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Crickets
Latin Name: Ceuthophilus spp. is the most common group in North America
Common Name: Camel cricket
Other Names: Cave crickets
Pest Details
Origin:
Many species are native to North America.
Biology:
Camel crickets are commonly found in natural settings and landscape under boards, logs, or rocks on the soil. They are nocturnal and only seen when disturbed, and generally occur in such low numbers that they cause no damage and do not require eradication. Occasionally one or two may find their way indoors and due to a nuisance factor can be removed with a vacuum. Some larger species have been found occupying darkened, damp crawl spaces, where again they cause no problems. They feed on plant materials, but may chew on paper inside a structure out of desperation to find food.
Identification:
These crickets range in size from less than 1 inch in length to some very large species with body lengths over 2 inches. They
Latin Name: Gryllus spp.
Common Name: Field Crickets
Latin Family Name: Gryllidae
Other Names: There may be as many as 25 species in this genus in North America. Often the name Gryllus assimilis is used for all field crickets.
Pest Details
Origin:
These crickets are native to North America, and well as throughout Central America and into South America.
Biology:
These are outdoor insects, but they commonly enter structures to escape weather extremes or to seek hiding places following nocturnal activity. Like the House Cricket they have been known to damage fabrics, paper, leather, furs or other materials indoors, and outdoors they can cause tremendous destruction to landscape or agricultural plants. These crickets are subject to huge population surges, and may suddenly be extremely abundant almost overnight. Weather conditions appear to be one factor that influences this. Depending on the species, either
Latin Name: Acheta domestica
Common Name: House Crickets
Latin Family Name: Gryllidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Apparently native to Europe, but introduced to North America in the 18th Century.
Biology:
These crickets are found outdoors as commonly as indoors, and are sold in stores for pet food, fish food, or live bait for fishing. They are a nuisance indoors due to their habit of chewing on fabrics, often chewing large holes in clothing. They attack all types of material, and often it is synthetic fabrics that are most damaged, although cotton, wool, and silk are attacked as well. They also may feed on food materials such as baked goods, as well as chewing on paper products. They even feed on other insects, dead or alive. Females appear to be prolific, producing an average of 730 eggs. In outdoor environments they may place them in the soil, and in structures may place them in
Latin Name: Stenopelmatus
Common Name: Jerusalem Crickets
Latin Family Name: Stenopelmatidae
Other Names: Potato bug, earth baby, child of the Earth, child of the desert, stone cricket
Pest Details
Origin:
Several species of these native insects occur in North America, and in recent years the group was more carefully studied to reveal the number of species. These are most common in the western U.S.
Biology:
Jerusalem crickets are potentially huge insects that feed on vegetables and root crops, but primarily are predatory on other insects. Females are even known to kill and eat a male following copulation. They have huge, strong jaws which they use for digging, allowing them to burrow under rocks or bury themselves in holes in the soil. These are nocturnal insects, they are wingless, and with their large size and active movement they cause fear among people who stumble upon them. They are capable of biting but otherwise
Latin Name: Anabrus simplex
Common Name: Mormon Cricket
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to western North America.
Biology:
Despite being called a cricket this destructive insect is actually a form of a katydid. It is native throughout western North America in sagebrush areas, rangelands, and grasslands, and is subject to population outbreaks that cause result in serious agricultural losses. Up to 100 large adults per square meter may be seen. Adults are wingless and cannot fly, but during swarming periods may travel up to 1.5 miles per day, crossing highways in such numbers that they become a hazard to vehicles. Most eggs in the soil will hatch when soil temperatures reach 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and nymphs pass through 7 instars to become adults in 60-90 days. Mating occurs and females push their ovipositor into the soil to deposit up to 100 eggs.
Identification:
Adults are very large insects, up
Latin Name: Gryllotalpa hexadactyla
Common Name: Northern mole cricket
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Appears to be native to North and South America
Biology:
The northern mole cricket is the most widespread mole cricket in North America, found from Canada throughout the eastern U.S. and all the way to southern South America. They are an extremely destructive mole cricket in landscape turf, where they spend nearly all their time within the soil digging tunnels and feeding on the roots of turf and landscape plants. They are able to fly and will be attracted to lights at night. Eggs are deposited in a chamber in the soil, and begin hatching in late spring. A life cycle is completed in about 1 year.
Identification:
Mole crickets are so named not only because of their burrowing, subterranean existence, but also because of the widely expanded front legs and claws that are used for digging. They are
Latin Name: Scapteriscus vicinus
Common Name: Tawny mole cricket
Other Names: Puerto Rican mole cricket
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to Puerto Rico and the West Indies, but now found commonly in the southeastern United States.
Biology:
The tawny mole cricket is a common species in the southeastern U.S. It is an extremely destructive mole cricket in landscape turf, where they spend nearly all their time within the soil digging tunnels and feeding on the roots of turf and landscape plants. Dry soils may be preferred. They are able to fly and will be attracted to lights at night. Eggs are deposited in a chamber in the soil, and begin hatching in late spring. A life cycle is completed in about 1 year.
Identification:
Mole crickets are so named not only because of their burrowing, subterranean existence, but also because of the widely expanded front legs and claws that are used for digging. They are about