Indies bush cricket
Antillicharis gryllodes (Pallas 1772)

map	male	female	head

	20 s of calling song [1.73MB]; male from Levy Co., Fla.: Cedar Key; 26.5°C. (WTL682-4a)
	5 s of calling song [259KB]; same as above but truncated and down-sampled.

Sound spectrogram of 2 s of calling at 26.5°C from WTL682-4a). Dominant frequency is 5.7 kHz.
Click on first half of spectrogram to hear graphed song.
Click on last half of spectrogram to see an expansion of the last two chirps.

Identification:  Length 17-22 mm. Ocellar diameter greater than distance between lateral and medial ocellus; no conical projections at ocelli; some bristles longer than 0.1 mm on head behind ocelli. Stridulatory file has 23–31 teeth.

Habitat:  Mangroves and subtropical hammocks.

Season:  Year-round.

Song at 25°C:  Buzzy chirps usually produced in groups of 2 or 3 with groups at intervals of 2–3 sec. Chirps have 10–14 pulses at 216 p/s, the fastest wingstroke rate known for crickets.

Similar species:  A. oriobates, the only other U.S. species of Antillicharis is known from a single male from Biscayne Bay, Florida, and was recognized as distinct from A. gryllodes based on features of its genitalia.

Remarks:  This species is known from Cuba and probably originated there rather than in south Florida. O. diplastes and O. nigrifrons may also have had a West Indian origin—but have yet to be found in the West Indies.

More information:  subfamily Eneopterinae, genus Antillicharis

Reference:  Otte & Perez-Gelabert 2009.

Nomenclature:  OSF (Orthoptera Species File Online)