UNL Ento ID Lab

THE ODDEST CRICKET YOU MAY NEVER SEE!

One of the strangest crickets you may never see is the Jerusalem Cricket, which actually consists of fourteen species. The more descriptive names are of native American and Spanish origin and come from localities in the western United States where the cricket lives. They are Child of the Earth, Devil's Baby, Old Bald-Headed Man, Child's Face, and Potato Bug. Child of the Earth is becoming the more popular name. You may find it in western Nebraska and in the Great Plains region.

The Child of the Earth lives in more arid regions and burrows in loose or sandy soils. It is omnivorous and feeds on insects as well as plant roots and tubers. It is active at night and so is rarely seen except on occasion when one enter homes or other buildings. Adults spend the winter in burrows in the soil and mate in the spring. They find each other by drumming their abdomens rhythmically against the ground.

The body of the Child of the Earth can be up to two inches long, and is orange- tan, light brown to reddish-brown in color. The head is large and bald, and the body is wingless. The abdomen is soft with alternating light and dark bands across it, and the legs are stout and built for burrowing. When uncovered, the Child of the Earth can be a vicious biter with its strong mandibles.

Like its grasshopper, cricket and cockroach relatives, the Child of the Earth can be parasitized by very long nematode-like Hairworms that feed within its body cavity. When the cricket is harmed, the hairworms evacuate the body very quickly. They are quite a phenomenon themselves with an amazing biology.

See the animated GIF that I created using an image from Dr. Whitney Cranshaw, entomologist at Colorado State University.