| Tree cricket | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Snowy tree cricket, Oecanthus fultoni | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Orthoptera |
| Suborder: | Ensifera |
| Family: | Gryllidae |
| Subfamily: | Oecanthinae Kirby, 1906 |
| Tribes | |
Tree crickets are insects of the order Orthoptera. These crickets are in the subfamily Oecanthinae of the family Gryllidae. [1]
Tree crickets as well as most other crickets have two pairs of wings. The fore wings are located closer to the head and are hard and leathery in appearance. The hind wings are located aft of the fore wings and are the wings it uses for flight. When the cricket is not in flight the fore wings fold back to cover the hind wings. The bodies of tree crickets are long and skinny with a coloration that matches their habitat. They have large powerful legs used for jumping. Their heads contain two antennae which can sense both touch and odor and compound eyes which are inherent in all Orthoptera. [2]
They live in trees and shrubs, for which they are well camouflaged. These crickets are nocturnal and can be found on every continent except Antarctica.
In Europe, tree crickets have been expanding northwards and had reached the island of Jersey in the Channel Islands by 2010. In August 2015, the first population was found in mainland England at Dungeness in Kent, where hundreds of males were present. [3]
Three tribes, containing about 25 genera, have been identified in the subfamily Oecanthinae: [1]
Auth.: Blanchard, 1845
Auth.: Gorochov, 1986 – Central & South America; Java
Auth.: Vickery & Kevan, 1983
Like other species of cricket they produce their calling song by rubbing the ridges of their wings together. The chirp (or trill) of a tree cricket is long and continuous and can sometimes be mistaken for the call of a cicada or certain species of frogs. While male tree crickets have the ability to call, females lack the ability. [4] This call is then received by other tree crickets in the area through a system called sender-receiver matching. For example, a male tree cricket will produce a mating call at a specific range of frequencies. This allows females to be able to pick out the males mating call without becoming distracted or confused by other calls from other species of insects. This range of frequencies is called a carrier frequency. Tree crickets are unique in the way they use carrier frequencies because the range of frequencies changes according to the temperature. Due to this, female tree crickets have tympanum (hearing organs) that can receive a much wider range of frequencies than most other insects. [5] Female tree crickets seem to prefer calls at the lower range of frequencies indicating the presence of a large male. This preference for larger males could be because larger males produce a greater amount of sperm thus increasing the females chances of offspring. Some male tree crickets produce a sound that is too quiet to be audible; they amplify their mating call by making a "megaphone" type structure from tree leaves. [6]
Tree crickets are omnivorous, and are known to feed on plant parts, other insects such as Sternorrhyncha, and even fungi. [7]
Tree crickets exhibit a behavior called courtship feeding. Shortly after copulation the male tree cricket secretes a fluid from the metanotal gland located between its wings in the thoracic cavity. This fluid provides the female with nutrients that help to increase the chances of reproduction. Female tree crickets have even been known to steal this fluid from a mating pair during copulation or finish consuming the fluid if the first female dismounts and leaves. After mating a male cannot mate again until after 30 to 60 min allowing the production of another spermatophere. [4] Eggs are laid in the fall, in a series of small holes drilled into the bark. [8] After remaining dormant for the winter, the eggs hatch in the spring and the young tree crickets begin feeding on aphids. They may go through as many as twelve molts before reaching maturity around mid summer.
The snowy tree cricket ( Oecanthus fultoni ) is known for having a chirping rate highly correlated with ambient temperature. This relationship is known as Dolbear's Law.
Anostostomatidae is a family of insects in the order Orthoptera, widely distributed in the southern hemisphere. It is named Mimnermidae or Henicidae in some taxonomies, and common names include king crickets in Australia and South Africa, and wētā in New Zealand. Prominent members include the Parktown prawn of South Africa, and the giant wētā of New Zealand. The distribution of this family reflects a common ancestry before the fragmenting of Gondwana.
Gryllinae, or field crickets, are a subfamily of insects in the order Orthoptera and the family Gryllidae.
Trigonidiinae is a subfamily of insects in the order Orthoptera, suborder Ensifera, based on the type genus Trigonidium. They are often referred to as sword-tail crickets, winged bush crickets or trigs.
Platygryllus is a genus of crickets in the subfamily Gryllinae. Records of species distribution include Africa, southern Europe and in Asia: India, Java and the Philippines.
Phalangopsinae, occasionally known as spider crickets, are a subfamily of crickets in the family Phalangopsidae. Members of Phalangopsinae are found worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions. Most species in the subfamily are nocturnal and can be found in rocky areas, near fallen wood, and the understory of forests. Some species are gregarious, gathering in large numbers.
Oecanthus pellucens, common name Italian tree cricket, is a species of tree crickets belonging to the family Gryllidae, subfamily Oecanthinae.
The Eneopterinae are a subfamily of crickets, in the family Gryllidae, based on the type genus Eneoptera. It is one of several groups widely described as "true crickets". Of the more than 500 species that make up this subfamily, most occur in moist, tropical habitats. These insects are medium to large and brown or gray in color. They eat plant leaves, flowers, and fruits and can occasionally cause economic damage. Their eggs are deposited in pith, bark, or wood. Eneopterinae show a great diversity in stridulatory apparatus, signals emitted, and associated behaviour.
Nemobiinae is a subfamily of the newly constituted Trigonidiidae, one of the cricket families. The type genus is Nemobius, which includes the wood cricket, but members of this subfamily may also be known as ground crickets or "pygmy field crickets".
Hygronemobius is a genus of insect in family Gryllidae.
Gymnogryllus is a genus of crickets in family Gryllidae and tribe Gryllini. Species are recorded from Africa, Asia and Australia.
Homoeogryllus is a genus of cricket in the subfamily Cachoplistinae and tribe Homoeogryllini. The recorded distribution is: Africa and Peninsular Malaysia.
Hapithinae is a subfamily of insects in the cricket family Gryllidae. It is one of several groups referred to in American English as "bush crickets", although this term can be confused with the Tettigoniidae.
Podoscirtinae is a subfamily of crickets in the family Gryllidae.
The Gryllotalpoidea are a superfamily of insects that includes the mole crickets and the ant crickets. The type genus is Gryllotalpa.
The Phalangopsidae are a recently reconstituted family of crickets, based on the type genus PhalangopsisServille, 1831 from South America. Priority for family-group names based on this genus dates from Blanchard's "Phalangopsites".
The Phaloriinae is a subfamily of crickets of the family Phalangopsidae. Species are terrestrial and are distributed in: Africa, tropical Asia, Korea, Australia and the Pacific Islands.
The Landrevinae are a subfamily of crickets, in the family Gryllidae, based on the type genus Landreva. They are terrestrial, omnivorous and may be known as "bark crickets"; genera are distributed in: Central and South America, Africa, tropical Asia, Korea, Japan, Australia and the Pacific Islands.
Aphonomorphini is a tribe of crickets in the subfamily Hapithinae. There are about 6 genera and more than 90 described species in Aphonomorphini.
Xabea is a genus of crickets in the subfamily Oecanthinae and tribe Xabeini. Species can be found in Southeast Asia and Australia.
Luzarinaeis a subfamily of crickets in the family Phalangopsidae.