Field Cricket ♀
Gryllus
Observed at night in Florida Canyon, Sta. Rita Mts., Arizona, USA. 30
July 2013.
Notice the very long antennae on the head and the long paired cerci from the posterior of the abdomen:
these very sensitive organs assist the cricket navigating and searching in the dark. The long central appendage from the tip of the abdomen
is the ovipositor - the egg laying organ.
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Field crickets are the evening songsters that delight children and naturalists through much of the temperate world. Moist, shady canyons in Arizona are home to a number, in deed an unknown number, of Gryllus species. Part of the issue is that the best way to distinguish the species is by analyzing the songs' rhythm and melody - traits that are lost in dried specimens as well as photographs. Genetic and audio analysis is now being applied by taxonomists to help sort out the species. Field crickets are omnivorous, taking all sorts of food items.