Orthoptera of North Carolina
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View Gryllidae Members: NC Records

Anurogryllus arboreus Walker, 1973 - Common Short-Tailed Cricket

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Taxonomy
Family: Gryllidae Subfamily: Gryllinae Tribe: GrylliniSynonym: Anurogryllus muticus
Comments: One of three species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (Walker, 1973), and the only one that has been recorded in North Carolina
Species Status: Prior to Walker's (1973) revision, North American specimens were all identified as A. muticus, which Walker distinguished as a purely West Indian species.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Capinera et al. (2004)Online Photographs: SINA, BugGuide, Google Images,  iNaturalist, GBIFTechnical Description, Adults/Nymphs: Walker (1973)SINA 491a.htm                                                                                  
Comments: A small, pale brown cricket. The color of the head, body, and legs are a uniform yellowish-brown, with the wings a darker brown (Blatchley, 1920). This coloration is unique among our Gryllids, although similar to Camptonotus carolinensis (Carolina Leaf-roller), which is completely wingless and has conspicuous ovipositors in the females.
Total Length [body plus wings; excludes ovipositor]: 12-16 mm, males; 17 mm, females (Blatchley, 1920)
Structural Features: The ovipositor is extremely short, unlike all of our other Gryllids but not completely absent as in the Mole Crickets. The ocelli are distinctively arranged in a nearly transverse row. Tegmina cover the abdomen in the males but only one half to two thirds in females; males lack hindwings (dealate rather than micropterous, see Walker, 1973) but females possess wings that often extend beyond the abdomen (Blatchley, 1920).
Singing Behavior: Fulton (1932) describes the song as a "steady loud trill without modulations, at close range with a distinct buzzy undertone". The pulse rate is 75 syllables per sec at 77 F (25 C) (Capinera et al., 2004), with an average frequency of 5.3 kHz between 64-93 F (Walker, 1973). Gryllus rubens, which also sings during the spring, has a similar trill with a similar dominant frequency, but has more frequent pauses and a slower pulse rate: 60 syllables per second when warm.
Nymphal Stages and Development: Nymphs remain for an extended time in their natal burrows, where they are brought food by their mother (Fulton, 1951; Walker, 1973)
Distribution in North Carolina
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Anurogryllus arboreus
Adult Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

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Habitats and Life History
Habitats: This species appears to prefer well-drained but moist soils, in which it digs extensive burrows (see Walker, 1973). However, the vegetation varies from closed-canopy hardwood forests to open pine-oak woodlands, to lawns and pastures.
Diet: Herbivorous, feeding on forbs, including cultivated species such as cotton.
Observation Methods: Males sing only at night and for only about one half to two hours after dusk (Walker, 1973). They often call while perched low on trees trunks, a behavior for which Walker named them "arboreus".
Abundance/Frequency: Locally abundant
Adult Phenology: Fulton (1951) recorded males singing in May and June in the vicinity of Raleigh, found females as late as August 2.
See also Habitat Account for General Forests and Fields
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: [GNR] [SU]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands
Comments: We have records -- all historic -- from a fairly wide area of the state. Since it also does not appear to be a habitat specialist, occurring in human-altered as well as natural habitats, this species is probably secure within the state.