Jerusalemcrickets are a group of large, flightless insects of the genusStenopelmatus. They are native to the western United States and parts of Mexico. Despite their common names, these insects are neither true crickets nor true bugs, 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.
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 subfamilyStenopelmatinae are referred to as Jerusalem crickets. Other families in the same superfamily in Australia and New Zealand include the wētā and king crickets. They are similar to Stenopelmatus in many respects.
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 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 connectionFranciscan 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 outside Jerusalem near the place where Jesus was crucified. Several Navajo names refer to the insect's head:
c’ic’in lici "red-skull"
c’os bic’ic lici "red-skull bug"
c’ic’in lici’ I coh "big red-skull"
wo se c’ini or rositsini or yo sic’ini "skull insect"
Other names include the Hopi qalatötö, the Spanish niño de la tierra and cara de niño.
Size and shape
Female Stenopelmatus talpa, also known as the Mexican Jerusalem cricket, are seen to have larger features than male Stenopelmatus talpa. In the case of prothorax width, prothorax length, fore femur, head size, and mandible lengths, females were larger than males. However, males tended to have larger hind femora compared to females.
