What is the difference between male and female crickets?
Quick Answer
One difference between male and female crickets is that male crickets have rough patches on their forewings that they scrape together to produce a chirping sound, whereas most female crickets make no sound. Another difference is that only female crickets have long thin tubes at the end of their abdomens, which they use for laying eggs.
Continue Reading
Full Answer
Male crickets have a number of different chirping songs. The loud calling song attracts the females to the males. The quiet courting song convinces the female to mate, and the copulative song is sounded after mating. The aggressive fighting song, brought about by the detection of another male by chemo-receptors in the antennas, warns away other males during courtship. To create the sounds, males rub one wing on another while holding the wings up and open for amplification. The temperature of the environment affects the rate of the chirps. Both male and female crickets have special receptors in their forelegs that act as ears, enabling them to hear sounds.
After mating in late summer, crickets lay their eggs in the fall. Female crickets are able to lay eggs twice a month or more. They insert their ovipositors, or laying tubes, into soil or plant stems, often seriously damaging the plants. Cricket nymphs hatch in spring and go through 6 to 12 molts before becoming adults, after which they live only 6 to 8 weeks.
Learn more about BugsRelated Questions
-
Q:
Do crickets bite humans?
A: It is rare for a cricket to bite a human, but crickets are capable of biting. A cricket bite is not fatal to a human. Cricket bites can cause painful sores... Full Answer >Filed Under: -
Q:
How do you raise crickets?
A: To raise crickets you need to set up a proper-sized habitat, keep them in a warm living space, and provide them with food and water. To hatch eggs and cont... Full Answer >Filed Under: -
Q:
What do field crickets eat?
A: Field crickets are omnivorous and eat other insects, dried organic matter, vegetation, small fruits and seeds. As house pests, they also eat cotton, wool, ... Full Answer >Filed Under: -
Q:
How high can a cricket jump?
A: Although it varies by species, field and house crickets can jump about 3 feet. This is roughly equivalent to 30 times their body length. Full Answer >Filed Under:
