Western tree cricket
Oecanthus californicus
The western tree cricket is a slim cricket that lives in bushes and trees, not on the ground. Like other crickets, the male sings by rubbing his wings together. You are more likely to hear it than to see it.
Lives in
North America
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It is a gentle little singer.
What does it eat?
Tree crickets nibble on plants and also eat small insects like aphids.
How fast is it?
Western tree cricket about 3 km/h (1.9 mph)
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
It has two slightly different kinds, called subspecies.
2
Its scientific name, californicus, points to California.
3
Male crickets make their song by rubbing one wing against the other.
you asked
Most asked questions about Western tree cricket
?Where does the western tree cricket live?
In North America, in bushes and trees.
?How do tree crickets sing?
The male rubs his wings together to make a chirping sound.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Oecanthus californicus
- Named by
- Saussure, 1874
- Group
- Grasshoppers and crickets
- Family
- Oecanthidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Orthoptera > Oecanthidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Oecanthus californicus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Ken-ichi Ueda. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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