CRICKET

Description: The adult House Cricket is about two centimetres in length. The body is usually light brown with black markings about the head and thorax. The female is told from the male by the presence of an ovipositor, a long extension attached to the end of the abdomen, used for depositing eggs in the soil. House crickets have conspicuous jumping legs and have two pairs of wings, of which, only the back pair are used for flight.
Habitat: House Crickets can be found in a variety of habitats including woodlands, suburbs, urban areas, buildings, ducts, siding, restaurants and anywhere else there happens to be a food supply and warm air. Although many crickets die off in the colder months yet those that manage to find their way indoors can stay alive year round.
Reproduction: Crickets reach sexual maturity between eight and twelve weeks after birth. Males attract mates by rubbing their wings together to produce a noise sometimes referred to as “chirping”. Technically, this process is called stirdulation. Interestingly enough, the rate in which a cricket “chirps” is determined by the temperature outside. When it is warmer, crickets chirp faster. Scientists can actually tell the exact outdoor temperature by timing the rate of cricket “chirpings”. After the male mates with female, the female will lay between 50 and 100 eggs in the ground or another soft surface. The eggs hatch in about two weeks.
Answer the following questions
1 Which of the following do you think is about the size of a cricket (2 centimetres)?
a A flea
b A hot dog
c A match
d A dragonfly
2 Which of the following is not true?
a Crickets can reproduce after 12 weeks.
b Some crickets survive during the cold months.
c Crickets have two sets of wings.
d Males and females have ovipositors
3 In which of the following months would it be unlikely to see a cricket outdoors?
a May
b July
c September
d January
4 What determines how fast a cricket “chirps”?
a the number of predators around
b food supply
c temperature
d the number of females around
5 What do male crickets rub together to make their “chirping” noise?
a spiracles
b antennae
c wings
d legs