Gryllodes sigillatus (Walker)

Weissman, David B., Gray, David A., Pham, Hanh Thi & Tijssen, Peter, 2012, Billions and billions sold: Pet-feeder crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllidae), commercial cricket farms, an epizootic densovirus, and government regulations make for a potential disaster, Zootaxa 3504, pp. 67-88 : 69

Gryllodes sigillatus (Walker)

( Fig. 1 )

Variously called the tropical or Indian house cricket, Gryllodes sigillatus is also a cosmopolitan species, and we have found it sold in both USA and European pet food stores. This species is easily distinguished from A. domesticus by its song, shorter tegmina and hind wings, longer cerci, and greater agility and ability to jump. In contrast to A. domesticus , populations are almost unknown from natural habitats (DBW & DAG, unpublished) and are always associated with human structures. This cricket species is easier to culture than A. domesticus (Scott Sakaluk, pers. comm. to DBW, January, 2012).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Gryllodes sigillatus (adult male left) and Acheta domesticus (adult male right). Both species are usually light brown / tan in color with a black bar between the eyes. Adults of both sexes of G. sigillatus always have short tegmina (top wings) covering about half of the abdomen. Adults of both sexes of A. domesticus have longer tegmina reaching near tip of abdomen and hind (bottom) wings (see arrows) that extend beyond tip of abdomen. In culture, some adults of the latter species shed their hind wings (Walker 1977). Such an occurrence can be confirmed by the absence of any hind wing or the presence of just a stump.