Cricket

Miscellaneous Insects Types of Insects Banana Slug Caddisfly Carpenter Ant Cicada Cinnebar Caterpillar Dobsonfly Earthworm Grasshopper Ladybug Praying Mantid Wolly Bear Caterpillar Yellow-spotted Millipede

Crickets are insects in the Gryllidae family. There are other insects with a cricket name, such as mole crickets and camel crickets, however, they are members of different families.

Crickets are best known for their singing ability. In fact, only the males have the special forewings necessary to produce the typical cricket chirp.

Speaking of wings, while crickets have them, they are more a jumping than flying insect. Many entomologists estimate that common house and field crickets can jump up to twenty times their lentgh. A five foot human would have to leap one hundred feet to match that record.

Asian cultures such as China and Japan share a long history of being enamored with crickets. People traditionally kept them as pets in cages or boxes to enjoy their singing or fighting abilities.

© 2004. Patricia A. Michaels