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Jamaican field cricket

Gryllus assimilis (Fabricius 1775)

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map neotype male dorsal neotype male lateral male
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female head file characters  
Alien origin and spread of this SINA species.
21 s of calling song, male from Dade County, Fla., 24.5°C. Dominant frequency 3.6 kHz. (WTL483-16)
This spectrogram is a 2 s excerpt of the 21 s audio file accessible above. The excerpt begins at 3 s.
spectrogram
74 s of calling, from Cameron County, Tex., 25°C. Dominant frequency 3.6 kHz. Recording by D.B. Weissman (S13-44, R13-231); used by permission.
This spectrogram is a 4 s excerpt of the 74 s audio file accessible immediately above. The excerpt begins at 28 s.
spectrogram
Spectrogram showing first chirp of 4 s sample immediately above.
spectrogram
22 s of mixed courtship, from Dade County, Fla., 24.5°C. (WTL483-16mc)
This spectrogram is a 4 s excerpt of the 22 s audio file accessible immediately above. The excerpt begins at 18 s.
spectrogram
Song: Weissman and Gray (2019) described the song as loud, with 6-10 pulses per chirp; the pulse rate for the first pulse pair ranges from 50 to 111 and 40-83 for the last pair (Weissman et al. 2009). Chirps per second variable, but distinctive, usually <2.5 at 25°C.
Identification: A key to the adult males of native US Gryllus is in Weissman and Gray (2019).
DNA: See Gray, Weissman, et al. (2020).
Habitat: Associated with human environments, on watered lawns, golf courses, gardens and other maintained grounds.
Life cycle: No diapausing stage, which has facilitated continuous rearing for scientific purposes. Probably 2-3 overlapping generations per year.
Season: June to mid-September but present at other times of the year.
Remarks: From 1915 until 1957, the many species of North American Gryllus were generally classified as Gryllus assimilis or Acheta assimilis, because until songs were used to distinguish species, taxonomists could not agree on what groups of Gryllus specimens deserved species status. The real G. assimilis was described from Jamaica and is known in the United States only from southern Florida and Brownsville, Texas.
Name derivation: Latin: "as"="copper coin"; "similis" = "like, resembling"; probably in reference to G. assimilis' orange-reddish color.
More information:
Subfamily Gryllinae, genus Gryllus.
References: Bigelow 1958, Alexander & Walker 1962, Weissman, Walker & Gray 2009, Weissman and Gray 2019, pp73-83, pp74-79; Gray, Weissman, et al. 2020.
Nomenclature: OSF (Orthoptera Species File Online).
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