''Gryllus pennsylvanicus'' is known as the fall field cricket. ''G. pennsylvanicus'' is common in southern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, is widespread across much of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Alexander, R. D. 1968. Life cycle origins, speciation, and related phenomena in crickets. Q. Rev. Biol. 43, 1-41.Capinera, J. L., Scott, R. D., and Walker, T. J. 2004. Field Guide to Grasshoppers, Katydids, and Crickets of the United States. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. and can be found even into parts of northern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It tends to be absent in most of the southwestern

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

including southern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Within its geographic range this field cricket will burrow into soil in fields and forest edges. Individuals inhabit grassy disturbed areas Tennis, P. 1983. Survivorship, spatial pattern, and habitat structure of field crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) in two old fields. Environmental Entomology 12, 110-116. and are often found around areas of human habitation.Alexander, R. D., and Meral, G. H. 1967. Seasonal and daily chirping cycles in the northern spring and fall field crickets, ''Gryllus veletis'' and ''G. pennsylvanicus''. Ohio J. Sci. 67, 200-209.

Identification

Adults reach and coloration ranges from dark black to dark brown, although some specimens show a slight reddish tint. The black antennae tend to be longer than the body span of the species. The cerci are longer than the head and prothorax, and the wings do not extend past the cerci.

Life cycle

During the breeding season, the number of adult female ''G. pennsylvanicus'' captured in pitfall traps peaks approximately two weeks after the peak in the number of adult males captured, which seems to indicate protandry. Breeding in some areas also coincides with the seed rain from certain agricultural weeds, possibly providing females with food resources to increase their fecundity. Males call from the mouths of burrows or cracks in the ground into which they escape when scared. Calling males are separated from each other by approximately 7.7 to 10.3 m in the field,French, B. W., McGowan, E. J., and Backus, V. L. 1986. Spatial distribution of calling field crickets, ''Gryllus pennsylvanicus'' (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). Fla. Entomol. 69, 255-257. likely making it costly for females to sample large numbers of potential mates. Male ''G. pennsylvanicus'' calling song consists of short chirps – roughly two to three per second – each consisting of three to five pulses (each a single closure of the male forewings or tegmina).Alexander, R. D. 1957. The taxonomy of the field crickets of the eastern United States (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: ''Acheta''). Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 50, 584-602.Doherty, J. A., and Storz, M. M. 1992. Calling song and selective phonotaxis in the field crickets, ''Gryllus firmus'' and ''G. pennsylvanicus'' (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). J. Insect Behav. 5, 555-569. Like most other gryllines, females are attracted to male calling song Alexander, R. D. 1961. Aggressiveness, territoriality, and sexual behavior in field crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). Behaviour 17, 130-223.Loher, W. and Dambach, M. 1989. Reproductive behavior. In Cricket Behavior and Neurobiology (ed. Huber, F., Moore, T. E., and Loher, W.), pp. 43-82. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Jeffery, J., Navia, B., Atkins, G., and Stout, J. 2005. Selective processing of calling songs by auditory interneurons in the female cricket, ''Gryllus pennsylvanicus'': possible roles in behavior. J. Exp. Zool. Comp. Exp. Biol. 303A, 377-392. and are attracted to higher calling effort at least when population density is low.French, B. W., and Cade, W. H. 1987. The timing of calling, movement, and mating in the field crickets ''Gryllus veletis'', ''G. pennsylvanicus'', and ''G. integer''. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 21, 157-162. In an elegant series of field experiments, Zuk Zuk, M. 1987. Variability in attractiveness of male field crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) to females. Anim. Behav. 35, 1240-1248. showed that female ''G. pennsylvanicus'' were more attracted to calling song produced by older males than that of younger males. Males found paired with females in the field were also older than unpaired calling males nearby.Zuk, M. 1988. Parasite load, body size, and age of wild-caught male field crickets (Orthoptera, Gryllidae): effects on sexual selection. Evolution 42, 969-976. However, in the earlier experiment higher calling effort explained a small, but statistically significant proportion of the variance in female attraction, raising the possibility that the apparent preference of females for the songs of older males might be due to differences in calling effort between older and younger males. Adults are mostly active during night when the males sing to attract females. Females will then lay their eggs by injecting their ovipositor into soil. A single female will lay around 50 eggs at a time and can lay well over 400 eggs in her life span. Eggs laid in the late summer and fall seasons will overwinter and hatch the following spring.Alexander, R. D., and Bigelow, R. S. 1960. Allochronic speciation in field crickets, and a new species, ''Acheta veletis''. Evolution 14, 334-346. There is one generation per year. Sometimes as winter approaches adults will find their way into houses where they will try to overwinter.

Life history evolution

Because the only reliable method of distinguishing ''G. pennsylvanicus'' and ''G. veletis'' is based on the timing of their life history, Alexander and Bigelow proposed that ''G. veletis'' and ''G. pennsylvanicus'' were sister species and had diverged through a process of

allochronic speciation Allochronic speciation (also known as allochronic isolation, or temporal isolation) is a form of speciation (specifically ecological speciation) arising from reproductive isolation that occurs due to a change in breeding time that reduces or elimi ...

, whereby a temporal separation between the breeding seasons of the two incipient species restricts

gene flow In population genetics, gene flow (also known as migration and allele flow) is the transfer of genetic variation, genetic material from one population to another. If the rate of gene flow is high enough, then two populations will have equivalent ...

. However, ''G. veletis'' and ''G. pennsylvanicus'' are not

sister taxa In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

; instead, ''G. pennsylvanicus'' form a well-supported

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

with ''G. ovisopis'' and ''G. firmus'',Harrison, R. G., and Bogdanowicz, S. M. 1995. Mitochondrial DNA phylogeny of North American field crickets: perspectives on the evolution of life cycles, songs, and habitat associations. J. Evol. Biol. 8, 209-232.Huang, Y., Orti, G., Sutherlin, M., Duhachek, A., and Zera, A. 2000. Phylogenetic relationships of North American field crickets inferred from mitochondrial DNA data. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 17, 48-57. the latter of which forms an extensive hybrid zone with ''G. pennsylvanicus'' in the eastern United States.Harrison, R. G., and Arnold, J. 1982. A narrow hybrid zone between closely related cricket species. Evolution 36, 535-552. Currently, a major molecular

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

revision of North American

Gryllinae Gryllinae, or field crickets, are a subfamily of insects in the order Orthoptera and the family Gryllidae. They hatch in spring, and the young crickets (called nymphs) eat and grow rapidly. They shed their skin ( molt) eight or more times before ...

is underway (D. Gray, pers. comm.) that will include the approximately 20 western species as well as eastern species left out of earlier

phylogenies A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA. In o ...

(e.g. ''G. vernalis''). This greatly anticipated work will undoubtedly provide ample diversity fodder for research into the evolution of life histories.

Diet

''G. pennsylvanicus'' is an omnivorous Criddle, N. 1925. Field crickets in Manitoba. Can. Entomol. 57, 79-84. organism and has been shown to be a significant predator of both seeds Carmona, D. M., Menalled, F. D., and Landis, D. A. 1999. ''Gryllus pennsylvanicus'' (Orthoptera: Gryllidae): laboratory weed seed predation and within field activity-density. J. Econ. Entomol. 92, 825-829.O'Rourke, M. E., Heggenstaller, A. H., Liebman, M., and Rice, M. E. 2006. Post-dispersal weed seed predation by invertebrates in conventional and low-external-input crop rotation systems. Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 116, 280-288.Brust, E. G., and House, G. J. 1988. Weed seed destruction by arthropods and rodents in low-input soybean agro-ecosystems. Am. J. Alt. Agric. 3, 19-24. and invertebrates.Monteith, L. G. 1971. Crickets as predators of the apple maggot, ''Rhagoletis pomonella'' (Diptera: Tephritidae). Can. Entomol. 103, 52-58.Bechinski, E. J., Bechinski, J. F., and Pedigo, L. P. 1983. Survivorship of experimental green cloverworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) pupal cohorts in soybeans. Environ. Entomol. 12, 662-668.Burgess, L. and Hinks, C. F. 1987. Predation on adults of the crucifer flea beetle, ''Phyllotreta cruciferae'' (Goeze), by the northern fall field cricket, ''Gryllus pennsylvanicus'' Burmeister (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). Can. Entomol. 119, 495-496. The broad diet of ''G. pennsylvanicus'', coupled with seasonal variation in the availability of different types of prey (plant or animal) could exert substantial diversifying

selection Selection may refer to: Science * Selection (biology), also called natural selection, selection in evolution ** Sex selection, in genetics ** Mate selection, in mating ** Sexual selection in humans, in human sexuality ** Human mating strat ...

on cricket life histories (i.e. the genotypes that are optimal in high seed abundance years are likely different from those that are most fit in years of high invertebrate prey – genotype by environment interactions Reznick, D., Nunney, L., and Tessier, A. 2000. Big houses, big cars, superfleas and the costs of reproduction. Trends Ecol. Evol. 15, 421-425.). Recorded food plants of ''G. pennsylvanicus'' include smooth crabgrass (''

Digitaria ischaemum ''Digitaria ischaemum'' is a species of Digitaria, crabgrass known by the common names smooth crabgrass and small crabgrass. It is native to Europe and Asia, but it is known throughout much of the warm temperate world as an introduced species an ...

''), lamb's quarters (''

Chenopodium album ''Chenopodium album'' is a fast-growing annual plant in the flowering plant family Amaranthaceae. Though cultivated in some regions, the plant is elsewhere considered a weed. Common names include lamb's quarters, melde, goosefoot, wild spinach a ...

''), English plantain (''

Plantago lanceolata ''Plantago lanceolata'' is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It is known by the common names ribwort plantain, narrowleaf plantain, English plantain, ribleaf, lamb's tongue, and buckhorn. It is a common weed on ...

''), switchgrass (''

Panicum virgatum ''Panicum virgatum'', commonly known as switchgrass, is a perennial warm season bunchgrass native to North America, where it occurs naturally from 55th parallel north, 55°N latitude in Canada southwards into the United States and Mexico. Switch ...

''), common ragweed (''

Ambrosia artemisiifolia ''Ambrosia artemisiifolia'', with the common names common ragweed, annual ragweed, and low ragweed, is a species of the genus ''Ambrosia'' native to regions of the Americas. Taxonomy The species name, ''artemisiifolia'', is given because the lea ...

'') and chicory (''

Cichorium intybus Common chicory (''Cichorium intybus'') is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant of the family Asteraceae, usually with bright blue flowers, rarely white or pink. Native to Europe, it has been introduced to the Americas and Australia. M ...

''). Even though they are a sizable cricket for

they are preyed upon by everything from hawks to hornets.

Model system

''Gryllus pennsylvanicus'' is a model system for studying the effects of age on male reproductive success.

Gallery

File:Gryllus_pennsylvanicus_female_01.jpg, A female fall field cricket, ''Gryllus pennsylvanicus'' File:Gryllus_pennsylvanicus_male_02.jpg, A male fall field cricket, ''Gryllus pennsylvanicus'' File:Gryllus_pennsylvanicus_nymph_01.jpg, A nymphal male fall field cricket, ''Gryllus pennsylvanicus'' File:Gryllus_pennsylvanicus_mating_01.jpg, A pair of fall field crickets, ''Gryllus pennsylvanicus'', mating

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5612416 pennsylvanicus Orthoptera of North America Insects of the United States Insects of Canada Insects described in 1838 Taxa named by Hermann Burmeister