Stenopelmatus sp. - Jerusalem cricket sexing

Dr. Art Evans said:

Adult males are distinguished by a pair of small black hooks located between the cerci, a pair of short projections near the tip of the abdomen. Adult females have the short blades of their egg-laying tube or ovipositor located just beneath the cerci.

Sexually receptive males and virgin females drum their abdomens on the soil to attract species of their own kind. The drumming is audible nearly 60 feet away and is “heard” by special organs located near the bottom of each leg of the JC.

Courtship involves a bit of a tussle and sometimes resembles an energetic wrestling match as the male grapples for position. Eventually the male deposits a sperm packet, after which the female may kill and eat her mate. The function of the sperm packet in JCs is not understood. In other crickets and katydids the packet not only provides the female with reproductive materials and a nutritious snack, it also serves to block the amorous advances of other males.

Eggs are probably laid in small clutches in the soil soon after mating. They are oval and white with a roughened surface. In California, JCs reach adulthood during the summer. Small nymphs appear either by fall or early the following spring. Hatchlings resemble miniature adults and may take nearly two years to develop, while individuals experiencing nutritional deficiencies or parasitic infections may take up to five years. Nymphs may molt up to eleven times before reaching maturity. Like stick insects, JCs can regenerate legs lost during molting. In time, the new leg may approximate a normal leg in size, increasing in size with each successive molt.

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