Cricket(Insect)

• Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Suborder: Ensifera
Superfamily: Grylloidea
Family: Gryllidae

Crickets belong to the order Othoptera, which also includes Grasshoppers, they have two pairs of wings but only the back pair are used for flying,Crickets are insects known for leaping and chirping. To attract females, male crickets chirp by rubbing their front wings together.
They have somewhat flattened bodies and long antennae. There are about 900 species of crickets. They tend to be nocturnal and are often confused with grasshoppers because they have a similar body structure including jumping hind legs.
Crickets are omnivores and scavengers feeding on organic materials, as well as decaying plant material, fungi, and some seedling plants. Crickets also have been known to eat their own dead when there is no other source of food available.

Crickets mate in late summer and lay their eggs in the fall. The eggs hatch in the spring and have been estimated to number as high as 2,000 per fertile female.[citation needed] Female crickets have a long needlelike egg-laying organ (ovipositor).

Crickets are popular as a live food source for carnivorous pets like frogs, lizards, salamanders, and spiders. Feeding crickets with nutritious food in order to pass the nutrition onto animals that eat them is known as gut loading.

Crickets are also eaten by humans in some African and Asian cultures. They are often considered a delicacy.