House cricket. House cricket (house cricket). What does a cricket look like, photo

They say that in the house where a cricket lives, happiness, prosperity and prosperity reign. At first, his singing seems pleasant, but after 3-4 days the loud chirping becomes intrusive and irritable. It is at this moment that the main question for all households becomes how to get rid of crickets in the house safely and effectively. If an uninvited guest has settled in your house, you need to make sure that it is a cricket and not a grasshopper. After all, they are very similar. But for all their similarities, they bring different troubles to the house. Let's find out what a cricket looks like and what folk and traditional means of expelling it from the house exist.

Insects in a house or apartment: types and their general description

Crickets are classified as orthopteran insects and are often confused with grasshoppers. The reason for the confusion is the crackling sound that both species of Orthoptera make, the body shape and similar external characteristics.

There are several species of real crickets, but not all of them are able to live next to a person in his house. The following types of crickets from the order Orthoptera can live in your apartment or cottage:

Both types of insects on human territory will not be noticeable in daytime. Their time is late evening and early morning. At this time, they go out without fear open areas and sing their songs. A cricket that has taken up residence in a house has a massive body for its size, ending in two strong and flexible threads. The body is covered with small elytra that protect the wings, which fold along the body. The latter protrude strongly from under the elytra. When considering the question of what crickets look like, one cannot help but touch upon the topic of insect color. Field specimens are dark brown or coffee brown in color. There are individuals of a straw-fawn or yellow-grayish hue. But the house cricket has a darker color, almost black.

General information about the structure and size of insects

What if there is a cricket in the house - is this good or bad from the point of view of sanitary standards? It’s bad, because adult individuals not only create irritating noise, but also “ruin” the table, kitchen, bathroom and other rooms. Therefore, the answer to the question of what a cricket eats is simple - crumbs, leftover food, waste, etc. Their bodies are covered with a durable chitinous layer, which provides reliable protection.

It will not be difficult to spot the insect. A cricket that has taken up residence in a house, which we will discuss below on how to get rid of an orthoptera, has a body length of 16-25.8 mm and a head in the form of a flattened egg. Among others distinctive features include:

• small eyes of a facet structure - as if bulging;
• gnawing mouthparts. If you were wondering whether crickets bite or not, the answer is yes. Cases of human bites are extremely rare. But the insects themselves are extremely aggressive and can put up real fights. They are able to chew solid food;
• long antennae that act as an organ of touch. Their length in 87% of cases exceeds the body size;
• membranous wings allowing easy movement from place to place. If you don’t know how to get rid of crickets in an apartment, then the simplest way- catch - won't work. Thanks to its wings and sense of touch, the insect immediately senses danger and reacts instantly. Once you learn how to catch a cricket in the house, you will have to try. After all, domestic Orthoptera can make long and sharp jumps and long journeys;
• three pairs of strong and jumping legs. Do not come up with ways to catch a cricket in an apartment, they will not be successful;
• the hearing organs are located on the shins of the first pair of legs.

If effective measures are not taken, the insect will not only settle in the house, but will also begin to multiply. It is interesting to know how long outdoor and outdoor crickets live. home class. Years of life - up to 3 months.

Before deciding how to get rid of crickets on your property, find out where they came from. This information will help prevent insects from re-infesting your home in the future. Once you know what crickets eat and in what conditions they feel most comfortable, it will be very easy to answer this exciting question.

As soon as the temperature environment drops below 18-210C, orthoptera pests lose interest in food and mobility. The deposited larvae stop growing and developing. And since the cricket is an insect that is active night look life, then the night temperature that is comfortable for him does not last so long in our latitudes. To survive and raise offspring, he moves to warmth. The domestic cricket feels comfortable at a temperature of 28-350C.

It’s not only warm in apartments and houses, but it’s also easy to find food. Especially if you live in the kitchen. Let us remind you what crickets eat in a person’s house:

• flies and cockroaches;
• ants and crumbs;
• food waste from the trash can;
• moth, etc.

Do you want to know how long a cricket lives in the presence of heat and food? Long, over 3 months.

Where does an insect hide in an apartment or house?

Knowing the places where the insect hides during the daytime will help you learn how to remove a cricket from a house or apartment. Since the air temperature near the floor is always lower, orthoptera move to the ceiling or heat sources. If you want to know how to remove a cricket from an apartment, isolate:

• cracks near heating radiators or stoves (at home);
• shelves under the ceiling;
• sources of moisture - wet rags, paper, etc.;
• cracks in window frames with condensation, etc.

You already know what a cricket eats in the house, so you should look for its location in the kitchen.

Why is a cricket dangerous?

The most important thing is insomnia at night. What else does a cricket do in a person’s house? Spoils food left on the table and finishing materials. Insect droppings can be dangerous for people with allergies.

Do you know how a cricket makes a sound at night? Unlike the grasshopper, the orthopteran animal slightly raises its elytra above its abdomen and begins to rub them very quickly against each other. This action produces a clicking sound. His cricket in the apartment can produce from the evening until the morning without fatigue. Such persistence is easily explained. With the help of sound, the male attracts the female. Until a match is found, the chatter will not stop. That is why we need to figure out how to get a cricket out of the house once and for all.

Ways to get rid of overnight guests

Having found out what crickets do on human territory, we will figure out how to effectively get rid of them. Can be used:

• sticky traps;
• folk remedies - wormwood decoction, pyrethrum powder, etc. If you didn’t know whether crickets bite, then the answer is negative. Therefore, you don’t have to be afraid of their bites. Although by nature they are warlike cannibals;
• preventive measures - frequent and high-quality cleaning of the kitchen, insulation of cracks, etc.

If you are interested in how to kill a cricket, then it is better to use drugs based on dichlorvos. They destroy the chitinous layer of the animal, penetrate the respiratory system and paralyze. Death occurs within a few hours or days. When using medications, it is worth remembering that if there is a cricket in the house, it will probably give birth to offspring. Therefore, the room will have to be treated again after a few days.

Surprisingly, an ordinary cricket can also be among your pets. Types and lifestyle of these insects, as well as nutrition, reproduction, maintenance and Interesting Facts can be found in this article.

History of appearance and types of crickets

These insects appeared on the planet approximately 300 million years ago. They belong to the Orthoptera order and the True crickets family, which includes 8 subfamilies. Zoologists describe this moment 2300 different species discovered. Approximately 50 species of crickets live in Russia. Of these, the most popular are brownie and field.

Habitat area

Crickets are indigenous to the Far East and North Africa. But then they spread throughout Europe. Somewhat later they appeared in North America and South Australia. The field cricket prefers steppe and forest-steppe zones and mountainous European regions. In the center of Russia it is most often found in the north of the country, on the border of its range.

IN Tula region field cricket can be found mainly in the southern zone of the zones, in Vanevsky, Kimovsky, Efremovsky, Odoevsky, Kurkinsky and Novomoskovsky districts.

Field cricket: habitat and places of settlement

Crickets are heat-loving insects. They live in places where the temperature reaches at least 20 degrees. At lower temperatures, insects become inactive and almost completely stop feeding. In villages, crickets love places near stoves in winter time and go to live in nature in the summer. They prefer warmth, light and sun. They willingly settle in meadows and fields.

In the mountains, crickets usually choose to live on gradual, dry slopes where limestone is exposed or settle in adjacent heaths and meadows. But where they warm up well. Nowadays, crickets are more “modernized” and prefer to live not behind stoves, but on livestock farms. It is not only warm for them there, but also a lot of food. Or they settle in warm basements, boiler rooms and heating mains.

Appearance

The field cricket is quite small in size. Body length is from 17 to 23 centimeters. Males are larger than females. Crickets have a large head and a dense body. They are mostly black in color, but there are also brown ones. They have short front wings. Field crickets, unlike other species of their counterparts, are larger. The color is darker, the thighs are red below and inside.

Females have a thin ovipositor at the back, widened at the tip. And the shins are reddish in color. Males are distinguished by the presence of a mirror on the elytra. The sound apparatus is similar to that of a grasshopper. But in crickets it is more complex.

These insects have long antennae and three pairs of legs. The entire body (abdomen, chest and head) is covered with a durable chitinous cuticle. The jaws (mandibles) of crickets are quite powerful. All senses are well developed - touch, smell and vision. Thanks to their antennae, crickets are great at smelling and tasting food.

Field cricket: lifestyle features

He is the only insect that builds a nest for himself, in which he lives throughout his short adult life. Crickets are solitary creatures by nature. Each individual has its own territory. If she belongs to a male, then he can allow several females to live nearby.

Crickets live in nature in burrows up to 20 centimeters deep and 2 cm wide. They never go far from their home. At the slightest danger, the cricket hides in a hole. The entrance to it is masked by a tuft of grass. Crickets are very careful and timid, as they have a lot of enemies - small mammals, birds and lizards.

Fighting technique

When meeting an unexpected brother, a fight always occurs. These insects defend their territory from invasion. During the fight they bite. And they try to bite off their opponent’s antennae or paws. Crickets butt heads, make sharp attacks and kick hard. True, these insects jump poorly, but they move quickly on their paws. Despite plant foods, the defeated opponent is eaten by the winner.

Nutrition

The field cricket mainly feeds on plant foods. But from time to time the diet includes other, smaller insects. Adult crickets can even hunt small relatives or eat clutches of eggs laid by females. What does the field cricket eat in captivity? When kept at home, he eats crumbs of cheese and bread, milk, and pieces of various fruits.

Reproduction

During the breeding season, males sit near their burrows and call females with songs. Raising his front wings, the gentleman rubs them. Due to this, a kind of love serenade in the form of chirping is obtained. The female may not come. If the date does take place, then she will soon lay approximately 30 eggs in the ground. During the entire breeding period in total- up to 500.

During mating, the field cricket suspends a spermatophore similar to the one found in grasshoppers from the abdomen of the chosen one. But crickets do not have spermatophylax. When the female begins to lay eggs, she sticks her ovipositor vertically into the ground. Then he closes the hole, moves to the next place, and the procedure is repeated.

The larvae appear between two and four weeks. And in appearance they already look like adults in miniature. There is no pupation stage in crickets. The larvae always stay together. During growth they molt three times. And then they begin to separate. Each cricket begins to dig its own hole and prepare for the winter.

After winter, the young field cricket comes to the surface in the spring, when the temperature reaches +4 degrees. Last time Molting occurs, and after it the insects become adults. Then a new breeding season begins.

There are people who keep crickets at home in insectariums (special kindergartens). They are mainly made of plastic. One garden can accommodate hundreds of crickets. It is important to provide sufficient food and water, as well as maintain a comfortable temperature for these insects. It is necessary to include protein foods in the diet. Crickets happily eat dry food for aquarium fish- Gammarus or Daphnia. If insects do not have enough protein food, they will begin to eat their weaker brothers.

How to get rid of crickets

How to destroy a field cricket living at home? There are several ways to do this:

• You can use a natural trap. Condensed milk is poured into a small container. Mixed with water and placed near the place where the cricket lives. An insect attracted by the smell jumps into the prepared syrup.
• Chemical trap. It is used indoors if there are no pets or small children in the house.
• Adhesive strips. They are placed near windows, on doors and walls. Insects stick to them.
• Spray. You can use any insect repellent, even Dichlorvos. But such sprays should be sprayed if there are no children or pets at home.
• Some people use a regular vacuum cleaner to kill crickets. You need to change or remove the nozzle and go through all corners of the house. In this way, even unborn offspring can be destroyed.

Ecology is important for the reproduction of crickets. The field cricket feeds not only on plant foods, but also eats smaller fellows. And even insect corpses, since crickets need protein. But thanks to their insatiable appetite, they can also cause harm to summer cottages considerable. Crickets eat any plant and its roots. Therefore, sometimes dacha owners have to get rid of the invasion of “singers”. You can do this in several ways:

• the use of complex measures - chemical and agrotechnical;
• Regular loosening of the soil helps a lot;
• the area can be treated with biological products “Antonem-F” or “Nemabakt”;
• install birdhouses or bird feeders on the site;
• Snakes help very well in the fight (these are the enemies of crickets);
• after harvesting in the fall, you need to clean the area, clearing it of wood, chips and film residues to prevent crickets from overwintering under them;
• You can use box baits;
• wormwood can simply be laid out between the beds or watered with a decoction prepared from this herb;
• You can sprinkle the ground near the stems with hot hot pepper.

Cricket fights “without rules”

The aggressiveness of male crickets has given rise to an unusual gambling spectacle - fights. There is a version that they were invented in China approximately 1000 years ago, during the reign of Sun. But cricket fights were also held with no less success in Thailand and Malaysia.

For this purpose, insects were caught at the end of summer. Then the male crickets were released into a mini-arena. They immediately began to fight until the bitter end. The defeated person was thrown out of the arena, fled from it, or was killed by his opponent. The winner was even given a certain title.

Such cricket fights were very expensive, the stakes were very high. The remains of the winners were then stored in silver mini-coffins. During their lifetime, fighting crickets were looked after by specially hired people. The insects were on a specially designed diet, and when they had a cold they were even given medications. To tone up and morale Females were brought to the crickets daily for 2 hours.

Peculiarities

The field cricket is an endangered species. Noted as a rare and localized species. In the Tula region, only 9 habitats of field crickets have been observed. This is a rare species. Crickets are not at all prone to dispersal, but if their numbers increase, especially in hot summers, then insects can fly away and settle even hundreds of meters from their usual habitats. Since they dig holes for themselves, they avoid settling on arable land or in excavation sites.

The life cycle of crickets is from 90 to 120 days. But an adult insect lives only a month and a half. There are also “long-livers” who live for 7 months, but they live in the tropics. Field crickets, including wintering, last from 14 to 15 months.

The field cricket sings using its elytra, which it rubs against each other. They are tough and the process produces a beautiful warble. Crickets can sing all day long, often in the evenings and even at night. But at the slightest danger or alarm, they calm down and hide in their holes.

The true cricket family has 8 subfamilies and 2,300 species. These are orthoptera insects. Their males are capable of making loud sounds with their elytra. The most famous in this company house cricket. It has been living next to humans for many centuries, and has become so close to them that it has practically become a pet. At the same time, people do not experience any negativity towards it, which cannot be said about bedbugs, flies, cockroaches and clothes moths.

The original homeland of the insect is Far East And North Africa. But it just so happened that it spread throughout Europe, and then came to North America and a little later it turned out even in South Australia. This creature is thermophilic. He needs a temperature of at least 20 degrees Celsius. If temperature regime does not reach this value, then the representative of the family becomes sedentary and does not eat anything. The same applies to its larvae, which, when low temperatures stop developing and growing.

Therefore, from time immemorial, crickets settled in peasant huts behind the stove. There the temperature regime is winter cold was always tall. And in the summer, insects left human habitation and moved closer to nature.

The length of this arthropod reaches 15-25 mm. The main background of the body is yellowish. It is diluted with light brown spots and specks. 3 dark stripes run across the head. To produce sound, the male raises his elytra (the front dense and rigid pair of wings) and very quickly rubs them against each other. The result is a unique sound. The wings themselves are well developed, and the insect can fly, but uses this opportunity very rarely. The male uses the sounds he makes to attract the female and court her. Other males no longer approach such a pair.

Female in summer period lays eggs in crevices in the soil. The higher the ambient temperature, the more eggs there are. They are deposited in small piles. Their total number ranges from 50 to 200. In hot areas it reaches 500-600. They usually develop within 20-30 days, but again it all depends on the temperature.

These insects do not have a pupa. The eggs hatch into larvae that are very similar in appearance to adult representatives of the species. The only difference is the size and the absence of wings. The larvae go through several molts and after a month and a half turn into mature insects.

An adult cricket lives very short - only one and a half months. And all life cycle from laying an egg within 90-120 days. But in the tropics, representatives of the family live up to 6-7 months. Field crickets live 14-15 months, but this time period includes hibernation.

Nowadays, these insects do not settle behind stoves, since they no longer exist. They chose heating mains, boiler rooms and warm basements for themselves. There are a lot of them on livestock farms. It's always warm there and there's plenty of food. This arthropod feeds mainly on plant foods, but also eats other insects. Adult crickets can eat both their own small relatives and clutches of eggs.

There are hobbyists who breed restless warblers in insectariums. In principle, there is nothing complicated about this. It is important that the soil is dry and humidity is minimal. A constant source of water is also needed. A piece of wet cotton wool is perfect for this. In nature, insects quench their thirst with dew. Bread and cheese crumbs, pieces of fruit, and drops of milk serve as food. When breeding, moist soil is needed so that females can lay eggs in it. The top of the soil must be covered with a net to prevent adult insects from digging it up and eating the eggs.

The house cricket, or house cricket (lat. Acheta domesticus) belongs to the family True crickets (Gryllidae). This orthoptera insect belongs to the synanthropic species that willingly settle in human dwellings and any other heated premises. In Japan and China it is contained as pet. It is believed to bring good luck and financial well-being.

In Asian countries, house crickets are eaten. They are mainly subjected to heat treatment in dry heated frying pans, less often fried in boiling oil.

European supporters also paid attention to these creatures. healthy image life. As in Asia, there are now special cricket farms for them in Europe. There the insects are grown, frozen and delivered to the consumer. Since May 2017, crickets have been officially recognized food product in Switzerland, where they are sold in the Billa and Merkur retail chains.

Cricket flour is the most popular. In terms of protein content, it is superior to chicken and beef and contains unsaturated fatty acid, iron, calcium, potassium and vitamins B and D.

Protein flour from crickets is used to make sports nutrition and added to baked goods and pasta. It not only promotes the growth of muscle mass and improves digestion, but also, thanks to the chitin it contains, reduces the negative effects of radiation and prevents the development of cancer.

Spreading

The habitat originally occupied zones with the arid and semi-arid climate of North Africa and South-East Asia. There the heat-loving insect still lives in wildlife. In other parts of the northern hemisphere, it prefers to settle in populated areas, with a clear preference for kitchens and bakeries.

Representatives of this species feel most comfortable at a temperature of about 32°C.

Decreasing it by just ten degrees causes a sharp decrease in their metabolism and activity. For this reason, they are rarely observed in city apartments with central heating.

Insects are attracted to warm rooms with high humidity, especially greenhouse complexes and compost storage areas, where all year round heat is released. IN East Africa Acheta domesticus is found in mountainous areas at altitudes up to 2600 m above sea level.

The species is monotypic, subspecies are unknown. IN steppe zone sometimes adjacent to (Gryllus campestris).

Behavior

The house cricket is afraid daylight, therefore, during daylight hours it hides in shelters, but can be active in the shade during the day. In Europe in summer it is observed in natural environment habitat, mainly in meadows and pastures, but with the first cold snap it moves into heated buildings.

The insect is an omnivore; it feeds on food of both plant and animal origin. He likes the latter better. With an insufficient amount of protein feed, cases of cannibalism sharply increase.

House crickets spoil food supplies and damage paper and wooden products.

They are carriers of ticks and various pathogenic bacteria, in particular salmonella (Salmonella), causing diseases salmonellosis, paratyphoid and typhoid fever.

Pests prefer products with high moisture content. They eat food waste, carrion, fruits and vegetables with appetite.

Reproduction

With the arrival of twilight and until the morning, sexually mature males attract females with their singing. The sounds they make also serve to scare away competitors. Each male occupies his own territory and fiercely defends it from the invasion of rivals.

House crickets perform their arias with the help of a stinging cord (stridulation vein), which is rubbed at the base of the elytra against a serrated surface, causing a vibrating movement. To extract monotonic sound signals at a frequency of about 3800 Hz it has from 193 to 260 miniature teeth.

After mating, the couple separates. Insects usually mate several times with different partners.

Two days after fertilization, the female lays eggs in soft soil, sawdust, vegetable remains, or any other nutrient substrate available to her. During a season, she is able to lay an average of about 800 of them, with a maximum of 2,600 pieces. The eggs have an elongated curved shape measuring 2.3x0.4 mm and are painted an inconspicuous dark gray color.

Depending on environmental conditions, incubation lasts from 8 to 12 weeks. The cooler the weather, the longer it lasts. The development of hatched larvae depends on temperature and the abundance of food supply. Before turning into adults, they undergo 9 to 11 molts over a period of 87-126 days. As a rule, in the wild only one generation is born during the year.

Many lovers of reptiles, amphibians and insectivores raise these creatures to feed their pets. Growing them at home does not require any special skills.

For 500 adults or 1000 growing individuals, it is quite enough to use Plastic container, insectarium, indoor glass aquarium or terrarium with a volume of 50x30x30 cm. The home for house crickets is placed in a darkened room; they do not require additional lighting.

There is no need to install water bowls in the container or spray its walls. The insects will get the moisture they need from the food they eat.

As a substrate, you can take any moisture-absorbing materials, for example, dry sand or wood shavings. To ensure your pets have hiding places, it is recommended to use torn newspapers or cardboard (egg trays). They need to be changed weekly.

A small flat vessel is installed for feeding. The temperature is maintained at 24°-30°C. 2-3 hours before transportation it can be lowered to 12°-16°C. Insects become inactive and tolerate stress more easily.

If domestic crickets are bred for animal feed, then it is advisable to feed them cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, wheat bran, dandelions, lettuce and any fruit except citruses. As a treat, they periodically give a little dry food for dogs, cats or fish. Two hours after feeding, uneaten remains must be completely removed.

Description

The body length reaches 16-20 mm in males, and females additionally have a spear-shaped ovipositor of 11-15 mm. The average length of the fore wings is about 10.5 mm. The hind wings are longer, 16-20 mm.

The main color background varies from straw to yellow-brown. A dark brown or black pattern of transverse lines is visible on the head and neck.

There are 3 pairs of legs. The hind legs are well developed and allow for jumping. The long black antennae are very flexible and can move independently of each other. Complex compound eyes are located on the sides of the head.

The hearing organs are located on the legs of the first pair of limbs.

The lifespan of an adult house cricket is about 3 months. Occasionally there are long-livers, living up to ten months of age.

This is what house crickets used to be called. Biologically, these “singers” belong to orthoptera insects from the cricket family. Their homeland is the Far East and North Africa. Since crickets are heat-loving creatures, their favorite habitats with the onset of cold weather are houses heated by stoves, as well as heated industrial buildings and heating plants. During the warm season, these insects live in open spaces.

It is curious that the love of warmth, as well as the same culinary preferences, make house crickets similar to red house cockroaches. If you don’t look closely at these insects, they are even similar in appearance! However, cockroaches cannot sing and generally do not make any sounds that can be heard by humans. , in principle, cannot be called a “singer” either, he is a violinist. Crickets play their “violin” by rubbing the sharp side of one prewing against the surface of the other.

Appearance of a cricket

Crickets are extremely cunning and agile creatures. It is very difficult to see them, since they move very quickly, and even more so to catch them. However, if you very quietly approach the place where the “trills” are coming from, in principle, you can see it. If you're lucky. The average body length of an adult cricket is 2 cm, but there are also individuals up to 2.5 cm long. The body color of these insects can vary: from straw-fawn with brown stripes to yellowish with mottled or dull brown spots (or specks).

Since crickets are orthoptera insects, their elytra in a calm state have a flat, elongated shape and lie on the back. It is curious that the left one is always covered by the right one. The cricket's head is painted with three dark stripes. The wings of crickets are well developed and are used for constant flights from one place to another. Antennae (cerci) are present in both females and males. Crickets lay eggs, so females have a long ovipositor, the length of which varies from 10 to 15 mm. The eggs are 2.5 mm long. Their shape resembles yellow-white.

How do crickets reproduce?

Males attract the attention of females with their “serenades”. When a couple is formed, fertilization occurs. The female lays up to 30 eggs at a time in crevices in the soil. It is curious that crickets, having finished their task, die. After just two weeks, the eggs hatch into larvae that will have to overwinter on their own. As they grow up, they dig tunnels. In spring, the larvae turn into adults - full-fledged insects.