One of the most disheartening features of roaches is their lack of coordination, despite being social animals. Many other social insects like ants or bees will swarm to the rescue when they sense that one of their kind is in danger. Roaches do the exact opposite. They scram.
This is one of the reasons they are prey to other insects; small and big. Since a trapped or dead roach may be a feast for ants, it is almost impossible to ask, “Do crickets eat roaches?”
The article answers that question and more. At the end of this article, you will know
- Whether crickets eat roaches
- What crickets eat
- How crickets hunt other insectivores
- And some shocking facts about crickets.
Read on to find out!
Crickets
Crickets are animals in the Grylloidea family, and there are more than 900 species of crickets throughout the world. They are small insects with six legs and a round body. They have round heads with long antennas like many other six-legged bugs.
They have long abdomens and larger back legs for jumping and leaping. These insects also have large and round compound eyes with large wings that lie flat on their bodies. There are species with smaller wings, however. Many others do not have wings at all.
Crickets are generally small, with the largest species growing only up to about 2 inches long. They are part of the Orthoptera order, which is an insect order that comprises sound-making insects.
While some make sounds by rubbing their feet, crickets make sounds by rubbing their wings together. These sounds are called stridulations. But in common parlance, when crickets rub their wings together to make the chirping sounds, it is called singing.
Do Crickets Eat Roaches?
Yes, crickets eat roaches! But it is very uncommon to find crickets eating roaches.
Crickets are omnivores. This means they can eat plant matter and meat. Their typical diet consists of grass, fruits, leaves, nuts, edible plant matter, and meat. Reports and researches show that they love grass, barley, corn, fruit, and vegetables. As insectivores, they eat smaller insects, and roaches are no exception.
Under normal conditions, it is highly unlikely to find crickets eating roaches. While they usually live in places with abundant grass, so food is always abundant, roaches are common in warm and moist places like the closet, the kitchen, and the bathroom.
The difference in where they stay makes it unlikely for crickets to eat roaches. However, in extreme conditions where food is scarce, crickets will eat many other smaller insects as well as roaches.
What Do Crickets Eat?
Crickets do not normally hunt roaches. Unlike captive crickets, many wild cricket species are strict carnivores. They eat invertebrate eggs, larva, pupa, molting insects, aphids, and scale insects.
Many other species are scavengers. Their diet consists of organic remains, rotting plants, fungi, and seedlings.
Captive crickets, on the other hand, are usually omnivores. In the absence of their natural nutritional choices, they will accept various organic foods, including vegetables, fruits, etc.
Some captive crickets have been successfully reared with ground commercial pet foods supplemented with vegetables and fruits.
How Crickets Hunt
The method of hunting and foraging depends on the cricket species and its habitat.
Herbivorous species are largely foragers. They spend a great deal of their time eating grass. They typically jump and fly from one grass to the other as they chew leaves, fruits, and other edible parts of the plants.
Carnivorous species are mainly predators. They spend their time preying on smaller insects. They usually have natural camouflage, which aids their hunting. These carnivorous species also have other body features that help them hunt successfully.
They have large string legs that help them leap unto unsuspecting prey, taking them by surprise. They also have powerful mandibles for cutting up prey into smaller pieces. These mandibles are hard, pincer-like, cutting body parts in front of their mouths. The mandibles are lined with sharp pointed teeth and grind sideways.
Crickets are fascinating animals. Like humans, they have senses, but they use them to interact with their environments in interesting ways.
They have a wide-covering sight. Their large compound eyes ensure that they can simultaneously see and concentrate on different objects. This fascinating feature helps them keep track of moving prey. They also find different foods with their excellent eyesight.
Crickets do not have noses, but their antennas help them pick the odors of food and prey around them. Their antennas detect smells. And their feet also help them “hear” sounds by detecting the vibrations from the ground around them.
The slim hairs covering their thick bodies also help them receive information from their environment.
Some Shocking Facts About Crickets
Crickets are such amazing creatures. There are so many cool things about these singing eight-legged insects, unlike roaches. Check out some shocking facts about crickets below.
Crickets “Hear” With Their Legs
Interestingly, crickets do not have ears like many other animals. They have what scientists call ears on their knees. Their ears are tiny spots on their front legs. These spots are below their knees, hence the name “knee ears’.
These highly sensitive hearing organs are just below their knees and are only a fraction of a millimeter in length.
Crickets Chirp To Express Anger and Love
That chirping sound is the singing that crickets engage in, and they sing out of aggression and love.
After the brawl, the dominant male chirps loud, and the subservient male remains silent. The process starts with aggressive flaring of their mandibles and the lashing of their antennas.
If none of the two males retreats, the show of dominance escalates to another stage where they grapple and begin to call out.
After the dominant male has attained dominance, he sings loud while the submissive male who lost the fight remains quiet. This call attracts the female, and courtship begins after they make antennal contact.
Crickets Can Leap Very High
Crickets can jump an amazing three feet high. They can leap as much as 30 times the length of their bodies. Other species can leap as much as 60 times their body size.
Their legs are specially built for covering distances, and this is one of the advantages they have when preying on smaller insects. The strong legs also help them reach leaves far above the ground.
Typically, the larger the hind legs, the farther they can leap. Taking off is not all there is to the leaps. The legs also help them land well to prepare them for the next leap.
Camel crickets and field crickets are some crickets species that leap great distances. Other species do not leap at all.
Crickets Are Delicacies
Did you know that, unlike roaches, crickets are delicacies in some parts of the world?
While the debate about the safety of eating roaches continues, there are no questions about whether crickets can be eaten.
Many people in Asia and Africa see it as a source of protein, and they readily harvest them from the tropical forests for food. West African countries where crickets are a common part of the everyday diet are the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Central African Republic, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, and South Africa.
Asian countries where you can find crickets are China, Thailand, and even Vietnam.
Crickets have been reported to have such an excellent taste and are a great source of protein. The usual cooking style is deep frying and dry roasting the crickets over some warm coal.
Crickets Have More Than Two Eyes
Crickets have two large compound eyes to help them get a fuller vision of their immediate surrounding. Their compound eyes are right behind their antennas, and they consist of various lenses to help them notice and avoid predators.
In addition, they have three simple eyes called Ocelli. These three simple eyes are located on the foreheads. Unlike their large compound eyes, these simple eyes have a single lens in each, and their primary function is to help the cricket distinguish between darkness and light.
Final Thoughts
Crickets do not eat roaches normally. The availability of food is what influences the nutritional choices of the cricket. Crickets normally live outside, in tropical rainforests, backyards, or other places with abundant grass, plants, fruits, and other edible plant matter. While roaches live in houses, live in warm places such as your roof, toilet, or other damp places in your house. So the difference in the place where they stay is why crickets will not naturally eat roaches.
However, in extreme conditions, such as when there is food scarcity, crickets will eat roaches to survive. Their strong hind legs with enlarged femora are sufficient to leap and hold down a roach. Also, their mandibles are sufficient enough to decimate the roach for easy digestion.
If you plan to use crickets as a solution to roach infestation, they may not be as prolific as other active roach predators like lizards, wall geckos, and poultry birds. But there is no argument that crickets eat roaches.
- Dubia Roach Egg Sack: How To Understand if It’s Healthy? - January 2, 2023
- How To Feed African Dwarf Frog While on Vacation? - December 26, 2022
- Baytril for Bearded Dragon: Here’s What You Should Know - December 19, 2022
