Coming from the Latin word grillus , cricket is a term used to name an insect that moves by jumping and that generates a characteristic sound with its elytra (forewings). It is an animal with a reddish black body, with prominent eyes and a rounded head.
Like all insects, crickets are arthropods that breathe through the trachea and have a body segmented into an abdomen, thorax and head, with three pairs of legs and a pair of antennae. As crickets develop, they undergo a simple metamorphosis .
These arthropods are part of the orthopteran group: they are chewers and have a pair of membranous wings and another pair of elytra. Thanks to the characteristics of their legs, they can jump and run.
Crickets are omnivores that feed on other insects and plants . They are usually aggressive towards each other and confront each other with violence. As for their typical song, it is performed by males to attract females.
It is also important to know that there are different varieties of cricket throughout the world. However, among the most significant we can highlight some such as these:
-The green cricket, which is characterized by having the color that gives it its name and also because it has very long and very thin antennae.
-The onion cricket, which also responds to the name of the mole cricket. It is identified because it is gray, has shovel-shaped legs and its eyes are very large.
-The common cricket, which has a color halfway between yellow and brown. It should also be noted that it has very strong legs and that its hind wings are quite hard.
-The black cricket, which, as its name indicates, is black. It can reach 2.5 centimeters long and its wings are very powerful.
Other curiosities about crickets are the following:
-They have an eardrum in the leg area.
-They cannot fly despite having wings.
-A large number of varieties of crickets have the peculiarity of being two colors at the same time.
-Among the most unique types of these insects are the so-called camel crickets.
-More and more countries are opting to include crickets in the diet of human beings. The reason for this action is that it is considered that in these insects there is more magnesium and even protein than, for example, in a piece of meat. There are recipes such as chocolate covered crickets , cricket bread , cricket cookies and fried crickets .
It should be noted that the talking cricket is a character that is part of “The Adventures of Pinocchio” , the famous book written by Carlo Collodi in the 19th century . In Walt Disney 's film adaptation, this creature was named Jiminy Cricket (or Jiminy Cricket ), achieving great popularity and later moving on to other series.