European Field Cricket

Gryllus campestris · Order: Orthoptera · Family: Gryllidae

Also called: Field Cricket

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
European Field Cricket
Photo: Gilles San Martin, CC BY-SA

The European field cricket is a relatively large, flightless insect, with males about 19-23 mm long and females 17-22 mm. It lives in dry, sunny spots with short vegetation, especially dry grasslands, heathlands and nutrient-poor grasslands at the northern edge of its range. It is a univoltine species that breeds from May to July; nymphs appear in June-mid-July and later hibernate as older instars.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

These crickets are dark-colored and cannot fly.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Males measure 19-23 mm and females 17-22 mm in length.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

They prefer dry, sunny locations with short vegetation such as dry grasslands. At the northern edge of their range they are limited to heathlands and oligotrophic grasslands.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

The species has one generation per year, with the reproductive period from May to July. Nymphs hatch between June and mid-July and later hibernate during their tenth or eleventh instar.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

Adults chirp during the day and early night when temperatures are above about 13 °C (55 °F).

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Historically they were common across most of Western Europe.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

European Field Cricket photo 3
Photo: Manuel Schwarz, CC BY

Same family (Gryllidae)

Fall Field CricketFall Field CricketGryllus pennsylvanicusCan damage your homeTropical House CricketTropical House CricketGryllodes sigillatusNuisance, not dangerousHouse CricketHouse CricketAcheta domesticusCan damage your homeNarrow-winged Tree CricketNarrow-winged Tree CricketOecanthus niveusSouthern Field CricketSouthern Field CricketGryllus bimaculatusJapanese Burrowing CricketJapanese Burrowing CricketVelarifictorus micado

Sources

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

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

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

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