Field
Crickets are the crickets everyone sees and hears in late Summer
and Fall. They grow up to an inch long, and are black and brown.
They have large hind legs and two cerci (spiky things coming out of
the back of their abdomens).
Female Field
Crickets also have an ovipositor. An ovipositor is the longer spiky
thing (about 3/4 inch) coming from the abdomen between the
cerci.
Field
Crickets live mostly in fields and forest edges.
Field
Cricket eggs hatch in the Spring, usually May. Young crickets are
called nymphs. Nymphs eat a lot and grow quickly. They will molt
(shed their outer skin) eight or more times as they grow up. With
each molt, the nymphs look more and more like an adult. Young
nymphs basically look like a cricket with no wings.
Field
Crickets eat plant material, especially seeds, small fruits, and
living and dead insects. If they are really hungry, they will even
eat each other!
Once Field
Crickets are fully grown (about a month and a half after they are
born) they will look for a mate. Male crickets "sing and dance" to
attract females. The "song" is made by rubbing the front wings
together. Females hear the song through tympanum (eardrums) on
their front legs. Once a female approaches a male, he will do a
move back and forth in a sort of courtship "dance."
After mating,
female Field Crickets look for some damp soil to lay eggs. They
inject their ovipositors, like a needle, deep into the soil. She
will lay about 50 eggs at a time through her ovipositor. One female
can lay over 400 eggs in her short life.
Field
Crickets do not survive over the winter. Any adult crickets or
nymphs will die when cold weather arrives. Eggs, however,
overwinter. They will survive and hatch the following
Spring.
Field
Crickets are most active at night. The songs of many males can be
heard on Summer and Fall evenings. The song is usually a high trill
played in threes.
