What is the cricket's role in the food chain?

Crickets eat plant materials, fungi and sometimes other small creatures such as scale insects, aphids and worms. They also eat the eggs and larvae of other insects. In turn, they serve as food for many species of birds, reptiles, spiders, wasps, and rodents.

Crickets are insects belonging to the order Orthoptera and are closely related to grasshoppers. There are over 2,000 known species of cricket in the world. They help to break down decaying organic materials and return them to the soil, but in large numbers they can be agricultural pests. Mole crickets are of special concern as they damage many kinds of vegetable crops as well as lawn grasses.