Allard’s Ground Cricket (Allonemobius allardi)
Song of an Allard’s Ground Cricket (scroll down for explanation and additional recordings!).
The cheery, musical trilling of the common and widespread Allard’s Ground Cricket is a sure sign of summer. Named after naturalist Harry A. Allard (1880–1963), who studied stridulation in insects, these small black crickets can be seen scurrying away from your feet as you walk in dry, open grassy areas. Close inspection reveals that individuals are covered with long hairs used to constantly monitor their surroundings.
Favored habitats include lawns, parks, pastures, and roadsides. When cold weather arrives, these little crickets often find their way into houses. It is a pleasant surprise to suddenly hear a male Allard’s singing his lovely trilled song from inside your home.
Allard’s Ground Crickets range from northern Maine, south through the Carolinas to central Georgia, west to northern Texas, and back north to northwestern Montana. Common over most of its range.
Song: A continuous, even trill composed of pulses given at a rate of about 10–16 per second (too fast to count), with a dominant frequency of about 7 kHz. Pleasing to the ear. Sputtery trills are given when males interact (see the additional recordings at the end of this page).
Sonogram of an Allard’s Ground Cricket. © Wil Hershberger.
Other Sound Examples:
Calls heard when male Allard’s Ground Crickets interact.
Allard’s Ground Cricket
Our Insect Musicians:
Thumbnail Guide to All Species
Navigate to Species Pages:
Spring and Fall Field Cricket
Southern Wood Cricket
Southeastern Field Cricket
Eastern Striped Cricket
Japanese Burrowing Cricket
Ground Crickets (Nemobiinae):
Allard’s Ground Cricket
Carolina Ground Cricket
Confused Ground Cricket
Striped Ground Cricket
Southern Ground Cricket
Sphagnum Ground Cricket
Variegated Ground Cricket
Spotted Ground Cricket
Tinkling Ground Cricket
Cuban Ground Cricket
Tree Crickets (Oecanthinae):
Black-horned Tree Cricket
Forbes’s Tree Cricket
Broad-winged Tree Cricket
Davis’s Tree Cricket
Fast-calling Tree Cricket
Four-spotted Tree Cricket
Narrow-winged Tree Cricket
Pine Tree Cricket
Snowy Tree Cricket
Two-spotted Tree Cricket
Trigs and Bush Crickets (Eneopterinae & Trigonidiinae):
Jumping Bush Cricket
Columbian Trig
Handsome Trig
Say’s Trig
Thomas’s Trig
Slow-tinkling Trig
Mole Crickets (Gryllotalpidae):
Northern Mole Cricket
Southern Mole Cricket
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
Saltmarsh Meadow Katydid
Short-winged Meadow Katydid
Slender Meadow Katydid
Woodland Meadow Katydid
Black-sided Meadow Katydid
Long-tailed Meadow Katydid
Straight-lanced Meadow Katydid
Agile Meadow Katydid
Dusky-faced Meadow Katydid
Stripe-faced Meadow Katydid
Nimble Meadow Katydid
Black-legged Meadow Katydid
Common Meadow Katydid
Gladiator Meadow Katydid
Handsome Meadow Katydid
Lesser Pine Meadow Katydid
Long-spurred Meadow Katydid
Red-headed Meadow Katydid
Coneheads (Copiphorinae):
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
Round-tipped Conehead
Nebraska Conehead
Robust Conehead
Slightly Musical Conehead
Sword-bearing Conehead
False Robust Conehead
Marsh Conehead
Black-nosed Conehead
True Katydids (Pseudophyllinae):
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
Common True Katydid
False Katydids (Phaneropterinae):
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
Clicker Round-winged Katydid
Common Virtuoso Katydid
Rattler Round-winged Katydid
Oblong-winged Katydid
Great Angle-wing
Lesser Angle-wing
Broad-winged Bush Katydid
Curved-tailed Bush Katydid
Fork-tailed Bush Katydid
Northern Bush Katydid
Texas Bush Katydid
Treetop Bush Katydid
Modest Katydid
Shield-backed Katydids (Tettigoniinae):
FAMILY DESCRIPTION
American Shieldback
Least Shieldback
Protean Shieldback
Robust Shieldback
Roesel’s Katydid
Band-winged Grasshoppers (Oedipodinae):
Boll’s & Carolina Grasshoppers
Marsh Meadow Grasshopper