, the male spring field cricket stops making his calling sounds. The female then begins to lay her eggs. She deposits each of her eggs individually into the soil with the help of her ovipositor, or egg-laying appendage. The eggs develop for a few weeks before hatching into spring field cricket larvae.
The spring field cricket generally dies just a few months after mating. Its life span, including hibernation, is about one year.
Bibliography
“Field Cricket.” PermaTreat Pest & Termite Control, 12 Dec. 2017, permatreat.com/bugs/field-cricket/. Accessed 6 May 2024.
“Field Crickets.” Oklahoma State University, 26 Apr. 2021, extension.okstate.edu/programs/digital-diagnostics/insects-and-arthropods/field-crickets-gryllus-sp/. Accessed 6 May 2024.
“Gryllus Veletis.” Animalia, animalia.bio/gryllus-veletis?environment=249. Accessed 6 May 2024.