''Anurogryllus arboreus'', the common short-tailed cricket or arboreal short-tailed cricket, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

in the family

Gryllidae The family ''Gryllidae'' contains the subfamilies and genera which entomologists now term true crickets. Having long, whip-like antennae, they belong to the Orthopteran suborder Ensifera, which has been greatly reduced in the last 100 years (''e ...

. It is native to the southern and south-eastern United States where it lives in a burrow that it digs.

Description

Like other short-tail crickets in its genus, the adult ''A. arboreus'' is a pale brown cricket with a vestigial

ovipositor The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...

. When it first matures, the adult insect has wings, but it soon sheds these and is afterwards flightless.

Taxonomy and distribution

At one time, nearly all the short-tailed crickets in the United States were considered to belong to the species ''

Anurogryllus muticus ''Anurogryllus muticus'', also known as De Geer's short-tailed cricket or simply short-tailed cricket (a name common to many '' Anurogryllus'' species) is a species of cricket in the family Gryllidae. It is native to Bermuda, the West Indies, C ...

'', the range of which extended from Canada to much of South America. In a revision of the genus made by T. J. Walker in 1973, ''Anurogryllus arboreus'' was split off on the basis of the behavior of the male when calling, and on certain morphological differences. ''A. arboreus'' occurs primarily along the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to Florida and westward to southeastern Texas. The only other species of '' Anurogryllus'' found in the United States is '' A. celerinictus'', which occurs on the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...

Behavior

''A. arboreus'' lives solitarily in a burrow which it digs, carrying soil particles to the surface with its

mandibles In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower tooth, teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movabl ...

. Males dig temporary burrows but females may reside in one burrow for an extended period. Besides the main tunnel, typically long, there are side chambers in which the insect resides and feeds, and a refuse chamber used to deposit fecal pellets and discarded vegetable matter. Some lateral tunnels are dug to enable the cricket to feed on plant roots without emerging on the soil surface. Except when the insect is outside foraging or looking for a mate, the entrance to the burrow is kept plugged with soil or vegetation. Breeding takes place once a year between April and June. The male emerges from his burrow at nightfall and calls from a perch in a tree or other high place in the early part of the night. When a female is attracted, mating may take place near the perch, or in a burrow. The female lays several dozen eggs in a breeding chamber and defends her burrow fiercely against the intrusion of males. She tends the eggs by palpating them and turning them over, and gathers and deposits bits of vegetation on which the newly-hatched

nymphs A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are typ ...

feed. She also lays

trophic Trophic, from Ancient Greek τροφικός (''trophikos'') "pertaining to food or nourishment", may refer to: * Trophic cascade * Trophic coherence * Trophic egg * Trophic function * Trophic hormone * Trophic level index * Trophic level * Trop ...

(unfertilised) eggs for their nourishment. The nymphs keep together in a compact group, often on the roof of the chamber, and follow the female about when she is nearby. The female typically dies when the nymphs are part grown, and soon afterwards they disperse and dig their own burrows.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10413903 Gryllinae Insects described in 1973 Insects of the United States