The greenhouse camel cricket is a wingless Asian camel cricket that turned up in far more US homes than the native camel crickets in a citizen-science survey of houses. It has very long antennae and a mottled brown body, and it was first recorded in North America in a Minnesota greenhouse in 1898.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Body about 0.4–0.7 in (11–17 mm) long, gray to yellow-brown or reddish-brown with dark brown mottling, and antennae about four times as long as the body. It has no wings; females have a long, blade-like egg-laying tube at the tip of the abdomen.
- Voice
- Being wingless, it cannot chirp.
Look-alikes
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Basements
- Cellars
- Greenhouses
- Yards near houses
- Range
- Native to East Asia. In the US it is found across much of the East and into the central states, from Maine south to Tennessee and west to Kansas. It has also spread to Europe, where it mostly lives in heated greenhouses.
- Preferred conditions
- Prefers warm, damp places with plenty of hiding spots.
Behavior
- Diet
- An omnivorous scavenger that eats dead insects and small insects such as aphids, plus fruit, seeds, and tender plant parts.
- Activity
- Active at night and hides in dark places by day. It is a strong jumper.
Life cycle
- Reproduction
- Females lay eggs one at a time in soil, often in flower pots. Eggs hatch after 3–4 months, and the young reach adulthood in about seven months. Because generations overlap, all ages can be found together.
Name and classification
- About the name
- Often listed under the name Diestrammena asynamora.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- In greenhouses it can damage plants, especially when many are present.
More species to explore
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