Field cricket  (Gryllus campestris)

Learn about the scientific name of this species and how it fits into the tree of life at Nature Navigator.

Biology

Gilbert White, in his book 'The natural history of Selbourne', describes how field crickets could be lured out of their burrows by the insertion of a twig or grass stalk. White studied the cricket in some detail and observed that the males clear a small platform in front of their burrows from which they broadcast their 'love songs'. Field crickets are flightless, and the females locate singing males by crawling across the ground to them. After mating, either inside or outside the burrow, the female lays her eggs in areas of disturbed soil in full sunlight. Young cricket nymphs hatch in July and August, and grow rapidly. In early autumn a hibernation burrow is dug and the nymph spends the winter here.

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