Cape Thermometer Cricket

Oecanthus capensis · Order: Orthoptera · Family: Gryllidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Cape Thermometer Cricket
Photo: Cecile Roux, CC BY-SA

The Cape Thermometer Cricket is a small cricket similar to Oecanthus pellucens but a bit smaller, with shorter wings and a female ovipositor almost as long as the elytra. It is native to southern, eastern and central South Africa and can be confused with Oecanthus pellucens.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

The female’s ovipositor is nearly the same length as its elytra.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

It resembles Oecanthus pellucens but is a little smaller, with shorter wings and slightly stronger female elytra.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

It occurs in southern, eastern and central parts of South Africa.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Cape Thermometer Cricket photo 2
Photo: Cecile Roux, CC BY-SA
Cape Thermometer Cricket photo 3
Photo: Cecile Roux, CC BY-SA
Cape Thermometer Cricket photo 4
Photo: kevin koen, CC BY-SA
Cape Thermometer Cricket photo 5
Photo: Cecile Roux, CC BY-SA

Same family (Gryllidae)

Fall Field CricketFall Field CricketGryllus pennsylvanicusCan damage your homeTropical House CricketTropical House CricketGryllodes sigillatusNuisance, not dangerousHouse CricketHouse CricketAcheta domesticusCan damage your homeEuropean Field CricketEuropean Field CricketGryllus campestrisNarrow-winged Tree CricketNarrow-winged Tree CricketOecanthus niveusSouthern Field CricketSouthern Field CricketGryllus bimaculatus

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oecanthus_capensis

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.

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