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Photo#206682
Tiny crickets found at Tamarack Bog on Sphagnum moss - Neonemobius palustris - male

Tiny crickets found at Tamarack Bog on Sphagnum moss - Neonemobius palustris - Male
Silver Lake Tamarack Bog, Kenosha County, Wisconsin, USA
July 27, 2008
Size: Less than 5mm
Many were on the ground on the moss in the bog. Singing was heard were several crickets of this type and size were seen.

Images of this individual: tag all
Tiny crickets found at Tamarack Bog on Sphagnum moss - Neonemobius palustris - male Tiny cricket found at Tamarack Bog on Sphagnum moss - Neonemobius palustris - male

Moved
Moved from Ground Crickets.

Argh! They're Nymphs!
And because of that and with no other visuals to compare them to, I don't know if you can ID these little fellows with 100% certainty. However...the likelihood that these are spagnum ground crickets (Neonemobius palustris) is great if:

1/ Any adult males you saw were still relatively tiny (less than 9 mm) and sang with a continuous high trill.
2/ Any adult females you saw had relatively short ovipositors...noticeably shorter than those of the Allonemobius species females, which are proportioned more like miniature field crickets.

If the answers are yes and yes, then you should now be down to considering whether these are spagnums or one of the equally small, short-ovipositor-sporting members of the Eunemobius genus. Only one typically ranges up into Wisconsin and likes damp areas, the Carolina ground cricket (Eunemobius carolinus). Those I have locally and have bred in captivity, and your photos are NOT those of Carolina nymphs. A couple of others might range into your area...these vague possibles could be ruled out too by examining one of your guys in hand for a distinctive tarsal spur feature (even spurs) a Eunemobius cricket ought to possess. One great thing I do love about your 'bog' nymphs are the wonderful white-tipped antennae they have--even the older one still has a bit of paleness to his feelers--and I'm really, really hoping that this is a trait particular to this one species, or is at least a genus trait. It's certainly not a feature I've seen in any other young ground crickets I'm familiar with, and if very specific, sure would make future exercises like this a lot easier...

So, my own suspicion/verdict in the end: 95% probability that these are indeed little spagnum ground crickets. Plus which your older nymph just looks like he ought to molt on into the sort of adult pictured over at the Singing Insects site...a chunky little guy with a dark plump body and lighter reddish extremities...

 
I'm probably going back to the bog 9/2...
..if you happen to see this message, are there any other tips for what to photograph on these crickets?

 
I've posted some photos taken today
I'm hoping they will be helpful in making an ID. I also have video of the call if there is someway I can e-mail it to you. They are literally ALL OVER the moss at this bog.

 
Thanks for the great explanations....
Yes, there was a lot of singing in the same little spot where I photographed the one on the moss....but I don't remember if it was continuous. I'm planning on going back -- still looking for Tamarack Tree Crickets (found four Two-spotted tree crickets on the tamarack trees). Do you have a suggestion of an ideal time to revisit the bog to photograph the tiny crickets on the moss?

 
A Warm Sunny Morning...
...after a day or two of heavy rains and overcast almost always seems to bring out all the orthopterans. It sure did in my area this morning. We just got through a very rainy weekend and the sun started breaking through the residual cloud and fog at my place around ten. I drove to a couple of my fav roadside habitats and, sure enough, found all sorts of grasshoppers, meadow katydids and tiny ground crickets sunbathing out in the open everywhere. Only a few were adults. Most were still nymphs, many of them in their last or second-to-last instar.

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