European Field Cricket

Gryllus campestris used to be common over most of Western Europe. It prefers dry, sunny locations with short vegetation, like dry grasslands. At the northern edge of its range, it is restricted to heathlands and oligotrophic grasslands. The species is flightless and unable to migrate long distances, and it therefore does not commonly recover on its own from local extinction.

The reproductive season of the univoltine species lasts from May to July. The males make a burrow with a platform at the entrance from which they attract females with their courtship stridulation. They chirp during daytime as well as the first part of the night, only when the temperature is well above 13 °C (55 °F). Nymphs hatch in June till mid July and hibernate during their tenth or eleventh instar. The final moult takes place at the end of April or at the beginning of May. Males are territorial and defend their burrows fiercely, while females are vagrant and are attracted by singing males. They lay their eggs in bare ground either close to a burrow or inside the burrow. Populations of G. campestris are known to undergo extreme fluctuations and are strongly affected by weather conditions.