"New" Cricket specie on the market - WARNING!!!

[Golden Gate Geckos]

The common house cricket (Acheta domesticus) is soon to be a thing of the past. The so-called cricket virus has essentially wiped them out to near extinction, and there is a new cricket feeder being introduced. It is the Jamaican Field Cricket (Gryllus assimilis), and is being marketed as the "Super Cricket", or Black Super Cricket. They are very robust, much bigger and meatier than the former cricket, don't jump as high, and are quieter. If you usually feed 5-7 crickets to your lizards, you will only need to feed 3-5 of these bad boys, unless you order the next size down. Sound too good to be true? Well...

These Jamaican Field Crickets are not only big in size, but they have H-U-G-E mandibles (jaws) designed for chomping heavy vegetation. They are vicious. They will chomp your fingers (and can draw blood!), AND eat your geckos. These crickets bit my N. milii and N. levis so badly that they were so stressed they haven't eaten since. I woke up to a dead, half-eaten N. milii and there we only 2 crickets in the tub. I will probably lose another one I have been struggling to rehabilitate.

SOOOO. I strongly recommend the following if you are going to be ordering these "Super Crickets":

- order a size smaller than you usually do
- feed these crickets good, nutritious food... they are savage eaters
- don't leave any uneaten crickets (even two!) in your animal's enclosure
- if you must leave crickets in with your animals, put some cornmeal or carrot in with them so the bugs have something else to chew on
- better yet, start up a B. dubia colony and forget the crickets

 

[Mel&Keith]

Oh, Marcia, I am so sorry. I've been bit by those before (they're pretty common in the wind here) and they really do have an incredibly strong bite. Thanks for bringing it to everyone's attention.

 

[Kat&Rin]

Thanks for that! *note to self* no Jamaican field crickets for Rin! *shudders* I couldn't handle it if they bit her...I'd probably personally squish them for harming my precious baby XD

So sorry you lost one of your geckos

 

[Pinky81]

Thank you Marcia!! I also am sooooo sorry about the loss!!

I am also SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad I did away with crickets for my dubias!!!!! Im gonna be sure to pass this on to my new families!!!

 

[THE WHISPERER]

Thank you for the input. Sorry for you learning it the hard way

 

[im faster]

THANKS!!!!!

and sorry for the troubles

 

[cinderbirdswing]

is there any way we could get a photo or a comparison pic of the two species? I dont deal with crickets, but i would still like to see.

 

[lillith]

The common cricket is going extinct?? :shocked:
Where can I read more about THAT? :main_huh:

I used to keep them as pets in cassette tape cases as a kid.
(I know, but I told you guys I was weird.)

p.s. Marcia, I am so sorry to hear about your millis...that's horrible...

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Wow Marcia, I'm sorry you lost your gecko and likely another Some years back, love bugs were a non-native species introduced to supposedly eat mosquitoes. What a disaster that turned out to be, and now we have more mosquitoes than ever, that can carry potentially harmful diseases. Dagnabbit nasty crickets!

 

[tlbowling]

The common cricket is going extinct?? :shocked:
Where can I read more about THAT? :main_huh:

I used to keep them as pets in cassette tape cases as a kid.
(I know, but I told you guys I was weird.)

You used to keep crickets in cassette cases?? lol

I should talk...I used to keep toads in my closet with blow up doll furniture,lol.

I'm so sorry about your loss Marcia, thanks for the warning!

 

[Pinky81]

You used to keep crickets in cassette cases?? lol

I should talk...I used to keep toads in my closet with blow up doll furniture,lol.

I'm so sorry about your loss Marcia, thanks for the warning!

The common cricket is going extinct?? :shocked:
Where can I read more about THAT? :main_huh:

I used to keep them as pets in cassette tape cases as a kid.
(I know, but I told you guys I was weird.)

p.s. Marcia, I am so sorry to hear about your millis...that's horrible...

WOW Ha Ha Ha!!!!

And i too would love photo's! Also Marcia do you have any info about the virus in crickets?? Haven't heard this in the midwest yet!

 

[acharpenter]

I say - dont buy Cricks at all - DUBIA'S FTW!!!!!

Thanks for the info- and I am SO sorry for your loss : (

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I looked up several photos of the two species of crickets, and all were copyrighted. I have not had an opportunity to take photos of them myself, so I can suggest doing a Google search for each specie I listed above.

These crickets are like our 'domestic' crickets on steroids. They are totally black when they are young, but as adults they have dark bodies, and light brownish legs. Their heads are an orange-brown color. The males have short wings, and the females have much longer wings.

I was given the information about the "virus" (which has no scientific basis) from the guy I have been getting my crickets from for years. There is even an update on Bassett's website regarding these 'Super Crickets". This has also been confirmed by another breeder who has done business with and has communication from Rainbow Crickets. I have also done quite a bit of research on this cricket specie, including several invert forums. It is confirmed that these crickets are vicious.

 

[Tony C]

I was given the information about the "virus" (which has no scientific basis) from the guy I have been getting my crickets from for years.

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=cricket+paralysis+virus&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart

 

[acharpenter]

I was given the information about the "virus" (which has no scientific basis) from the guy I have been getting my crickets from for years. There is even an update on Bassett's website regarding these 'Super Crickets". This has also been confirmed by another breeder who has done business with and has communication from Rainbow Crickets. I have also done quite a bit of research on this cricket specie, including several invert forums. It is confirmed that these crickets are vicious.

Thank you for your opinion and also thank you for throwing out that there is no scientific basis. I appreciate your opinion and also that you threw in the facts. Shows me that you are just throwing out YOUR own opinion.

Being new to all this and already off Cricks - this just totally solidifies my feelings/decision to feed Dubia's as my Gecko's staple - thank you for sharing what you know

No scientific basis...............doesnt matter to me - I rely on fellow Gecko owners who care for thier Gecko's - for thier opinion

 

[artes]

Do frogs do well on dubia roaches? I'm fine with switching my lizards over, but I've never heard about feeding the roaches to frogs.

 

[sunshinegeckos]

im so sorry about your loss. Thank God I changed mine over to all worms and no more crickets.

 

[lillith]

I love google scholar, thanks, Tony!

I've perused the wikipedia entries and looked up pictures online, they are creepy.
www.bugguide.net has some decent pics of them.

I also found this article from last year:
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/08/insect_virus_creeps_into_north.html


I haven't used crickets in ages, I had normal crickets bite my leos before, and that was the end of them. Around 2003ish.

WOW Ha Ha Ha!!!!

And i too would love photo's! Also Marcia do you have any info about the virus in crickets?? Haven't heard this in the midwest yet!

I wasn't allowed to have them, so I snuck them inside in tape cases and fed them grass and sprinkled water drops on the grass. I would catch little baby crickets and let them go when they were big. I kept them in between my bed and my wall so my mom wouldn't find them. I was like, 7 at the time. She wouldn't let me keep the garter snake I found, she wouldn't let me keep the frogs I found, or the praying mantis, and the caterpillars had to stay in jars outside...by golly I was gonna keep something!

 

[wuukiee]

Marcia --

the pet store where I currently work had the "change" recently too, our cricket vendor, with no warning, suddenly started shipping "black crickets" instead of the common brown house cricket. Didn't know (or wouldn't supply) the scientific name, said the switch was due to the virus. We've found they're, as you've said, larger, heartier... and although we haven't had any issues with them yet, I've been suspicious of the darn things. They bite HARD. I'm sorry for your loss, but thank you for sharing the information.

Here are some quick cell phone shots of what we've been getting in as "black crickets". Feel free to use or re-post them when you're posting this warning elsewhere.

Adult pair after final molt (with flash)

Head-on shot of the same pair (with flash)

2-week, 4-week, 5-week (so the vendor says) with flash

2-week, 4-week, 5-week, no flash (more accurate coloration)

 

[Tony C]

Looks like Gryllus assimilis. Who is your supplier?