What is field cricket singing about? Description of the insect and its lonely life

Field cricket is an insect known for chirping. Usually it can be found in the fields and on the sunny edges of forests. Cricket lives a very short but eventful life, full of constant search for food, a severe struggle with his own kindred and the search for the second half to continue the family, which make him publish sonorous trills. Sometimes he appears in the garden and even in the house.

General description of the species

Field cricket belongs to a large family of crickets, which are representatives of Orthoptera. The body length of this species is quite small - 17–23 cm, while the males are noticeably larger than the females. Insects have a dense body and a large head that stands out prominently. The color of the field cricket is predominantly black. Rare individuals of brown shades are rare. The lower part of the abdomen is often colored in a brown, almost red color. The whole body is enclosed in a chitinous shell.

These insects cannot fly, because the very small size of the front wings does not allow them. But they have three pairs of legs, providing rapid movement of the cricket on the ground and leaves of plants. But they jump badly. The sound apparatus is identical to that of grasshoppers, but has a more complex structure.
The jaws, which biologists call stings, are quite well developed and powerful, which allows crickets to eat a wide variety of foods. The antennae, which provide excellent sense of smell over long distances, help them a lot in their search. Other sensory organs are also well developed, so the cricket has excellent eyesight and touch.

The total life expectancy is up to 15 months, taking into account all stages of development and wintering, while the adult individual does not live very long - from 90 to 120 days.

The exception is crickets living in a tropical climate. There are centenarians aged 5–7 months.

Cricket's peculiarity - sonorous “singing”, more like chirping, occurs with the help of hard elytra. The insect rubs them against each other, making a characteristic sound. Cricket can sing for a very long time, and this process does not depend on the time of day. Sometimes "concerts" continue all night. But, barely noticing the danger, the cricket stops its trill, hastily hiding in its earthen hole.

Field cricket life

The habitat of this black cricket is quite large. Its representatives live mainly in Central and Southern Europe, in the north of the African continent, in West and Asia Minor. Field crickets love sunlight, so they choose warm fields, bright forests and their warm edges, wide glades for living.

The uniqueness of crickets lies in their constancy regarding the choice of a place to stay. This is the only one of all insects that lives in the nest he built all his adult life, albeit a very short one. For this, a field cricket pulls out minks in the soil, reaching a length of 10 to 20 cm. The diameter of the underground dwelling is about 1 cmIt becomes the only shelter and protection for the insect, so individuals never move far from the burrow dug by them. At the same time, crickets are very shy, and quickly hide underground under any alarm. This can be explained by the abundance of enemies: a variety of birds, lizards and even small mammals.

A separate place in the life of field crickets is occupied by fights with their relatives. These are very aggressive insects that protect their territory to the last, and fights often end in the death of one of the participants. During the fight, the cricket actively launches its main weapon - powerful jaws, biting the enemy. The loss of mustaches and paws during such a confrontation is not uncommon. At the same time, crickets collide their foreheads like bulls, sharply jump on the enemy, beat him with limbs. The defeated individual usually becomes the winner's dinner.

Food

Crickets are truly omnivorous, although they prefer foods of plant origin. They feed on almost everything that can be found: in the stage of larvae and adults, the insect eats the ground part of plants and even roots. Adults do not mind eating other insects that they can defeat. Cannibalism thrives among crickets: they not only eat the weaker representatives of their species, but also destroy the egg laying made by females.

Breeding

Field cricket prefers a lonely lifestyle. Each adult has its own territory, which protects from other relatives. “Cohabitation” is possible only if the owner of the plot is a male: he allows several females to join him.

Cricket uses her acoustic communication skills to attract females. After reaching maturity, males receive the ability to emit special signals. They fulfill three roles: to draw attention to themselves from females from neighboring territories, a sign of attention to her during the courtship, and a warning with a threat to other males living nearby.

When the breeding time comes, the male continues to sit near his hole. Rubbing with small wings, he begins to chatter, which serves as a signal for females. Even if the field cricket is without the second half, it does not leave the territory near its hole. If the meeting took place, then soon the female makes a clutch in which there are about 30 eggs. In total for her life, she can postpone about 500.

The laying process itself occurs with the help of a special organ characteristic of arthropods - the ovipositor. A cricket sticks it into the soil. After 14-30 days, larvae appear. Their appearance is already vaguely reminiscent of an adult insect. At the same time, for the first time, the larvae from the masonry try to stay close to each other. The cricket's desire for life in the status of a loner makes itself felt only after three links. The pupal phase of these insects is absent.

Closer to the colds, young crickets creep to the sides, starting to prepare their own hole to winter. They will now only reach the surface in spring, when the surface of the earth is warmed up by the sun's rays, and the air temperature becomes at least 4 ° C. After this, another molting begins, at the end of which the individual becomes adult and ready for reproduction.

The appearance of cricket on the site - the benefit or harm?

Cricket in the garden is dangerous for its omnivorousness. On the one hand, it can be beneficial, as it feeds on other insect pests. But on the other hand, the harm from his eating of crops is much greater, because field cricket in its diet gives preference to plant foods. As a result, he gnaws at almost all planted plants, ranging from tender seedlings to potatoes.

Other members of the family - stem crickets, which are also called "trumpeters" cause great damage to planting grapes.

Ways to get rid of crickets

If crickets have chosen a garden and harm plants on it, you need to start a fight with them. The natural enemies of insects are birds and snakes that destroy adults and even larvae. Therefore, it is possible to place food on the feeding area and regularly pour food for birds in them.

In order to prevent each spring and autumn, the earth needs to be dug up, destroying cricket larvae. It is also necessary to remove all construction and household waste that can be used by insects as a shelter for the winter.

If crickets pose a great threat to the future crop, then you can resort to special insecticidal preparations:

1. For spraying the soil, solutions of Karbofos (about 5 g of the product per 5 liters of water) or Decis (3 ml per 10 l) are suitable. It is easy to process the beds with a garden spray gun. It is important that a person observes safety precautions. A respirator will help prevent the ingress of potent substances into the respiratory tract. These drugs have moderate toxicity, but can still cause poisoning.
2. Ecologically safe preparation of biological action "Nemabakt". It is diluted in water in accordance with the concentration specified in the instructions. The best time to make is early morning or late evening, when the sun has almost disappeared over the horizon. Additional benefit will bring rain or watering, ensuring the penetration of the product into the soil.
3. Anthem-F is another biological product effective against crickets.
4. The bait "Delicia" with an attractive smell for insects and toxic substances in the composition destroys many pests, including crickets. It can also be used indoors. But you need to be careful of those on whose sites children and pets walk.

When using chemicals, the death of field crickets occurs in 1–5 days. But the disadvantages of this method of combating insects is the possible harm to humans and the accumulation of toxic substances in vegetables or fruits. Therefore, processing can not be carried out more than 2 times per season, and no later than 2 weeks before harvesting. Exact restrictions depend on the degree of toxicity and composition of each drug and are indicated in the instructions for use for it. Biological preparations act more slowly - crickets disappear within a month. But they are completely safe for human health and the environment.

Field cricket is an inconspicuous insect that gives itself away with its chirping trills. In the wild, it is in a harmonious balance with the natural environment, but when it appears in the garden, it feeds on plantings.