Black field cricket

The black field cricket is a chewing pest of pastures, cereals, field crops and horticultural crops. They are found throughout Australia but are most problematic in winter rainfall areas. Adults are brown-black in colour, approximately 30 mm long, with long thin antennae and hind legs developed for jumping. Their banana-shaped, eggs are whitish in colour, about 3 mm long and laid singly up to 40 mm below the soil surface. Nymphs are similar to adults but smaller, with early nymphs possessing a white band across their body. Black field crickets tend to hide during the day in soil cracks or under clods of dirt and search for food at night. They are active between spring and autumn, and are favoured by a mild winter then warm dry summer conditions.