88 APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY 



Family Gryllidse (The Crickets) 



The crickets are familiar insects, often seen walking or leaping over 

 the ground. 



In this family the wings are frequently reduced or absent, but when 

 present the front pair are so bent that one part lies flat over the back 

 while the other lies against the side of the body when not in use. The 

 antennae are in most cases, longer than the body. A convenient group- 

 ing of these insects is into the field crickets, the mole crickets and the 

 tree crickets. 



FIG. 69. Common Black Cricket (Gryllus abbrevialus Serv.), natural size. (Original.) 



The sounds are produced by the wings of the males, which are rubbed 

 over each other. On one wing is a strong vein which bears cross ridges, 

 while on the other is a thickened area. These two parts (termed file and 

 scraper by Comstock) when rubbed together cause the sound. Ears in 

 crickets are located as in the last family, on the fore legs, but the two on 

 the same leg differ somewhat in appearance. 



The common field crickets (Fig. 69) are black or brown, and a long 

 ovipositor is present in the females. They are rather indiscriminate 

 feeders, consuming either vegetable or animal materials, and may even 

 be cannibals. In houses they will eat foods but are rarely abundant 

 enough to become pests. 



The mole crickets are larger and stouter than the common field 

 crickets, and because of their habit of burrowing in the ground are less 

 often seen (Fig. 70). They are brown in color and their fore legs are 

 broad and flat, forming most effective digging organs. The eyes are 

 much reduced and the hind legs not being used for leaping, are not so 

 greatly developed as in the other crickets. They prefer rather moist 



