Anyone for Crickets?
Crickets, and their melodious song, the perfect
finishing touch for the exotic garden. By cricket captain Tony Keating.
Tony Keating, 105 Fairway, Chertsey, Surrey
Chamaerops No. 8, published online 23-10-2002
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There you are lying on a sun-lounger under the palms.
You need this holiday. Two weeks of relaxing. Doing nothing. The
sun burns down. You reach out for a drink. Something moves. A little
black-brown grasshopper thing scurries up a wall, stops and rattles
its wings. A beautiful trill emanates from it. You suddenly realise
this enchanting melody is the song of this small creature. The day
grows shorter. Warm wind rustles through the palms. Evening falls
into dusk. The night air vibrates to the song of this creature.
You sit back, glass in hand, wishing you could stay here forever.
Well you can. The above is myself in summer. Southeast England,
just off Junction 11, M25 motorway. Palms, sun, crickets. We all
know the hardy palms, but do you know the hardy crickets?
There are four crickets native to England. These
are the true crickets of the order Gryllidae.
The first is Gryllus campestris. Large, black, very
musical but very rare. This is a protected species and must not
be disturbed or taken from the wild.
The second is Gryllotalpidae. Very large, musical.
Also rare and protected.
The third, Nemobius sylvestris is softly musical.
This cricket is not in danger and fairly plentiful.
The fourth, Acheta domesticus (The House Cricket)
is very common but even so, not very well known. Although it is
a native of North Africa and Asia it has been well established since
the days of the Romans in our countryside. The song is a bird-like
warble continued for long periods. Mainly nocturnal, it will often
be found on rubbish dumps and in gardens in summer. It is sometimes
sold in tubs in pet shops. To establish this creature in your garden
you will need a warm compost heap on which the tub should be emptied
in April or May. Many will live and breed in the compost and move
about your garden and adjoining areas.
Seeking out the warmest places they do become part
of the food chain so they will have to be topped up once or twice
a month until they establish themselves. Don't be surprised if you
come across the odd one in the house. (They are not called house
Crickets for nothing!) However, they are easily caught and do not
bite. If you don't have a compost heap just tip them into the garden
in June. Top them up regularly and they will sing right through
to November.
P.S. Gryllus campestris, the large black cricket,
the one we often hear on those sun-soaked holidays, is also a native
of southern England, but very rare. This year the Nature Conservancy
Council in cooperation with London Zoo Insect Department have bred
over 1500 of these crickets. These have been bred from our own wild
stocks for release back into the wild. If everything goes to plan
it should not be too long before the south of England vibrates to
the beautiful song of these creatures, as does the south of France.
Crickets, with their warbling evening trill provide
the perfect finishing touch to the exotic garden, and will entertain
and enthral friends and neighbours alike.
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