Southern Field Cricket

Females have a tubular organ at the rear, known as an ovipositor, which is used to lay eggs into the ground. They lay their eggs into humid soil or sand and hatchlings emerge from the eggs in about two weeks.

Mating. Gryllus bimaculatus exhibit polygamy. Polyandry is the most common form of polygamy practiced in G. bimaculatus. This means that female crickets will mate with more than one male. Male crickets do not exhibit polygyny. The more sperm that is deposited results in greater fertilization success because more eggs are able to hatch. The order in which various males mate with one female before fertilization also affects fertilization success. The last male that mates with a female tends to have the highest fertilization success. Traits that increase the ability of a male's sperm to successfully fertilize a female's egg compared to that of another male are most advantageous. This is because these traits have been selected for over traits that have lower fertilization success.

Polyandry. Females prefer to mate with certain males more than others, with preference for mating with new males. Female G. bimaculatus mate with at least two males before zygote production occurs. These males have to invest even more resources into each reproductive opportunity when a mate competitor is in their environment. …