Cricket (insect)

Crickets are orthopteran insects that occur on all of the continents except Antarctica. There are over 900 known species of crickets with the greatest diversity being in the tropics. They occur in varied habitats — grasslands, forests, marshes, beaches, and caves. Crickets are mainly nocturnal and known for the chirping of males trying to attract females, but some species are mute. Crickets hear by means of the tympana on the tibiae of the front legs.

Quotes

• Most cricket species are musical, sound-producing insects that have long been part of human life and lore. For instance, according to Polynesian creed, crickets are embodiments of the souls of loved ones, and in many countries a cricket singing at the hearth is thought to bring luck and protect the home against evil spirits. The fierce rivalry behavior of male crickets was well known in ancient China; games were organized and bets were waged on the outcome of their battles. But it is the elaborate behavior of crickets, and especially their acoustic communication, which has always drawn the most attention from biologists and the general public.
  • Franz Huber, Thomas E. Moore, and Werner Loher, "Preface". Cricket Behavior and Neurobiology. Cornell University Press. 15 May 2019. ISBN 978-1-5017-4590-4. 

• In this review, we report over 60 cricket species that are consumed in 49 countries globally. Nutritionally, crickets are reported to be rich in proteins, ranging from 55 to 73%, and lipids, which range from 4.30 to 33.44% of dry matter. The reported amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) is 58% of the total fatty acids. Edible crickets contain an appreciable amount of macro- and micro-mineral elements such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, iron, zinc, manganese, and copper. Also, the crickets are rich in the required amount of vitamins such as B group vitamins and vitamins A, C, D, E, and K.
  • Henlay J. O. Magara1, Saliou Niassy, Monica A. Ayieko, Mukundi Mukundamago, James P. Egonyu, Chrysantus M. Tanga, Emily K. Kimathi, Jackton O. Ongere, Komi K. M. Fiaboe, Sylvain Hugel, Mary A. Orinda, Nanna Roos, and Sunday Ekesi, (2021)"Edible Crickets (Orthoptera) Around the World: Distribution, Nutritional Value, and Other Benefits—A Review". Frontiers in Nutrition 7. DOI:10.3389/fnut.2020.537915.

• When I was five years old and lived in the city—in Brooklyn, New York—a miraculous thing happened one summer. A cricket! One night I heard a cricket calling. What ab beautiful sound. It was the only one, a lonely soloist calling for a mate. Each evening I'd lie in bed listening to the cricket. A few nights after the serenading began, I happened to be outside with my father shortly after dark. I saw a big cockroach and dutifully stepped on it without a thought, as I'd been taught to do.
      "Dad, look at the big roach I just killed!" So proud.
      "That's not a roach, Carl; that's a cricket." I had killed the night's music.
  Whoa.
  • Carl Safina in Foreword to Nischk, Frank (2023). Of Cockroaches and Crickets: Learning to Love Creatures That Skitter and Jump. Greystone Books. ISBN 978-1-77164-873-8. 

External links

• Encyclopedic article on Cricket (insect) on Wikipedia
• The dictionary definition of cricket on Wiktionary