Cricket (insect)

A tree cricket sitting on a leaf.

Crickets are insects related to grasshoppers and katydids (order Orthoptera). They have somewhat flattened bodies and long antennae. Crickets are known for the loud chirping noises they make by rubbing their corrugated wing casings against combs on their hind legs. The females have a long needlelike egg-laying organ (ovipositor). There are about 900 species known worldwide.

Crickets are popular pets in Asia, especially China.

Subfamilies

• Family Gryllidae - True crickets
  • Eneopterinae - Bush crickets
  • Gryllinae - Common or field crickets; brown or black; despite the name, some of them enter houses.
  • Mogoplistinae - Scaly crickets
  • Myrmecophilinae - Ant crickets
  • Nemobiinae - Ground crickets
  • Oecanthinae - Tree crickets ; usually green with broad, transparent wings; frequent trees and shrubs.
  • Pentacentrinae - Anomalous crickets
  • Trigonidiinae - Sword-tail crickets
• Family Gryllotalpidae - Mole crickets; thick-bodied brown insects with forelimbs that are highly developed for burrowing.

In addition to these, several other orthopteran species are also called "crickets", although they are not strictly crickets:

• Katydids
• Cave or camel crickets
• Sand crickets
• Mormon crickets
• Weta crickets, Jerusalem crickets, and Parktown Prawns