Cricket fact sheet | Field of Mars EEC

What are crickets?

Crickets are insects in the order Orthoptera. True crickets belong to the family Gryllidae. They have six legs, long thread-like antennae, chewing mouthparts, strong hind legs for jumping and a pair of cerci at the end of the abdomen. Female crickets usually have a long ovipositor for laying eggs. Male crickets make their chirping sound by rubbing their forewings together, and crickets hear with a tympanum on each front leg just below the “knee”.

A cricket.

Where do crickets live?

Many crickets hide during the day and become active at night. They usually shelter on the ground in leaf litter, among low vegetation, under logs and stones, or in soil cracks. Black field crickets (Teleogryllus commodus) live in urban areas, forests and heath, so at Field of Mars they are most likely to be found in leaf litter, ground cover and other sheltered places near the soil surface.

Black field crickets often shelter close to the ground in leaf litter, low plants and soil cracks.

What do crickets eat?

Crickets have chewing mouthparts. Many are scavengers that feed on living or decaying plant material, fungi and other organic matter. Black field crickets feed at night and eat decaying plant material and insect remains.

Crickets feed at night on plant material and other organic matter.

What is the life cycle of a cricket?

Crickets go through incomplete metamorphosis. They begin as eggs, hatch into wingless nymphs, then moult several times before becoming adults. Nymphs look like small adults but do not yet have fully developed wings. Female crickets lay eggs in soil or other suitable material, and black field crickets may lay up to about 2,000 eggs in their short adult life.

A young cricket, called a nymph, looks like a small wingless adult.

What adaptations do crickets have to help them survive?

Crickets have several adaptations that help them survive. Their long antennae help them sense their surroundings. Their large hind legs help them jump away from danger. Male crickets use sound to attract mates, and their tympana on the front legs help them detect calls and vibrations. Females use a long ovipositor to place eggs in suitable spots. Many also hide under logs, stones, leaf litter or in soil cracks during the day. Mole crickets also have shovel-shaped front legs for digging.

Female crickets use a long ovipositor to place eggs in suitable places. Mole crickets have broad front legs adapted for digging through soil.

Why are crickets important?

Crickets help recycle organic matter because many species feed on dead plant material and other organic matter. They are also an important part of bushland and garden ecosystems and are a familiar sound on warm evenings in Australia.

Crickets help recycle organic matter and are food for other animals.

How can you help crickets?

A sensible way to help crickets is to protect the places where they shelter. Leave some leaf litter, logs, rocks, native grasses and low plants in gardens or school grounds. Avoid unnecessary pesticide use and try not to disturb all the ground cover at once, because many crickets hide in these places during the day. Crickets need leaf litter, logs, rocks, native grasses and low plants for shelter and protection.

Crickets need shelter such as leaf litter, logs, rocks and low plants.

Related fact sheets

More invertebrate fact sheets

• Invertebrate fact sheets – overview
• Insects fact sheet  – crickets are insects with the same basic insect body plan.
• Mole crickets fact sheet – another cricket-related insect with digging adaptations
• Cicada fact sheet – another Australian insect well known for its sound.
• Praying mantid fact sheet – a predator that may hunt other invertebrates such as crickets.

Habitats and ecosystems

• Leaf litter habitats fact sheet – shows one of the main places ground-dwelling crickets shelter.

• Rock and log habitats fact sheet – explains why logs, rocks and damp hiding places matter.

• Ground cover habitats fact sheet – shows how grasses and low plants support small animals.

• Eucalypt forest fact sheet– explains the local bushland context.

• Field of Mars Reserve fact sheet – explains the local reserve and habitat diversity.

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