Biology
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Gilbert White, in his book 'The natural history of Selbourne', describes how field crickets could be lured out of their burrows by the insertion of a twig or grass stalk. White studied the cricket in some detail and observed that the males clear a small platform in front of their burrows from which they broadcast their 'love songs'. Field crickets are flightless, and the females locate singing males by crawling across the ground to them. After mating, either inside or outside the burrow, the female lays her eggs in areas of disturbed soil in full sunlight. Young cricket nymphs hatch in July and August, and grow rapidly. In early autumn a hibernation burrow is dug and the nymph spends the winter here.
Conservation
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Because of its endangered status the field cricket was included in English Nature's Species Recovery Project (SRP) in 1991. Initial work concentrated on ascertaining the status of the only UK population, determining habitat requirements and provision of advice on habitat management. The next step was to initiate a captive breeding programme. The Invertebrate Conservation Centre based at London Zoo obtained a number of adults in 1991 and began to establish a viable breeding population. On the ground, preparations were made to restore some of the crickets' former sites back to suitable condition ready for release of the captive-bred stock. This re-introduction began the following year, appropriately, near Arundel Castle Cricket Ground. Since then re-introductions have continued and some have been the subject of keen media interest with a BBC documentary following the progress of the captive crickets at London Zoo.
Description
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The field cricket is an impressive insect with a black body and wings that resemble intricate wrought iron work. The wing colour is dark black/brown, with a yellow base and black raised veins. A modified area of veins on the male's wings, known as the 'harp', enables it to produce the 'song' or stridulation that he uses to attract a female.
Habitat
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Field crickets need close-cropped turf on warm, dry, porous soil. The sites should be sheltered and in full sun.
Range
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Most of Europe except in the north. It has never been common in the UK and most of its historical sites have now disappeared. By the 1980s, the field cricket's UK range was limited to one site in West Sussex.
Status
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Classified as Endangered in the UK.
Threats
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Although never more than locally common, the field cricket has declined through loss of habitat. The Hampshire site where Gilbert White conducted his research is now covered by a mature beech wood. Another lies buried under an oil refinery and many others have been turned over to agriculture or forestry.
Brief Summary
provided by Ecomare
Field-crickets are native to Europe, however along the Dutch coast, it is only found on Goeree. It is rare in the Belgium dunes. The species is dark with a round head, long, slim antennae and long 'tails'. Its hearing organ is located in the front legs. Field-crickets live in burrows in dry, sunny locations with short vegetation. In the dunes, pioneer vegetation on wind-blown sand is preferred. The male sings (chirps) in the opening of its burrow. Field-crickets are a threatened species in the Netherlands and is on the Red List for grasshoppers and crickets.
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Gryllus campestris
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Field recording in the Netherlands 32s
G. campestris and its burrow
Gryllus campestris, the European field cricket or simply the field cricket in the British Isles,[2] is the type species of crickets in its genus and tribe Gryllini. These flightless dark colored insects are comparatively large; the males range from 19 to 23 mm and the females from 17 to 22 mm.
Habitat
Gryllus campestris used to be common over most of Western Europe. It prefers dry, sunny locations with short vegetation, like dry grasslands.[2] At the northern edge of its range, it is restricted to heathlands and oligotrophic grasslands. The species is flightless and unable to migrate long distances, and it therefore does not commonly recover on its own from local extinction.
Reproduction
The reproductive season of the univoltine species lasts from May to July. The males make a burrow with a platform at the entrance from which they attract females with their courtship stridulation. They chirp during daytime as well as the first part of the night, only when the temperature is well above 13 °C. Nymphs hatch in June till mid July and hibernate during their tenth or eleventh instar. The final moult takes place at the end of April or at the beginning of May. Males are territorial and defend their burrows fiercely, while females are vagrant and are attracted by singing males. They lay their eggs in bare ground either close to a burrow or inside the burrow. Populations of G. campestris are known to undergo extreme fluctuations and are strongly affected by weather conditions.
Threats
Gryllus campestris has long been considered the most endangered cricket species in the British Isles, occurring only in southern England.[2] It is declining and red-listed in large parts of Central and Northern Europe, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Lithuania. It has declined severely in part of its northern range due to the disappearance of its heathland habitat; by the early 1990s, the species was reduced in the UK to a single surviving colony of just 100 individuals in Coates, West Sussex, and it is considered extirpated from Denmark.
Conservation efforts
Fragmentation of habitats and loss of (sub)populations have been recognized as main threats for many species, including the Field cricket. The artificial establishment of new populations is, therefore, a consistent method for enhancing the survival probability of a species. The aim of translocation projects is usually to reduce the risk of extinction for an endangered species by creating additional self-sustaining populations. Studies of translocation and natural populations of G. campestris in Germany[3] have shown that translocation does not result in a significant loss of genetic diversity. Translocation of nymphs from different subpopulations may in fact be a suitable method to decrease the loss of genetic diversity and reduce the risk of inbreeding, and large numbers of nymphs may be translocated without negative effect on the source population.[4]
Field crickets are one of the species in the Back from the Brink project, which in 2018 translocated crickets to RSPB Pulborough Brooks to form a new population.[5]
References
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^ Hochkirch, A., Willemse, L.P.M., Rutschmann, F., Chobanov, D.P., Kleukers, R., Kristin, A., Presa, J.J. & Szovenyi, G. 2016. Gryllus campestris. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T68382961A74519280. Downloaded on 27 October 2021.
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^ a b c Ragge DR (1965). Grasshoppers, Crickets & Cockroaches of the British Isles. F Warne & Co, London. p. 299.
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^ A. Hochkirch, K. Witzenberger, A. Teerling, F. Niemeyer (2007) Translocation of an endangered insect species, the field cricket (Gryllus campestris Linnaeus, 1758) in northern Germany. Biodivers Conserv. 16:3597–3607
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^ K. Witzenberger, A. Hochkirch, (2008) Genetic consequences of animal translocations: A case study using the field cricket, Gryllus campestris L. Biological Conservation, Volume 141, Issue 12, 3059-3068
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^ "Back from the Brink - Field Cricket". Retrieved 18 July 2018.
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Gryllus campestris: Brief Summary
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Sound of Gryllus campestris Field recording in the Netherlands 32s Problems playing this file? See
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G. campestris and its burrow
Late
instar nymph
Gryllus campestris, the European field cricket or simply the field cricket in the British Isles, is the type species of crickets in its genus and tribe Gryllini. These flightless dark colored insects are comparatively large; the males range from 19 to 23 mm and the females from 17 to 22 mm.
- license
- cc-by-sa-3.0
- copyright
- Wikipedia authors and editors
G. campestris and its burrow 
