Spring and Fall Field Crickets (Gryllus veletis & Gryllus pennsylvanicus)
Song of a Fall Field Cricket (scroll down for explanation and additional recordings!).
The Spring and Fall Field Crickets look and sound the same — they are large, black, and round-headed, and their song is the quintessential cricket chirp. The two species were once thought to be the same, but scientific studies revealed that there are indeed two different species that are morphologically almost identical, but developmentally different – Fall Field Crickets overwinter as eggs and Spring Field Crickets as nymphs.
In areas where both species are found, they are best identified by when they are seen or heard. Because they overwinter as nymphs, Spring Field Crickets develop quickly when warm weather arrives and adults typically appear and begin singing and mating in late spring, continuing until late June or early July, when they finish laying eggs and die off. In contrast, Fall Field Crickets hatch in the spring, and adults don’t appear and begin singing until mid- or late July, after which they continue singing and mating into the autumn, when they are finally killed by frosts. In most areas of overlap, there is a period of silence in midsummer when neither species is heard.
Both species are found in a wide variety of habitats and are common around buildings where they hide in cracks and crevices, under rocks, or in shallow burrows. As winter approaches, Fall Field Crickets are attracted to heat and often find their way into houses or other buildings.
Song: The song of both species is a series of clear, loud chirps given at a rate of about one per second (or faster). Each chirp is actually a brief trill consisting of 3–5 pulses, given too fast for the human ear to detect. The frequency of the song is approximately 4–5 kHz, depending on the ambient temperature. Field crickets chirp both day and night from their hideouts, but are typically quiet at dawn.
Sonogram movie of a chirping Fall Field Cricket. Note that each chirp is actually a brief trill. Tree crickets can be heard trilling continuously in the background. Calling song is followed by courtship song. © Wil Hershberger.
Other Sound Examples:
A special “courtship song” comprised of normal chirps (brief trills) roughly alternating with high-pitched chips is given by the male when he detects that a female is nearby. It is thought to entice the female to mate:
June 1998, Frederick Co., MD. ©Wil Hershberger
Spring & Fall Field Crickets
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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