About the Spring Field Cricket
Gryllus veletis is commonly known as the spring field cricket. This solitary, aggressive, omnivorous, burrow-inhabiting species is the most widespread field cricket in North America. It is commonly confused with Gryllus pennsylvanicus (the fall field cricket), over much of the continent, but can be distinguished through examination of life history, ovipositor and behavioural differences. Predators of G. veletis include American toads, wild turkeys, red-tailed hawks, wolf spiders and red-backed salamanders.
This species was first described as Acheta veletis by Alexander and Bigelow with Piatt County, Illinois listed as the type locality. Gryllus is Greek and Latin for cricket, while veletis comes from the Latin word veles, velitis [sic], meaning light-armed footsoldier, skirmisher, or guerrilla forces, in reference to its aggressive behaviour as compared with G. pennsylvanicus. Alexander later stated that the spelling was modified to veletis to match the middle e in Acheta.
When first described, G. veletis was thought to be derived from G. pennsylvanicus via allochronic speciation. Subsequent genetic studies have instead found G. veletis to group with... Wikipedia →