CRICKET BEHAVIOR LAB

Name: _________________________________________________
Your assignment is to characterize common house cricket (Acheta domesticus) territorial
and courtship behavior. By the end of class today, based on your observations and
preliminary experiments, you should have developed a testable hypothesis to perform this
week. Please take care when handling the crickets to avoid injury.
Male and female crickets show a strong sexual dimorphism. Note the female crickets
(right, below) can be identified by long ovipositors that project from the tip of their
abdomens.

First, for 5 minutes, make observations of the crickets in your terrarium, where males and
females are found together. Avoid moving or banging the cage. Be certain you can
distinguish between males and females. Write your observations below, using complete
sentences.

Male crickets are territorial, and after establishing their territory will defend it against
other male crickets. Next, make observations of the single male crickets for five minutes
and write your observations below, using complete sentences.

Now, decide how you will explore territorial and courtship behavior today using the
crickets that are available. Describe some preliminary ideas below. Prior to starting any
manipulation, tell your professor what you plan to do.

Now that you are familiar with cricket behavior, plan an experiment on cricket behavior.
Outline your experiment below. Make certain you have identified exactly how you will
collect and analyze data for your experiment. Explain your experiment to your professor
once your group has fully designed it. It may be necessary to perform your experiment at
a time outside of lab.