Jerusalem crickets or potato bugs are a group of large, flightless insects of the genus Stenopelmatus. They are native to the western United States and parts of Mexico.
Despite their common names, these insects are neither true crickets (which belong to the family Gryllidae) nor true bugs (which belong to the order Hemiptera), nor are they native to Jerusalem. These nocturnal insects use their strong mandibles to feed primarily on dead organic matter but can also eat other insects. Their highly adapted feet are used for burrowing beneath moist soil to feed on decaying root plants and tubers.
While Jerusalem crickets are not venomous, they can emit a foul smell and are capable of inflicting a painful bite.
Video Jerusalem cricket
Classification
There are 20 described species in the genus Stenopelmatus, and at least 30 more as yet undescribed. The family Stenopelmatidae contains several Old World genera, but only the genera in the subfamily Stenopelmatinae (all New World) are referred to as Jerusalem crickets. Other families in the same superfamily (Stenopelmatoidea) in Australia and New Zealand include the wetas and king crickets. They are similar to Stenopelmatus in many respects.
Maps Jerusalem cricket
Communication
Similar to true crickets, each species of Jerusalem cricket produces a different song during mating. This song takes the form of a characteristic drumming in which the insect beats its abdomen against the ground.
No species have wings with sound-producing structures; moreover, evidently none has structures it could use to hear sound. This contrasts with true crickets and katydids, who use their wings to produce sounds and have hearing organs to sense sounds of others. Jerusalem crickets also seem unable to hiss by forcing air through their spiracles, as some beetles and cockroaches do. Instead, the few Jerusalem crickets that do make sound rub their hind legs against the sides of the abdomen, producing a rasping, hissing noise. This hiss may serve to deter predators rather than to communicate with other crickets. For such purposes, Jerusalem crickets rely on substrate vibrations felt by subgenual organs located in all six of the insect's legs.
Names
Several hypotheses attempt to explain the origin of the term "Jerusalem cricket". One suggests the term originated from a mixing of Navajo and Christian terminology, resulting from the strong connection Franciscan priests had with the Navajos in developing their dictionary and vocabulary. Such priests may have heard the Navajos speak of a "skull insect" and took this as a reference to Calvary (also known as Skull Hill) outside Jerusalem near the place where Jesus was crucified.
Several Navajo names refer to the insect's head:
- c'ic'in lici (Tsiits'iin ?ichí'í) "red-skull"
- c'os bic'ic lici (Ch'osh bitsiits'iin ?ichí'í) "red-skull bug"
- c'ic'in lici' I coh (Tsiits'iin ?ichí'ítsoh) "big red-skull"
- wo se c'ini or rositsini or yo sic'ini (Wóó tsiits'iin/Yaa' tsiits'iiní) "skull insect"
Other names include the Hopi qalatötö ("shiny bug"), the Spanish niño de la tierra ("child of the earth") and cara de niño ("child's face").
References
External links
- Phylogenetics of the Mahogany Jerusalem Cricket in Southern California
- BugGuide.net - pictures and information on genus Stenopelmatus - Jerusalem Cricket.
Source of article : Wikipedia
0 Comments