Jerusalem cricket
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jerusalem cricket | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Stenopelmatus fuscus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Orthoptera |
| Family: | Stenopelmatidae |
| Genus: | Stenopelmatus |
| Species | |
|
Stenopelmatus coahuilensis |
|
Jerusalem crickets, also called potato bugs, are a group of large, flightless insects of the genus Stenopelmatus. They are native to the western United States and parts of Mexico.
Despite their name, Jerusalem crickets are neither true crickets nor true bugs and they do not prefer potatoes for food. Active only at night, the insects use their strong mandibles to feed primarily on dead organic material but can also eat other insects.[1] Their highly adapted feet are used for burrowing beneath moist soil to feed on decaying root plants and tubers.
Contents |
[edit] Classification
There are a number of other genera in same family Stenopelmatidae and these genera occur in Australia and New Zealand. These are the "weta" and "king crickets", and they are similar to Stenopelmatus in many respects.
[edit] Song
Similar to true crickets, each species of Jerusalem cricket produces a different song during mating, but this "song" takes the form of a characteristic drumming in which the insect beats its abdomen against the ground.
Most species have no sound-producing structures, and evidently none have structures they could use to hear audible sound[2][3] (true crickets use their wings to produce sounds, but Stenopelmatus lack wings, and crickets and katydids have membranous "ears" they use to hear) - they do not even seem to be able to hiss by forcing air through their spiracles, as some beetles and cockroaches do. Instead, the few Jerusalem crickets which do make audible sound rub their hind legs against the sides of the abdomen, which produces a rasping, "hissing" noise;[4] this rasping noise appears to be designed to frighten predators, rather than being used in communication between the crickets themselves. For such purposes, Jerusalem crickets apparently rely exclusively on substrate vibrations, which are felt rather than heard.
[edit] Terminology
Its large, human-like head has inspired both American Indian and Spanish names for the Jerusalem cricket. For example, several Navajo names refer to the insect's head:[5]
- c’ic’in lici ("red-skull")
- c’os bic’ic lici ("red-skull bug")
- c’ic’in lici’ I coh ("big red-skull")
- wo se c’ini or rositsini ("skull insect")
- qalatötö ("shiny bug")
Other names include the Navajo yo sic’ini ("sand cricket")[5] and the Spanish niña de la tierra ("child of the earth")[5] and cara de niño ("child's face").[citation needed]
Several hypotheses attempt to explain the origin of the term "Jerusalem cricket".[5] John Stoffolano hypothesizes that the term originated from a mixing of Navajo and Christian terminology. He suggests that Franciscan priests had a strong connection with the Navajos, particularly in the development of the Navajo dictionary and vocabulary. These priests, Stoffolano contends, heard the Navajos speak of a "skull insect" and took this to be a reference to Skull Hill, the cliff outside Jerusalem where Jesus is said to be buried.
[edit] Common myths
As is true for other large, "ugly" arthropods (eg, solfugids), there are a number of folk tales regarding Jerusalem crickets which are simply untrue; first and foremost, they are not venomous. However, they can emit a foul smell and are capable of inflicting a painful bite - but neither is lethal, as some of the tales would suggest. They also do not cry like children, nor rub their legs together to make sounds.
[edit] References
- ^ Milne, Lorus and Margery (1980) The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects & Spiders. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc, pp. 437. ISBN 0-394-50763-0
- ^ L. Desutter-Grandcolas (2003) Phylogeny and the evolution of acoustic communication in extant Ensifera (Insecta, Orthoptera). Zoologica Scripta 32 (6), 525–561. doi:10.1046/j.1463-6409.2003.00142.x
- ^ Robinson, David J. and Hall, Marion J. (2002) Sound Signalling in Orthoptera. In: Evans, Peter, ed(s). Advances in Insect Physiology. Elsevier Ltd, pp. 151-278. ISBN 0-12-024229-X & 978-0-12-024229-0
- ^ Weissman, D. B. (2001). In ‘The Biology of Wetas, King Crickets and Their Allies’ (ed. L. H. Field), Communication and reproductive behaviour in North American Jerusalem crickets (Stenopelmatus) (Orthoptera: Stenopelmatidae), pp. 351-375. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK
- ^ a b c d Stoffolano JG, Wright B (2005). "Sö ́sö`öpa—Jerusalem Cricket: An Important Insect in the Hopi Katsina Pantheon". American Entomologist 51 (3): 174–179. ISSN 1046-2821. http://www.entsoc.org/pubs/periodicals/AE/AE-2005/Fall/Stoffolano.pdf.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Stenopelmatidae |
- Phylogenetics of the Mahogany Jerusalem Cricket in Southern California
- Jerusalem Cricket, from the San Diego Natural History Museum. Several photos.
- Ask Dr. Bug
- The trip to the lava field - has a picture of a beautiful colored Mexican species.
- What's that bug - pictures and comments.
- BugGuide.net - pictures and information on genus Stenopelmatus - Jerusalem Cricket.
