Japanese Burrowing Cricket
Velarifictorus micado
Identification 4
An introduced species first detected in the U.S. in 1959 in Alabama that has now spread to much of the eastern U.S. Easily identified by pale arch between the eyes. Sometimes this arch is very indistinct, but still different from other species. In Iowa, the House Cricket (Acheta domesticus) and Eastern Striped Cricket (Miogryllus saussurei) are most similar, but careful examination will show the markings on the face and head are different. Learning the song will also make this species easier to find and identify.
Resources 4
SINA: https://orthsoc.org/sina/551a.htm
Several useful papers on this species are linked from SINA.
Occurrence 4
Generally the southern half or southeastern half of Iowa. Could possibly still be expanding its range. The first record for Iowa appears to be a BugGuide report from 2017 in Dubuque. In 2021 I spent much time documenting species that came to night lights where I live in Ames, Story, County, and I only found one individual of this species all year.
Habitat 4
This species is generally associated with human habitation, but Bowles (2018) expressed some concern it could be adapting to more natural habitats, potentially impacting native species.
Sources and Credits
- (c) John Himmelman, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by John Himmelman
- (c) Carrie Seltzer, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Carrie Seltzer
- (c) Kelly Krechmer, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Kelly Krechmer
- (c) Tyler Grant, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
