Where the crickets last chirp.
December 14, 2012 4:50 PM Subscribe
Is there a reason crickets decide to die in conspicuous places? Or is it just me / this house / the crickets that populate this house?
Of the last 3 crickets that I've seen in the house, all of them have parked their bodies for the last time in places that get (human) traffic. One died behind my father's desk chair (the desk sits facing the wall, so you'd approach the chair from the back), one passed right next to the kitchen-living room entrance and one plopped dead right at my bedroom entrance. I think there was also one that made its way to the middle of the hallway and stopped there. As far as I can tell, there's not much similarity between all these locations, save that they're within paths relatively well traveled by us human occupants.
What I find strange is that there haven't been dead crickets in any inconspicuous spots, say, behind furniture, in closets, cupboards or other spots where I tend to find dead insects. It's not as though someone would find the bugs before I do, as I do the cleaning and general picking-up around the house. If something's gonna die here, I'd be the one to send it to its grave (aka the trash can).
So I wonder if this is a thing with crickets. Do they tend to find a relatively open spot to pass away? Why do they not crawl into a dark corner or some other less obvious place and die there?
Of the last 3 crickets that I've seen in the house, all of them have parked their bodies for the last time in places that get (human) traffic. One died behind my father's desk chair (the desk sits facing the wall, so you'd approach the chair from the back), one passed right next to the kitchen-living room entrance and one plopped dead right at my bedroom entrance. I think there was also one that made its way to the middle of the hallway and stopped there. As far as I can tell, there's not much similarity between all these locations, save that they're within paths relatively well traveled by us human occupants.
What I find strange is that there haven't been dead crickets in any inconspicuous spots, say, behind furniture, in closets, cupboards or other spots where I tend to find dead insects. It's not as though someone would find the bugs before I do, as I do the cleaning and general picking-up around the house. If something's gonna die here, I'd be the one to send it to its grave (aka the trash can).
So I wonder if this is a thing with crickets. Do they tend to find a relatively open spot to pass away? Why do they not crawl into a dark corner or some other less obvious place and die there?
Response by poster: Nope, no pets whatsoever, just humans and the insects occupy this house. We got plants, but the crickets end up nowhere near them.
posted by ditto75 at 5:04 PM on December 14, 2012
posted by ditto75 at 5:04 PM on December 14, 2012
Three isn't very many to base a theory off, so it might be coincidence. Especially when you consider there is probably (area-wise) a lot more conspicuous space in your house than inconspicuous space. (So the chance of a cricket dying somewhere you would see it is higher).
And finally, couldn't it be that they ARE dying in inconspicuous spaces but you aren't seeing them there because, um, they are inconspicuous?
(Inconspicuous totally doesn't look like a word to me anymore now.)
posted by lollusc at 5:44 PM on December 14, 2012
And finally, couldn't it be that they ARE dying in inconspicuous spaces but you aren't seeing them there because, um, they are inconspicuous?
(Inconspicuous totally doesn't look like a word to me anymore now.)
posted by lollusc at 5:44 PM on December 14, 2012
Might be because typical household scavengers like house centipedes (Scutigera coleoptrata) prefer inconspicuous places and are devouring anything in those places and avoiding the open spaces. It would be an interesting experiment to move the dead crickets to some dark corner behind a chair next to a wall and see if any disappear.
posted by melissam at 6:00 PM on December 14, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by melissam at 6:00 PM on December 14, 2012 [2 favorites]
I don't know the answer to your question, but the cockroaches that formerly resided in my apartment did the same thing. I found dead ones in the middle of the living room, in the hallway, in the foyer, but never in the nooks and crannies.
posted by telegraph at 7:52 PM on December 14, 2012
posted by telegraph at 7:52 PM on December 14, 2012
I've noticed that crickets tend to come out in the open to die (counter to their usual M.O.) That being said, I bet you have way more than 3 in your house.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 1:53 AM on December 15, 2012
posted by The Light Fantastic at 1:53 AM on December 15, 2012
Since you don't have any pets, get some glue traps. You'll be horrified by how many insects it'll trap. We've got these really freaky 'camel' crickets around here and the glue traps are about the only way to eliminate them.
posted by wkearney99 at 3:39 PM on December 15, 2012
posted by wkearney99 at 3:39 PM on December 15, 2012
Are there any strange growths protruding from the dead insects? It could be some kind of Cordyceps-like fungus at work.
posted by Solomon at 5:44 AM on December 16, 2012
posted by Solomon at 5:44 AM on December 16, 2012
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posted by Sassyfras at 4:56 PM on December 14, 2012