Oecanthus capensis

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Cape thermometer cricket
Oecanthus capensis 187038024.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Suborder: Ensifera
Family: Gryllidae
Genus: Oecanthus
Species:
O. capensis
Binomial name
Oecanthus capensis
Saussure, 1878 [1]

Oecanthus capensis, the Cape thermometer cricket, is a species of tree cricket (Subfamily Oecanthinae). [2] It has been found that the rate at which these crickets chirp follows Dolbear's law. [3]

Contents

Description

Similar to Oecanthus pellucens, but a little smaller; the wings shorter, elytra of the female slightly stronger, male elytra shorter. The female's ovipositor is nearly the length of elytra. [1]

Range

Southern, eastern and central South Africa. [4] [2]

Habitat

Ecology

Etymology

Cape; capensis - after the Cape of Good Hope.
Thermometer cricket - The rate at which these crickets chirp can be used to the estimate the temperature. [3]

Taxonomy

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<i>Oecanthus fultoni</i> Species of cricket

Oecanthus fultoni, also known as the snowy tree cricket, or thermometer cricket, is a species of tree cricket from North America. It feeds on leaves but also damages fruit. The chirp of this species is often dubbed onto sound tracks of films and television shows to depict a quiet summer's night. The rate of chirp varies depending on the heat of the environment, allowing a listener to estimate the temperature.

<i>Gryllus assimilis</i> Species of cricket native to the Western Hemisphere

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Oecanthus argentinus, the prairie tree cricket, is a species of tree cricket in the family Gryllidae. It is found in North America and South America.

<i>Oecanthus niveus</i> Species of cricket

Oecanthus niveus, known generally as the narrow-winged tree cricket or snowy tree cricket, is a species of tree cricket in the family Gryllidae, which includes all crickets. First noted by Swedish Entomologist Charles de Geer in 1773 by a Pennsylvanian Specimen, it is found primarily in Eastern North America south of Canada, and also in the Caribbean.

References

  1. 1 2 de Saussure, H. (1878). "Mélanges orthoptérologiques. VI. fascicule Gryllides". Mémoires de la Société de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle de Genève. 25: 456.
  2. 1 2 "Oecanthus capensis Cape Thermometer Cricket". iNaturalist. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  3. 1 2 Toms, R.B. (1992). "Effects of temperature on chirp rates of tree crickets (Orthoptera: Oecanthidae)". South African Journal of Zoology. 27 (2): 70–73. doi:10.1080/02541858.1992.11448264 . Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  4. GBIF Secretariat. "Oecanthus capensis Saussure, 1878". GBIF. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 10 April 2022.