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Insects and other arthropods

House crickets

English
Acheta domesticus
House cricket (acheta domesticus)
Photo: Flickr (Larah McElroy)
Acheta domesticus
  • Acheta domesticus
  • Acheta domestica
  • Acheta domestica

Tabs group

Description

House crickets are yellowish-brown, with dark lines on the head, long antennae, two compound eyes and grinding mouthparts. They have two pairs of many-veined wings on the thorax. The forewings are fairly tough. They protect the membranous hindwings, which are folded in a fan shape when at rest. Of the three sets of legs, the hindmost legs are the most noticeable, since they are adapted for jumping. Their femurs are particularly strong. Crickets have two sensory appendages called cerci at the tip of the abdomen.

Females have an ovipositor, a long cylindrical egg-laying organ, between the cerci.

Life cycle

Adults mate following a courtship ritual. The male then emits a spermatophore, i.e. a droplet-shaped whitish gelatinous capsule that contains sperm. He deposits the capsule under the female’s genital opening. The female rips it open to release the sperm, which then make their way toward her reproductive organs.

A few days later, the female inserts her ovipositor in the soil and lays her eggs – about 100 of them over the space of a few days. After the eggs incubate, for different periods depending on the species and environmental conditions, they hatch into tiny crickets resembling wingless adults. They moult several times as they develop, growing in size and reaching adulthood, with complete wings and functional reproductive organs.

Geographic distribution

They live in southern Canada, from British Columbia to Newfoundland, and farther south as far as Mexico.

House crickets are a species introduced from Europe. They are also found in Asia and North Africa. They arrived in Canada and the United States in the 18th century. They probably originated in Southeast Asia, and have been carried by humans into many countries.

French name
Grillon domestique
Scientific name
Acheta domesticus
English name
Cricket, house cricket, common house cricket
Class
Insecta
Order
Orthoptera
Family
Gryllidae