# European Field Cricket

*Gryllus campestris*

Only the males sing, using a process called stridulation where they rub a scraper on one wing against a file on the other.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Orthoptera › Gryllidae › Gryllus
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** decreasing
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Dry, sunny grasslands, meadows, and pastures with short vegetation and patches of bare soil.
- **Diet:** Omnivorous, primarily consuming grasses, leaves, and roots, but occasionally scavenging dead insects.
- **Range:** Europe, North Africa, Western Asia
- **Size:** 20-26 mm in length
- **Lifespan:** 1 year
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Intensive agricultural practices, loss of permanent pastures, and habitat fragmentation.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless to humans. These crickets are shy and will retreat into their burrows if they feel vibrations. Observe quietly from a distance to hear their song; do not attempt to dig up their burrows.

## About

Gryllus campestris is one of many crickets known as field crickets. These flightless dark colored insects are comparatively large; the males range from 19 to 23 mm and the females from 17 to 22 mm.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/393f0c43-44be-4d5d-9234-0f3e5432b4db
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/71248
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gryllus campestris
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/31760/medium.jpg (Gilles San Martin, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.