Black Cricket- Can anyone ID this one?

[viper69]

So I picked up a mixed group of medium crickets from the LPS. One is the normal type I see (light colored), but the black one, I haven't seen before. Can anyone ID these? I've seen small shiny jet black field crickets before, but these are different looking. They aren't totally black, and their jumping legs are amber where its translucent.

 

[dementedlullaby]

Not a cricket expert (=p) but it just looks like a black field cricket to me /shrug. The males can have a nasty bite compared to the other house cricket you have there.

 

[cold blood]

To me it looks different than a common black field cricket, even the build is not as robust...its the same as the "normal" one. I wonder if a black field cricket got in with the others and bred....black field cricket/domestic grey cricket hybrids perhaps or an entirely different species altogether. They look quite healthy anyway.

 

[dementedlullaby]

It's interesting to note there are more than one species of field cricket and many are black. So this can be a hard one to pin down haha.

I don't know if house crickets and field crickets are able to interbreed. Or even if different types of field cricket can interbreed for that matter.

What they most resemble is tarantula food .

 

[Beary Strange]

You have goth crickets. That's hardcore.

But in seriousness, the only dark crickets I've seen are dead.

 

[viper69]

You have goth crickets. That's hardcore.

But in seriousness, the only dark crickets I've seen are dead.

Tell me about Belle, when I first looked inside the plastic bag, I thought I had dead ones! The only time I don't look at the crix stock and get a surprise! I fed one to my Iridopelma. I'll have to ask the LPS on Monday what they hell they are. They aren't shiny.

 

[dementedlullaby]

Hopefully you have a good pet store because chances are with a question like that they will look at you like you are crazy ^^.

A lot of pet stores around here mix crick types together. I've moved to only buying banded crickets as they don't die a horrible death in a week unlike domestics which I can't keep alive. I have other animals that eat them so generally buy from a feeder breeder though.

 

[viper69]

Hopefully you have a good pet store because chances are with a question like that they will look at you like you are crazy ^^.

A lot of pet stores around here mix crick types together. I've moved to only buying banded crickets as they don't die a horrible death in a week unlike domestics which I can't keep alive. I have other animals that eat them so generally buy from a feeder breeder though.

The guy is pretty good. He's into reptiles, breeds them etc, he'll know what they are. They have banded ones too at times, like now. At least they are MUCH quieter than the others. I hate loud chirping crickets.

 

[edgeofthefreak]

I find banded crickets to be too agile for some of my creatures. Glad to know they make less noise. But as far as crix go, those extra long antenna are kinda cute.