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Subfamily Gryllinae

field crickets and related species

keys link Key to families and subfamilies of crickets.
keys link Key to genera of field crickets and related species (Gryllinae).

In America north of Mexico, the subfamily Gryllinae includes more than 20 species in 7 genera. Three species, in three genera, were brought to North American from elsewhere: Acheta domesticus (house ricket), Gryllodes sigillatus (tropical house cricket), and Velarifictorus micado (Japanese burrowing cricket). Gryllus (field crickets) is the most widespread and diverse genus. Miogryllus saussurei and Miogryllus lineatus (eastern and western striped crickets) resemble small field crickets. Gryllita arizonae (Arizona cricket) is a small, uniform-colored cricket found in southern Arizona and New Mexico. Two species of Anurogryllus (short-tailed crickets) complete the roster.

The top row of the images below are representative species of their genera. In the bottom row are images of species that are the sole North American representatives of their genera; Gryllita arizonae is not pictured.

image image image
Gryllus Miogryllus Anurogryllus
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Acheta domesticus Gryllodes sigillatus Velarifictorus micado

References

Note: The genus pages for Gryllus and Anurogryllus have the references for those genera.

Adeel A, Siddiqui MA. 1983. On acoustic characteristics, complexity and behavior of Gryllodes sigillatus, Orthoptera, Gryllidae. Entomon 8: 369-372.

Bate J. 1971. Life history of Acheta domesticus (Insecta Orthoptera Gryllidae). Pedobiologia 11: 159-172.

Bate J. 1972. Variation in fecundity of Acheta domesticus (Insecta Orthoptera Gryllidae) in relation to season and temperature. Pedobiologia 12: 1-5.

Bateman PW, MacFadyen DN. 1999. Mate guarding in the cricket Gryllodes sigillatus: influence of multiple potential partners. Ethology 105: 949-957.

Biradar VK, Mathad SB. 1983. Influence of crowding on reproduction in the house cricket, Gryllodes sigillatus. J. Entomol. Res. 7: 88-90.

Blatchley WS. 1920. Orthoptera of northeastern America. Indianapolis, IN: Nature Publishing. 784 p. Gryllinae (Blatchley's Gryllinae included Nemobiinae) (pp. 670-709). (The introductory pages to Blatchley's book are accessible on SINA's references page.)

Bowles DE. 2018. Introduced Japanese burrowing cricket (Orthoptera: Velarifictorus (Velarifictorus) micado) range continues to expand in North America. J. Orthop. Res. 27(2): 177-181.

Burpee DM, Sakaluk SK. 1993a. The effect of pair formation on diel calling patterns in two cricket species, Gryllus veletis and Gryllodes sigillatus (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). J. Insect Behav. 6: 431-440.

Burpee DM, Sakaluk SK. 1993b. Repeated matings offset costs of reproduction in female crickets. Evol. Ecol. 7: 240-250. [Gryllus veletis and G. sigillatus]

Calos JB, Sakaluk SK. 1998. Paternity of offspring in multiply-mated female crickets: the effect of nuptial food gifts and the advantage of mating first. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. Ser. B-Biol. Sci. 265: 2191-2195. [Gryllodes sigillatus]

Gage AR, Barnard CJ. 1996. Male crickets increase sperm number in relation to competition and female size. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 38: 349-353. [Gryllodes sigillatus, Acheta domesticus]

Ghouri ASK. 1961. Home and distribution of the house cricket Acheta domesticus L. Nature 192: 1000.

Ghouri ASK, McFarlane JE. 1957. Reproductive isolation in the house cricket (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). Psyche 64: 30-36.

Ghouri ASK, McFarlane JE. 1957. Reproductive isolation in the house cricket (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). Psyche 64: 30-36.

Ghouri ASK, McFarlane JE. 1958. Occurrence of a macropterous form of Gryllodes sigillatus (Walker) (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) in laboratory culture. Can. J. Zool. 36: 837-838.

Hebard M. 1915. The American species of the genus Miogryllus. J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc.23:101-21.

Hebard M. 1935. Studies in the Orthoptera of Arizona, Pt I. New genera, species and geographical races. Trans. Am. Entomol. Soc. 61:111-53, Pl. 4-7. [Grylitta arizonae]

Heiligenberg W. 1969. The effect of stimulus chirps on a cricket's chirping (Acheta domesticus). Z. Vgl. Physiol. 65: 70-97.

Kalm P. 1761. En resa til Norra America, på Kongl. Svenska Wetenskaps Akademiens befallning. Och. publici kostned. Stockholm, Sweden: Lars Salvius. 538 pp. [Not seen.]

Mathad SB, McFarlane JE. 1968. Two effects of photoperiod on wing development in Gryllodes sigillatus (Walk). Can. J. Zool. 46: 57-60.

McFarlane JE. 1964. Factors affecting growth and wing polymorphism in Gryllodes sigillatus (Walk): Dietary protein level and a possible effect of photoperiod. Can. J. Zool. 42: 767-771.

McFarlane JE. 1968. Diel periodicity in spermatophore formation in the house cricket Acheta domesticus (L). Can. J. Zool. 46: 695-698.

McFarlane JE. 1984. Studies on group effects in crickets; III Wing development of Gryllodes sigillatus (Walk). Can. J. Zool. 44: 1017-1021.

Narula JH. 1968. On the female genitalia of the Indian house cricket Gryllodes sigillatus Walker (Orth Gryllidae). Entomol. Mon. Mag. 104: 76-80.

Narula JS. 1968. Studies on the skeleton of the Indian house cricket Gryllodes sigillatus (Walker) (Gryllidae: Orthoptera): I The sclerites of the head capsule and head appendages. Bull. Entomol. 9: 134-146.

Narula JS. 1968. The female genital system of the Indian house cricket Gryllodes sigillatus (Walker) (Orth Gryllidae). Entomol. Mon. Mag. 104: 23-29.

Narula JS. 1969. The male genital system of the Indian house cricket Gryllodes sigillatus (Walker) (Gryllidae: Orthoptera). Bull. Entomol. 10: 86-91.

Nowosielski JW, Patton RL. 1965. Life-tables for the house cricket Acheta domesticus L and the effect of intra-specific factors on longevity. J. Insect. Physiol. 11: 201-209.

Otte D, Cade W. 1976. On the role of olfaction in sexual and interspecies recognition in crickets (Acheta and Gryllus). Anim. Behav. 24: 1-6.

Patton RL. 1975. Wing polymorphism in Acheta domesticus (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 68: 852-854.

Sakaluk SK. 1982. Onset of phonotaxis and age at 1st mating in female house crickets, Acheta domesticus (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 90: 136-141.

Sakaluk SK. 1987. Reproductive behavior of the decorated cricket, Gryllodes supplicans, (Orthoptera: Gryllidae): Calling schedules, spatial distribution, and mating. Behaviour 100: 202-225. [=Gryllodes sigillatus]

Sakaluk SK. 1984. Male crickets [Gryllodes supplicans] feed females to ensure complete sperm transfer. Science 223: 609-610. [=Gryllodes sigillatus]

Sakaluk SK, Belwood JJ. 1984. Gecko [Hemidactylus turcicus] phonotaxis to cricket [Gryllodes supplicans] calling song: A case of satellite predation. Anim. Behav. 32: 659-662. [=Gryllodes sigillatus]

Sakaluk SK, O'Day DH. 1984. Hoechst staining and quantification of sperm in the spermatophore and spermatheca of the decorated cricket, Gryllodes supplicans, Orthoptera: Gryllidae. Can. Entomol. 116: 1585-1590. [=Gryllodes sigillatus]

Sakaluk SK. 1985. Spermatophore size and its role in the reproductive behavior of the cricket, Gryllodes supplicans, Orthoptera: Gryllidae. Can. J. Zool. 63: 1652-1656. [=Gryllodes sigillatus]

Sakaluk SK. 1986. Sperm competition and the evolution of nuptial feeding behavior in the cricket, Gryllodes supplicans. Evolution 40: 584-593. [=Gryllodes sigillatus]

Sakaluk SK. 1991. Post-copulatory mate guarding in decorated crickets. Anim. Behav. 41: 207-216. [Gryllodes sigillatus]

Sakaluk SK, Burpee DM, Smith RL. 1992. Phenotypic and genetic variation in the stridulatory organs of male decorated crickets, Gryllodes sigillatus, Orthoptera: Gryllidae. Can. J. Zool. 70: 453-457.

Sharma K. 1976. Oviposition in the house cricket Gryllodes sigillatus (Walker). Indian J. Entomol. 38: 236-247.

Shuvalov VF, Popov VA. 1971. Reaction of females of the domestic cricket Acheta domestica to sound signals and its changes in ontogensis. J. Evol. Biol. Physiol. 7: 523-526.

Smith RL, Thomas WB. 1988. Southwestern distribution and habitat ecology of Gryllodes supplicans. Bull ESA 34:186-190. [=Gryllodes sigillatus]

Subramaniam M, Haniffa MA, Pandian TJ. 1988. Effect of multiple matings on egg production in Gryllodes sigillatus (Walker) (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). Entomon 13: 317-320.

Subramaniam M, Subramoniam T. 1990. Mating behavior and spermatophore transfer in Gryllodes sigillatus (Walker) (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berl. 66: 65-71.

Vickery VR, Kevan DKM. 1985. The grasshoppers, crickets, and related insects of Canada and adjacent regions. Ottawa: Can. Govt. Publ. Center. 918 p. [The Insects and Arachnids of Canada, Part 14] [ISBN 0-660-11749-5]

Walker TJ. 1977a. Japanese burrowing cricket widely established in southeastern United States. Fla. Entomol. 60: 308-309. [Velarifictorus micado]

Walker TJ. 1977b. Re-examination of monopterous and “micropterous” house crickets (Acheta domesticus). Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 70: 602.

Weissman DB, Gray DA, Pham HT, Tijssen P. 2012. Billions and billions sold: pet-feeder crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllidae), commercial cricket farms, an epizootic densovirus, and government regulations make for a potential disaster. Zootaxa 3504: 67-88.

Weissman DB, Rentz DCF. 1977. Feral house crickets Acheta domesticus (L) (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) in Southern Calif. Entomol. News 88: 246-248.

Weissman DB, Rentz DCF, Alexander RD, Loher W. 1980. Field crickets (Gryllus and Acheta) of California and Baja California Mexico (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: Gryllinae). Trans. Am. Entomol. Soc. 106: 327-356.

(Additional references are on the Gryllus and Anurogryllus pages.)