Crickets and Grasshoppers: Characteristics and Habitats
Crickets can destroy up to 50% of grasshopper eggs. Field crickets and some beetles feed on grasshopper eggs. Grasshoppers have strong wings to travel distances for food. Crickets make good pets for families and classrooms. Crickets can damage some fruit trees. Indoors, crickets eat fabrics, paper, fruits, and vegetables. Grasshoppers severely damage crops like wheat and corn.
Physical Characteristics and Behavior of Crickets
Crickets have flattened bodies between 3/8 to 1 inch long. Females have needlelike body parts to lay eggs. Males have a hard body part used to produce sounds. Crickets are omnivores that eat plants, fruits, seeds, and insect larvae. Crickets live around 2 months, if predators are avoided. Grasshoppers lay over 100 eggs that incubate until next spring. Young grasshoppers resemble adults but have no wings yet.
Reproduction and Life Cycle of Crickets and Grasshoppers
Female crickets lay up to 100 eggs in soil. These eggs hatch into nymphs in 2 weeks. Nymphs molt 10 times before reaching adult form. Grasshoppers mate in late summer and lay up to 300 eggs per pod. Their eggs overwinter and hatch the following spring.
Do crickets eat grasshoppers?
What insect eats grasshopper eggs?