Tree Cricket - information and photos about tree crickets

Tree crickets can be found in a wide variety of habitats. This male was located by his loud singing. The area was densely vegetated -- along a trail in a prairie preserve.

The horizontal pale green stripe across the branch - in the center of this photo - is not a needle on this Japanese Yew shrub. It is actually a male Pine Tree Cricket. Their camouflage is remarkable. Their body and wings look like one of the needles; while their head and limbs blend in perfectly......

...with the branches. Even their eyes, which are pink tinged, seem to match some of the bark on this branch. This male was located, with much perserverance, by his very loud singing.

This male Snowy Tree Cricket is practically an extension of the leaves surrounding him. This tree cricket, if not for his singing, would be essentially impossible to locate amongst these leaves at night.

While some tree crickets are shy and secretive....others can be found in relatively open areas. This male Black-horned Tree Cricket was conspicuously calling from a dried, brown Queen Anne's lace flower. Since the stalk was 4 feet tall, it towered above most of the other neighboring plants -- leaving the tree cricket out in the open.

Range maps for species of Tree Crickets

The following maps indicate states or provinces where one MIGHT expect to find each species. They are not meant to be indicative of exact locations. For instance, some species might be documented in only a small portion of a state -- some of these maps are shaded to reflect that, while others are shaded to include the entire state. Additionally, there may be species occurring in states that are not shaded at all on these maps. These maps are only intended to give a general idea of where a species is most likely to be found.

Tamarack Tree Cricket (O. laricis) has been photographed or documented as occurring in SE Michigan and NE Ohio -- on Eastern Hemlocks and on Tamaracks.

Pine Tree Cricket (O. pini). Most of the eastern U.S. Range expanding into Canada (map will be updated soon.)

Forbes' Tree Cricket (O. forbesi)

Black-horned Tree Cricket (O. nigricornis)

Narrow-winged Tree Cricket (O. niveus)

Two-spotted Tree Cricket (N. bipunctata) has been documented or photographed as occurring throughout most of the eastern half of the U.S. -- and in some central states.

Davis' Tree Cricket (O. exclamationis) It is interesting to note that Davis' inhabits nearly the same locales as Two-spotted and they have similar calls -- yet look quite different.