Small nymphs appear either by fall or early the following spring. In California, JCs reach adulthood during the summer. They are oval and white with a roughened surface. In other crickets and katydids the packet not only provides the female with reproductive materials and a nutritious snack, it also serves to block the amorous advances of other males.Įggs are probably laid in small clutches in the soil soon after mating. The function of the sperm packet in JCs is not understood. Eventually the male deposits a sperm packet, after which the female may kill and eat her mate. The drumming is audible nearly 60 feet away and is “heard” by special organs located near the bottom of each leg of the JC.Ĭourtship involves a bit of a tussle and sometimes resembles an energetic wrestling match as the male grapples for position. Sexually receptive males and virgin females drum their abdomens on the soil to attract species of their own kind. Adult females have the short blades of their egg-laying tube or ovipositor located just beneath the cerci. The localized distribution and sensitivity to habitat disruption of these and other JCs require further study and may result federal or state protection.Īdult males are distinguished by a pair of small black hooks located between the cerci, a pair of short projections near the tip of the abdomen. These sandy habitats are under assault from developers, off-road vehicle use, and agricultural interests. The Kelso Jerusalem Cricket ( Ammopelmatus kelsoensis), Point Conception Jerusalem Cricket ( Ammopelmatus muwu) and Coachella Valley Jerusalem Cricket ( Stenopelmatus cahuilaensis) are all restricted to coastal or desert dunes. Most of the 60-80 species living in the western United States call California home. Of the more than 100 species of JCs known, only about a third been formally described in the scientific literature. Jerusalem crickets are distributed throughout much of western North and Central America, where they live in almost every imaginable habitat from coastal and desert sand dunes to montane and tropical forests. They resemble the large king crickets of South Africa and the giant wetas of New Zealand, both of which are now classified in the family Anostotsmatidae.įrom the "Dark Side of Entomology." California Academy of Sciences. Jerusalem crickets, including the genera: Ammopelmatus, Stenopelmatus and Viscainopelmatus, belong the family Stenopelmatidae and are related to crickets and katydids. It is easy to imagine that unexpected encounters with these crickets could easily illicit such outbursts until the name eventually stuck! They also occasionally scavenge dead animal matter and may engage in cannibalism. The name “Jerusalem cricket” is believed to have originated in the 19th century when ‘Jerusalem’ was a commonly used as an expletive. Extensive damage to crops and gardens by these insects is rare. In California, JCs are known as potato bugs due to their predilection for nibbling on potatoes and other crops in direct contact with the soil. Jerusalem crickets can bite with considerable force if handled, but are not poisonous in any way. The Navajo thought them deadly poisonous and called them “ wó se ts´inii,’ or the “skull insect” or “bone neck beetle.” Their powerful jaws are used for digging and chewing roots. They have been dubbed Child of the Earth or Niña del la Tierra in Spanish. Jerusalem crickets are often the subject of fear and superstition and have been given a variety of monikers. Their large, round and naked heads are fitted with two small black eyes suggesting the head of a child. Resembling a cross between Jiminy Cricket and a Cootie, Jerusalem crickets – or JCs as they are fondly known by some – are impressive animals. I carefully picked up the stiff corpse and presented it to my dad, who told me it was a Jerusalem cricket. I approached the animal cautiously, but closer inspection revealed that the insect was dead, frozen forever in a sprawling, lifelike pose. The inch-long insect had thread like antennae attached to an oversized head, a wingless narrow midsection armed with thick spiny legs and a fat abdomen distinctly banded in black and tan. My first encounter with one of these giant, almost ant-like creatures occurred when I was about seven or eight years old and living on the fringes of the Mojave Desert in southern California. However, they are not venomous and bite only when handled. Their large, humanoid heads have inspired fear and superstition wherever they are found. This individual was photographed in Costa Rica. Jerusalem crickets of the genus Stenopelmatus (Greek for “narrow foot”) are found in a variety of habitats throughout much of western North and Central America.
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