Weird - albino cricket !

[JeffreH]

Awesome Lynn = )

You know, I've never been so interested in a cricket in my entire life - they're usually so annoying to keep that I want to punch things.

Now, if ony he was able to produce silent/non-smelly offspring too. Sweet mother of God... that would be fantastic.

If you are feeling super ambitious, you could make a breeding bin for just him and a few choice females. This would help to eliminate competition from other males and you could truly ID his own offspring, or even hold them back and breed them together to see if anything recessive pops up!

[flybyferns]

Awesome Lynn = )

You know, I've never been so interested in a cricket in my entire life - they're usually so annoying to keep that I want to punch things.

Now, if ony he was able to produce silent/non-smelly offspring too. Sweet mother of God... that would be fantastic.

If you are feeling super ambitious, you could make a breeding bin for just him and a few choice females. This would help to eliminate competition from other males and you could truly ID his own offspring, or even hold them back and breed them together to see if anything recessive pops up!

Hi Jeff,
The original/earlier pics in this post were taken Wednesday- 2/15 at 7: 15 pm est
Well here is this same cricket a few minutes ago ( 2/17- 5:45 pm est). Looking much darker ?
Not normal- but darker.





I'm still willing to make a separate breeding bin?
What do you think? I suppose he could have simply have had a shedding issue?

Note: I have not purchased 'new' adult crickets for quite some time. This breeding bin I recently made is from offspring (of mine) going on the 4th round. It is however, offspring from batches of 1000's of pinheads. Prolific little buggers ! Just a thought ?

As far as producing "non-smelly off spring'. Ha!
Unlikely ! You could clean them more often though.
It works wonders. lol

Lynn

[JeffreH]

Lol! I've tried dermestid beetles and regular cleanings, but they are still far too smelly for my liking. I may have just been spoiled on my lovely roach collection; can keep a bin of 10,000 virtually untouched for a year and it will not smell nearly as bad as 1000 crickets in a weeks time. But unfortunately, many are not allowed to keep roaches, either by parents, spouse, or by law (Florida for many species)... so crickets are the best option as a visually stimulating meal.


As for the cricket - he doesn't look too far off from some others that I have seen now that he is darkening up some, but he is still slightly unique. His wings still seem off, (not necessarily in a bad way, just not 100% normal) but its hard to judge accurately without seeing him in person; it could be a fluke from a molt or some other environmental conditions. He also has otherwise normal markings on the head and pronotum of a domestic cricket, dark patterning that still suggests more of a structural difference than color/pigmentation difference.

That being said, you have the ability to physically see him and compare him to the others in your culture. He clearly stands out significantly enough to you, so breeding him may be something worthwhile still. He is an adorable little fellow, worst thing that happens is you get normal crickets, which can just be fed off to your froggies like the others you are breeding = )

[flybyferns]

Lol! I've tried dermestid beetles and regular cleanings, but they are still far too smelly for my liking. I may have just been spoiled on my lovely roach collection; can keep a bin of 10,000 virtually untouched for a year and it will not smell nearly as bad as 1000 crickets in a weeks time. But unfortunately, many are not allowed to keep roaches, either by parents, spouse, or by law (Florida for many species)... so crickets are the best option as a visually stimulating meal.


As for the cricket - he doesn't look too far off from some others that I have seen now that he is darkening up some, but he is still slightly unique. His wings still seem off, (not necessarily in a bad way, just not 100% normal) but its hard to judge accurately without seeing him in person; it could be a fluke from a molt or some other environmental conditions. He also has otherwise normal markings on the head and pronotum of a domestic cricket, dark patterning that still suggests more of a structural difference than color/pigmentation difference.

That being said, you have the ability to physically see him and compare him to the others in your culture. He clearly stands out significantly enough to you, so breeding him may be something worthwhile still. He is an adorable little fellow, worst thing that happens is you get normal crickets, which can just be fed off to your froggies like the others you are breeding = )

Okay,
I'm willing to do this,a he dose not ( at the moment) look like the others.
I will set-up a little palace for him.
I'll keep you posted.
Lynn

[Whistly]

I've kept NZ native and the South African mantids and occasionally during shedding they will lose the tips of their legs and damage their wings so maybe Casper damaged his wings during shedding which could explain the "off" wings.
I thought of an advantage to white crickets they stand out easier so young frogs learning the ropes can find food easier.

[GrifTheGreat]

I've kept NZ native and the South African mantids and occasionally during shedding they will lose the tips of their legs and damage their wings so maybe Casper damaged his wings during shedding which could explain the "off" wings.
I thought of an advantage to white crickets they stand out easier so young frogs learning the ropes can find food easier.

That is a observation and thought, but a lot of amphibians and reptiles see not only normal light, but UVA radiation as well. If the crickets lose the pigmentation that reflects the UVA radiation it may make them more difficult to find. This would of course not be true for all species. Its still a very interesting thought.

[JeffreH]

Interesting thought Grif - Herps do have pretty amazing eyes; and some species of reptile have superficial pineal glands that allow them to 'see' UVB/C spectra in addition to UVA rays.

I do believe most frogs can distinguish color fairly well; and just as you say it can vary species to species. I recall a short film (the name eludes me) that was introduced to me during a lecture on perception and conditioning to an extent, where a toad refused to eat a hornet after being stung, and still refusing to eat anything yellow and black with warning coloration. Nocturnal species for example must have also exceptional vision in the night but UVA may not be as readily available... in this case a white insect against a dark background to create a contrast is going to be a prime target I would imagine. I'm really only hypothesizing myself though = )

I've also had reptiles show preferences to colored meals - or have no problem feeding on soldier grubs or silkworms who are also white in coloration. My bearded dragon prefers things that are red in color, making the E. posticus roach nymphs and certain red fruits such as raspberry particularly appealing to him, lol.

[Whistly]

That is a observation and thought, but a lot of amphibians and reptiles see not only normal light, but UVA radiation as well. If the crickets lose the pigmentation that reflects the UVA radiation it may make them more difficult to find. This would of course not be true for all species. Its still a very interesting thought.

I didn't have a clue about this. It's true you do learn something new just not everday lol