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Belfrage's cricket

Trigonidomimus belfragei Caudell 1912

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map female female face
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hind tarsus ovipositor
Song: Unknown. Males of some species of anomalous crickets have female-like forewings and are mute.
Identification: Length 5-7 mm. A small brown cricket that looks superficially like a sword-tail cricket (Trigonidiinae) but has the antennae originating below the middle of the face. The second tarsal segments are small and cylindrical; the hind tibiae are slender and modestly spined; and the ovipositor is slender and straight.
Similar species: (l) Sword-tail crickets (Trigonidiinae)—second tarsal segments pad-like; ovipositor flattened and often curved. (2) Ground crickets (Nemobiinae)—tibia robust, with large spines.
Habitat: Unknown; flies to light. The tarsi and ovipositor resemble those of ground dwelling species.
Season: Aug.–Oct.
Remarks: This species is known from only five specimens, all female: two from Bosque County, Texas; one from Stillwater, Oklahoma; one from Vera Cruz, Mexico; and one from Austin, Texas. Because the records are so few and the habitat is unknown, the distribution of Belfrage's crickets within the United States is highly uncertain.
More information:
subfamily Pentacentrinae
References: Caudell 1912, Hebard 1932.
Nomenclature: OSF (Orthoptera Species File Online)