Orthoptera of North Carolina
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Allonemobius griseus funeralis (Hart, 1906) - Dusky Ground Cricket

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Taxonomy
Family: Gryllidae Subfamily: Nemobiinae Tribe: PteronemobiiniSynonym: Nemobius fasciatus funeralis, Allonemobius funeralis
Comments: One of ten species in this genus, all of which occur in North America north of Mexico (Cigliano et al., 2017). Eight species have been recorded in North Carolina.
Species Status: The Orthoptera Species File treats Allonemobius griseus griseus and A. g. funeralis as subspecies. Some authors, including SINA, however, treat them as full species. We follow OSF as our primary taxonomic authority for the orthoptera in general. However, the two taxa appear to be strongly allopatric, to occupy different types of habitat, and to have different song patterns.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: BugGuide, Google Images,  iNaturalist, GBIFTechnical Description, Adults/Nymphs: Hebard (1913)                                                                                  
Comments: A dark brown ground cricket with a suffusion of gray (Hebard, 1913). The face below the antennae is shining black, contrasting with the top of the head that has alternating dark and pale stripes similar to those of other members of this genus. The body and wings are dark but distinctively covered with grayish hair. The nominate subspecies is similar but is not as dark brown.
Total Length [body plus wings; excludes ovipositor]: 7.9 mm, type female (Hebard, 1913)
Structural Features: Hindwings were reported to be absent by Hebard (1913), but Fulton (1931) lists both griseus and funeralis among species possessing long-winged forms. Fulton also noticed, however, that a long-winged male lost its wings shortly after being caged. The ovipositor in funeralis is fairly short, approximately 3/4 the length of the hind femur. This is the main structural difference from the nominate subspecies, where the ovipostor is about 1/4 longer than the hind femur (Hebard, 1913).
Singing Behavior: Fulton (1931) described the song of funeralis as a "low, weak buzz with a faint, shrill overtone". Irregular breaks occur at roughly 5-10 second intervals, but the trills can be continuous for up to 15-30 seconds. Following a break, the song starts off softly then undergoes a crescendo from a third to half a second, after which the amplitude remains steady. Fulton also noted that the sound quality is similar to that of Eunemobius carolinus, although that species shows more irregular amplitude modulation and often has a beat produced by groupings of pulses. Spectrograms for subspecies funeralis are absent from both SINA and the Macaulay Library, but those shown for subspecies griseus have a dominant pitch of over 8 kHz, with approximately 30-40 pulses produced per second, both of which agree with our observations. Unlike the fairly long trills that Fulton described, however, the song of the nominate subspecies shows breaks at frequent intervals; each trill lasts only about 1.5 seconds, which is much shorter than what Fulton described for funeralis. The songs we have recorded are similar to the songs of Neonemobius cubensis, which also consist of high pitched trills that increase in amplitude. The pulse rate of that species, however, is much higher, mostly above 42 pulses per second. The trills of Allonemobius fultoni also show a similar increase in amplitude, but are shorter in length, lower in pitch, and have a slower pulse rate.
Recording playback at normal speed.

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Distribution in North Carolina
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
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: Fulton (1931) describes this cricket as associated with dry, grassy old field habitats dominated by Andropogon virginicus. They reach their greatest abundance where the grass clumps are sparse enough to allow smaller grass species or clovers to grow in between. We also have one record from a greenway that runs along a floodplain terrace where grasses other than Andropogons are dominant. This range of habitats contrasts strongly with that of Allonemobius griseus grieus, which is strongly associated with dry-xeric sand and gravel barrens.
Diet: Probably omnivorous
Observation Methods: Fulton (1931) describes this cricket as secretive -- rarely coming out from under vegetation -- and consequently seldom seen. It is most easily detected by its song.
Abundance/Frequency:
Adult Phenology: North Carolina records all come from late summer
See also Habitat Account for General Successional and Semi-Natural Grasslands
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 S3S4
State Protection: This species has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands
Comments: Fulton (1931) noted that this species seldom comes out from under grass clumps and is difficult to capture, a factor he thought might account for its rarity in collections. Its association with Broom Sedge fields suggests that it should be common and widespread, but with hanges in agriculture to more intensive cultivation, with fewer fields left fallow and smaller amounts of field edges left uncultivated, many species associated with semi-natural grasslands are on the decline. More information is needed before the conservation status of this species can be determined.

Image Gallery for Allonemobius griseus funeralis - Dusky Ground Cricket

Recorded by: Mark Basinger and Donald Zepp
Johnston Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Mark Basinger and Donald Zepp
Johnston Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Steve Hall, Dee Stuckey, and Savannah Hall
Orange Co.
Comment: 30 syllables per second @ 75F		 Recorded by: Steve Hall
Durham Co.
Comment: 30 syllables per seconds @ 8.3 khz. Sewerline right-of-way.
Recorded by: Steve Hall and Savannah Hall
Orange Co.
Comment: 28 syllables per second @ 7.9 khz. Powerline right-of-way		 Recorded by: Steve Hall and Savannah Hall
Orange Co.
Comment: 30 syllables per second @ 8.0 khz. Powerline right-of-way
Recorded by: Steve Hall and Dee Stuckey
Orange Co.
Comment: 19:45, ~79 F; 30 pulses/sec. Singing from heavy grass cover		 Recorded by: Steve Hall
Orange Co.
Comment: Recorded in a dry field dominated by Andropogon virginicus, maintained by mowing. Temperature was about 88 F (= 31 C)
Recorded by: Steve Hall
Orange Co.
Comment: Single trill showing an increase in amplitude and an abrupt end		 Recorded by: Steve Hall
Orange Co.
Comment: Loud portion of the song, showing a pulse rate of about 30 pulses per second and a dominant frequency of 8.5 kHz