Cave cricket
Encyclopedia : C : CA : CAV : Cave cricket
-->Cave crickets and Camel crickets are orthopteroid insects of the family Rhaphidophoridae which are found in association with caves. Those occurring in New Zealand, Australia, and surrounding environs are typically referred to as Cave Wetas, and belong in a different subfamily (see link). The most common and well-known species outside of Australia are those of the subfamily Ceuthophilinae, which also includes the Sand treaders (genus Macrobaenetes and allies).
The cave crickets and the well-known field crickets are from different superfamilies and only look vaguely similar. Cave crickets have very large hind legs with "drumstick-shaped" femurs and long, slender antennae. They are brownish in color and rather humpbacked in appearance, always wingless, and up to one inch long. As the name implies, cave crickets are commonly found in caves. However, most species live in other cool, damp situations such as in wells, rotten logs, stumps and hollow trees, and under damp leaves, stones, boards, and logs. The group known as "Sand treaders" are restricted to sand dunes, however, and are adapted to live in this environment; they are active only at night, and spend the day burrowed into the sand, to minimize water loss. They are pale, sand-colored insects, and their legs are modified with strong bristles for rapid digging.
Their distinctive limbs and antennae serve a double purpose. Typically living in a lightless environment, or active at night, they rely heavily on their sense of touch, which is limited by reach. While they have been known to take up residence the basements of buildings, many cave crickets live out their entire lives deep inside actual caves. In those habitats they sometimes face long spans of time with insufficient access to nutrients. To avoid starvation, they have been known to devour their own extremities, even though they cannot regenerate limbs.
Cave and camel crickets are of little economic importance except as a nuisance in buildings and homes, especially basements. They are usually "accidental invaders" that wander in by mistake from adjacent areas. They generally do not reproduce indoors, except in situations that provide continuous dark, moist conditions as well as organic debris to serve as food.
Control efforts for camel crickets should include (as much as is practical) eliminating breeding and hiding sites outdoors around the house or building. Piles of bricks, stones, boards, leaves, etc., should be removed. Also, cracks and gaps in foundation or siding or around windows and doors should be sealed. House centipedes are a natural predatory form of control, but most homeowners are uncomfortable having them around, despite their beneficial nature. Occasional, individual crickets can be easily picked or swept up and discarded. If there is a breeding population and chemical control is desired, spraying a residual barrier of diazinon, Dursban or Sevin insecticide around the outside of the house may be of benefit if you apply sufficient spray to reach breeding sites. Spraying household "ant and cockroach" insecticide onto indoor floor areas where camel crickets hide or are seen is a last resort of limited benefit.
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