Fun Cricket Facts For Kids

Remember the incessant chirping sound that you can hear on a warm summer night, somewhere in your house or your backyard? That is the famous cricket sound. This chirping sound is made by male crickets when they rub their comb-like wings together. Crickets, belonging to the family Gryllidae, are considered as a stroke of good luck in various countries of Asia, especially China, and are, therefore, kept as pets. Cricket species are frequently mistaken for grasshoppers due to their similar body form and leaping hind legs. They are closely related to katydids like bush crickets.

Crickets are highly adaptable insects and thrive in forests, fields, meadows, gardens, and even in the corners of your house. Their food includes flowers, leaves, and fruits as well as insect larvae and small invertebrates. Over 900 cricket species are existing throughout the world. They are nocturnal and therefore, they chirp at night. Also, they cannot survive in low temperatures.

Keep reading for more fun and fascinating facts about crickets. If you liked this article, do check out our articles on the grasshopper and the Chinese grasshopper.

What type of animal is a cricket?

Crickets are cold-blooded insects belonging to the phylum Arthropoda. They are also known as true crickets.

What class of animal does a cricket belong to?

All types of crickets belong to the class Insecta and the family Gryllidae.

How many crickets are there in the world?

There are innumerable crickets all over the world and thus, it is not possible to estimate their population. According to the records, there are over 900 species of crickets whose chirps can make quite a noise during the cricket season.

Where does a cricket live?

Crickets, also known as true crickets, adapt to a wide range of environments. Different species of crickets can be found in a variety of locations throughout the world, except Antarctica.

What is a cricket's habitat?

Forests, meadows, rocky places, and farmlands are just a few of the habitats in which they may live. Some of them are underground creatures. Different types of crickets thrive in different habitats.

Field crickets or black crickets live in fields, forest edges, caves, basements, or any damp outhouse. House variants are common throughout the world. They mainly hide in the kitchen, fireplace, behind furniture, and other corners of your home. Tree crickets are found in shrubs, bushes, and trees all over the world, where they are well camouflaged due to their green shell color.

Most crickets cannot withstand the rough cold weather and hence, seek warmer temperatures during the winter.

Who do crickets live with?

Crickets are solitary. They only stay together during the breeding season.

How long does a cricket live?

Crickets do not survive for more than a year. A field cricket dies in winter, but house crickets can survive the low temperature and live for a year inside the warm temperature of a home. On the other hand, mole crickets live deep under the ground for two years. The cricket life cycle has three stages: egg, nymph, and adult.

How do they reproduce?

The mating season of these insects begins in late spring and continues until the beginning of fall. The males attract prospective females through their calling songs. The female crickets get attracted to the male cricket with the best chirp. When she accepts his call, he sings his courting song. The mating pair initially connect with their antennas. Afterward, the male crickets emit semen, which the female receives. The entire process takes place for an hour, during which the semen moves from the spermatophore into the female's oviduct. The female will mate with other males in this same process and store the semen of each partner. Finally, she fertilizes her eggs with some of the semen she has gathered. She lays almost up to 200 eggs in the ground or the leaves of a plant. Two weeks later, the eggs hatch and young crickets emerge. Baby crickets look like adults, but their wings are missing.

What is their conservation status?

Since there are so many crickets, it is difficult to evaluate their population. Therefore, the conservation status of these insects is Not Evaluated by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. However, some species like the Adriatic marbled bush cricket are endangered.

What do crickets look like?

The appearance of crickets varies with each type. House crickets are brown, tree crickets are green, and field crickets are black. They have flat bodies, a pair of long and slender antennae, and round heads. They have wings on their back and ears on their front legs. Crickets chirp by rubbing these wings together. Their ears help them detect the sounds of other chirps.

How cute are they?

Although their appearance does not fit into the ideal definition of cute, the fact that they make a sound by rubbing their wings is adorable. Additionally, they sing to attract their potential partner, which is very sweet.

How do they communicate?

Crickets cannot speak verbally but communicate through chirping. There are a few types of cricket songs. When a male wants to find potential mates, he sings the calling song. The females hear the sound and are attracted to the one with the best chirp. They have another type of song, which is the courting song. This particular song is sung when the female accepts a male as a mate. Another type of chirp is when the male wants to keep other males away from themselves. They can hear sounds through their sensitive ears located near their front legs.

How big is a cricket?

These insects are usually between 0.12-2 in (3-50 mm) in size. The house cricket which is 0.63-0.87 in (16-22 mm) long, is at least 16 times bigger than the thief ant.

How fast can a cricket move?

Most crickets cannot fly, even though they have wings. They mostly move by crawling or hopping. They can jump as high as 20-30 times the size of their own body with their hind legs.

How much does a cricket weigh?

Most crickets approximately weigh 0.007-0.03 oz (0.2-0.8 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

Male crickets and female crickets have no specific names.

What would you call a baby cricket?

A young cricket is called a nymph.

What do they eat?

Crickets are omnivorous insects and are also known to be scavengers. They will prey on insect larvae, aphids, and other small insects. They will also eat fungi, leaves, and other plant materials as their food. They are not choosy about their food and will eat anything that is within their capacity.

Are they dangerous?

No, crickets are not known to pose any threat to humans. A cricket's bite is also quite uncommon, but even if they bite, it is not at all fatal. The only inconvenience that these animals can cause is chewing up the fabrics in our home and the incessant chirps, which might get annoying at times.

Would they make a good pet?

Yes, crickets can make great pets and they are easy to take care of if you love insects. Children find these pets amusing because cricket songs are quite fascinating. In many Asian countries, they are considered a symbol of good luck.

Did you know...

One of the most interesting facts about crickets is that house crickets are treated as a delicacy in many Asian cultures. They are known to have high protein and vitamins as well as excellent taste. The traditional meals consist of deep-fried and dry-roasted crickets.

The friendly and cute character of Jiminy Cricket of Walt Disney’s 'Pinocchio' is quite famous among children.

Sometimes, they are considered thermometers to measure the temperature. This is because the number of chirps increases with the rising of the temperature.

Cricket fighting was considered a famous hobby in various parts of China since ancient times. Cricket fighting is slowly losing its essence because it is thought to be cruel.

Tree crickets, house crickets, and great green bush crickets can fly, unlike most crickets.

Types of cricket

Over 900 cricket species are existing throughout the world. A few popular species are field crickets, black crickets, tree crickets, and green crickets. On the other hand, mole crickets, camel crickets, and Jerusalem crickets are a few examples of insects that do not belong to the cricket family, despite being named so. The largest cricket is the bull cricket which is 2 in (5 cm) long.

How many eyes does cricket have?

Crickets have two compound eyes behind their long antennae, which have various lenses and protect them from predators. It also has three simple eyes on its forehead. These eyes are called ocelli. Unlike the compound eyes, ocelli have a single lens that helps the creature to distinguish between light and darkness, which is one of the most interesting facts about crickets.

How to get rid of crickets?

Sometimes the sound of these insects becomes extremely annoying, especially when it disrupts our sleep. There are various ways to get rid of cricket among which vacuuming and bug sprays are the easiest ways.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other arthropods including camel cricket facts, or deathstalker scorpion facts.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Cricket(insect) coloring pages.