Here is all about identifying crickets using their physical features, activity, diet, and the sounds they make.
Often, many people are conversant about a wide range of pests but have difficulty identifying them. This becomes more glaring when such individuals are faced with pest problems.
For example, almost every homeowner knows about crickets.
However, identifying these insects can prove challenging.
What Does A Cricket Look Like?
There’s nothing wrong with you if you fall under this category of persons.
You haven’t found the time to know the specifics in terms of their physical characteristics and what problems they cause.
Here, we’re looking at all of that to show you how to distinguish these from similar insects.
Crickets Vs. Grasshoppers
A lot of times, people mistake crickets for grasshoppers.
This is due to similarities between the two. While some physical similarities exist between the two, there are clear distinguishing features that easily stand crickets out from grasshoppers.
So, what are these characteristics?
They include sound, color, length, antennae, and most active times. Other distinguishing factors include diet, species, lifespan, and jumping distance.
With this said, let’s look at each of these factors for a better understanding.
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Sound
Crickets make chirping sounds in two ways; the first includes rubbing their wings together. The second involves male crickets making chirping sounds to attract females.
Grasshoppers also make chirping sounds in two ways; the first involves rubbing their hind legs against the front parts of their wings.
The second method involves chirping sounds created by both male and female grasshoppers.
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Color
In terms of appearance, crickets are typically black or dark brown. Body colorations range from green to brown or green with brown markings for grasshoppers.
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Length
The body length of crickets varies with species. Certain species can measure as much as two inches in length. Still, others exceed this length and measure as much as 4.5 inches.
For others, body lengths could be limited to as little as three-eights of an inch. Compared to grasshoppers, crickets tend to be mostly smaller in size.
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Antennae
A lot of insects possess antennae, and crickets aren’t any different.
Of course, grasshoppers do have antennae as well. To help you distinguish between crickets and grasshoppers, you’ll need to look at the length of such antennae.
You’re likely to find crickets with longer antennae as compared to grasshoppers.
These antennae tend to be as long as their body length. The primary use of the antennae I to help navigate their surroundings. However, crickets have other benefits for these antennae.
Male crickets use them to fight for a mate.
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Most Active Times
Crickets are primarily nocturnal insects.
You’ll hardly find them moving about during the daytime. Nighttime is when they’re most active. These insects also make a lot of noise at night.
Their chirping sounds are loud enough to be heard by humans at night.
Grasshoppers, on the other hand, have different active times. You’re likely to find these insects hopping around during the day. They’re mostly found around grasses and green shrubbery in search of food.
Of course, grasshoppers feed on plants.
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Diet
There’s a clear difference in their preferences when it comes to their diets. Crickets are known to be omnivores. This means they feed on just about anything they find.
Crickets will readily feed on flowers, grass, seeds, fruits, aphids, and bug larvae.
For grasshoppers, food preferences are pretty different from those of crickets. Grasshoppers feed on plant stems, seeds, and flowers.
They’re called known as herbivorous insects.
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Species
There are fewer cricket species than there are grasshopper species available.
Even with the many species, there’s a consensus among scientists that more grasshopper species haven’t been discovered yet.
Cricket species are a little over two thousand.
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Lifespan
Crickets also tend to have a shorter lifespan compared with grasshoppers.
With a lifespan of between 8 to 10 weeks, it’s not comparable to those of crickets, with about 12 months. While this is true, the lifespan of crickets isn’t uniform across all species.
The same applies to grasshoppers.
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Jumping Distance
Crickets and grasshoppers move by hopping around.
However, jumping distances vary between the two. Crickets tend to jump the farthest at 3 feet, while grasshoppers follow at 2.6 feet.
Are Crickets Scary?
Since we’re looking at the looks of crickets, it’s necessary to consider whether these are scary or not. In terms of being dangerous, it largely depends on who you ask.
A lot of people find them scary. Such perception is primarily common among women and kids but isn’t a universal perception.
Some people find crickets interesting, while some even keep them as pets. From the brief explanation, it’s easy to see that crickets are only as scary as one thinks.
For many, they can tolerate these insects for as long as they don’t cause any apparent damage or disturbance.
Why People Want to Identify Crickets
Crickets’ annoying and consistent chirping sounds, especially at night, can be stressful for some people.
To find solutions, homeowners seek to identify these creatures to have them excluded or repelled.
This is one possible reason why you’re reading this.
You’ll need to know how to differentiate these from similar creatures as the grasshopper discussed earlier.
What’s the Attraction?
When crickets infest your property, they do so because certain attractions make your home suitable to hang around. Crickets are attracted by three things; shelter, food, and light.
Their nocturnal nature contradicts their attraction to light, right?
That’s true. There have been a series of attempts at explaining why crickets will be attracted to lights. One of these explanations points to the insects drawn to these lights.
According to such an explanation, crickets come around well-lit areas to feed on these pests at night.
There’s no conclusive explanation for the attraction of crickets to light.
Here, we’re more interested in the appearance or features of crickets than anything else.
So far, we’ve discussed crickets by looking at their physical characteristics. Because such traits are similar to grasshoppers’, we’ve made clear distinctions.
You shouldn’t have any difficulties identifying crickets after reading this article.