20 Interesting Facts About Crickets

1. Crickets are medium to large-sized insects closely related to bush crickets (katydids), grasshoppers, and locusts. They are famous for their extraordinary leaps and chirping sounds by males.
2. There are nearly 2,400 species of crickets in various families. Common types include house crickets, field crickets, ground crickets, tree crickets, etc.
3. Various cricket types are distinguishable through their colors. The body color is generally black in field crickets, brown in house crickets, and green with transparent wings in tree crickets.
4. People usually consider field and house crickets a nuisance due to their continuous annoying sound. These insects can also enter homes and may eat clothes of various materials (cotton, wool, silk, etc.).
5. Spider (or camel) crickets can jump up to 60 times their body length using their six legs and two antennas. Like an aircraft, they land on their strong hind legs, which allow them to jump again immediately. However, they can only jump smoothly when leaping straight forward. Crickets can lose limbs with bad landings if they jump on sides or backward. (Source)
6. Male crickets chirp by rubbing their wings, and this process accelerates in summer. According to Dolbear’s law, it is possible to calculate temperature in Fahrenheit (F) by counting the number of a cricket’s chirp in 15 seconds and then adding 40. (Source)
7. Crickets can start cannibalism in the absence of vital nutrients in their diet. This phenomenon was observed in Mormon crickets of North Africa as they initiated cannibalism to replenish salt and protein. These crickets reduced cannibalism after the fulfillment of these nutrients. (Source) 

   

   Mormon crickets can start cannibalism in the absence of nutrients

   
   
8. Crickets can survive in most environments where they get food, space, and shelter. Their habitats include fields, forests, grasslands, marshes, bushes, trees, caves, underground, and beaches.
9. Crickets are generally nocturnal, which is an apparent difference from diurnal grasshoppers. Crickets usually hide in a dark and moist place during the day to rest and avoid predators.
10. The most common reason for male chirping is to attract female crickets through a loud sound. They also produce a soft chirp to court a female, an aggressive chirp to warn other males, and an alarming chirp after sensing any danger.
11. People in the Far East and the Mediterranean Region have been keeping crickets as pets for thousands of years. Night-singing crickets can inform about intruders as they stop singing in the presence of other noise. (Source)
12. An indoor cricket farm in Texas (USA) raises 22 million crickets monthly. The ratio of feed per pound (feed conversion rate or FCR) in these insects is only 1.5. Comparatively, the FCR is 4.5 for chicken, 7.3 for pork, and 20 for beef. (Source)
13. There are several countries where people consume crickets as food. These countries are present in Asia, Africa, Europe, North America (USA and Mexico), South America (Brazil and Colombia), and Oceania (New Zealand and Papua New Guinea). (Source)
14. Crickets hear through tiny and sensitive “eardrums.” This structure is present behind the knees on their front legs.
15. Studies have proved crickets can lose their chirping through modification to avoid predators. Two species on different Hawaiian Islands have adapted their wings and lost chirping after only 20 generations for protection against a parasitic fly. The chirping of male field crickets was attracting this deadly fly, which forced these crickets to stop chirping by changing the structure of their wings. (Source)
16. Tree crickets are beneficial for plants as they eat aphids. However, females of many species can damage plants by injecting eggs deep into plants (or soil) using their long ovipositors.
17. Many cricket species have wings, enabling them to fly. However, they use jumping as their primary mode of locomotion. Some species have small feathers and cannot fly.
18. Female crickets can mate several times with the same or different males. A study has proved that females who mate multiple times get direct reproductive benefits. However, their mating with several partners does not provide additional genetic benefits. (Source)
19. New research proves that crickets follow the social structure of their older generations without learning anything from their parents. They follow their instinct for mating and fighting behavior without meeting older generations. (Source)
20. According to a study, crickets change their aggressive behavior in the presence of other male and female crickets. They fight violently and show more jubilation after knowing about the existence of audiences. These are the first known invertebrates to possess this trait. (Source)