A non-native species of camel cricket known as the Greenhouse camel cricket (Diestrammena asynamora) has spread into homes across the eastern United States, according to a new study led by Dr Robert Dunn of North Carolina State University.
Greenhouse camel cricket, Diestrammena asynamora. Image credit: © Andrew Blanchard.
The study, published in the open-access journal PeerJ, stems from a chance encounter, when a scientist found an invasive camel cricket in North Carolina.
Wondering how common the species might be in the United States, Dr Dunn and his colleagues tapped in to their citizen science network. They asked the public whether they had camel crickets in their homes and, if so, to send in photos or mail in specimens.
The most common species reported, by more than 90 percent of respondents, was the Greenhouse camel cricket. Native to Asia, this species was first sighted in the United States in the 19th century – but it was thought to be rare outside of commercial greenhouses.
“The good news is that camel crickets don’t bite or pose any kind of threat to humans,” said co-author Dr Mary Jane Epps of North Carolina State University.
“We don’t know what kind of impact this species has on local ecosystems though it’s possible that the greenhouse camel cricket could be driving out native camel cricket species in homes.”
The scientists also sampled the yards of 10 homes in Raleigh, North Carolina.
They found large numbers of greenhouse camel crickets, with higher numbers being found in the areas of the yards closest to homes. The photos submitted by the public turned up a second surprise as well.
“There appears to be a second Asian species, Diestrammena japanica, that hasn’t been formally reported in the U.S. before, but seems to be showing up in homes in the Northeast. However, that species has only been identified based on photos. We’d love to get a physical specimen to determine whether it is D. japanica,” Dr Epps said.
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Epps MJ et al. 2014. Too big to be noticed: cryptic invasion of Asian camel crickets in North American houses. PeerJ 2:e523; doi: 10.7717/peerj.523
