Ceuthophilus spp. Scudder, 1862

Camel cricket

The silent humpbacked jumper in your crawlspace, it never sings, it just startles.

Order: Orthoptera
Family: Rhaphidophoridae
Group: Occasional invaders
Ontario status: Present, damp basements, crawlspaces, wells; patchy in Ontario

Why it matters

Harmless detritivores that clean up organic debris in places you'd rather not visit. Their real message is about the building: a thriving camel cricket population means a damp, undisturbed void that deserves attention.

Origin

Native to North American forests and caves, your crawlspace is just a concrete cave.

Behavior

Silent, no chirping ever. Hides in dark damp places by day and startles into huge jumps when disturbed. Completely harmless.

Living conditions

Crawlspaces, damp basements, wells, and cellars, the closest thing to a cave in a modern house.

Signs of presence

Humpbacked silent crickets that jump when the crawlspace light comes on
Long-antennaed insects in wells, sump pits, and damp storage areas
No chirping, ever, silence distinguishes them immediately

Weaknesses

Needs constant dampness, dry the void and they vanish
Cannot chirp, cannot bite, and rarely damages anything beyond paper and fabrics
Poor dispersers; each population is confined to its damp void
Removed with the clutter and moisture they depend on

Myths and facts

Myth They're baby cockroaches or some kind of cave monster.
Reality They're crickets that traded wings and song for life in the dark. Ugly to some, but they eat debris and bother no one.

Research notes

Morphology

Wingless, humpbacked cricket; body ~10-33 mm depending on species (C. maculatus 10-19 mm); antennae as long as or longer than the body; greatly enlarged hind femora for jumping; females with a nearly straight, stout ovipositor; no stridulatory apparatus, no wings.

Diagnostics

Humpbacked, wingless cricket with extremely long antennae + complete silence (no stridulation) + large jumping hind legs. C. maculatus: glossy dark brown with yellowish-brown to reddish-brown spots on thorax and hind legs.

Easily confused with

Greenhouse camel cricket (Diestrammena/Tachycines spp.) Introduced Asian rhaphidophorids now common in buildings and reported to be displacing native camel crickets in houses; separation from native Ceuthophilus needs a specialist.
Spiders Long legs and powerful jumps can suggest a spider at a glance; camel crickets have six legs, very long antennae, and a cricket body.

Life cycle

Adult: Adults active late summer through fall; lifespan roughly 1-2 years
Egg: Eggs deposited in soil, typically in spring; overwinter in the egg or nymph stage depending on species
Egg to adult: Nymphs develop through the warm season
Generations per year: One
Nymph or larva: Nymphs are wingless miniatures of adults; develop through summer

Development

Hemimetabolous (simple metamorphosis), egg to nymph to adult. Females deposit eggs in soil (typically spring); nymphs are wingless miniatures of the adults; all life stages are wingless.

Reproduction

Females deposit eggs in soil.

Distribution

Global: North America (genus Ceuthophilus)
Native range: North America; C. maculatus in eastern North America
Ontario: Present, native; patchy; C. maculatus recorded in Ontario (Vickery & Kevan 1967, Proc. Ent. Soc. Ontario; Vickery & Kevan 1986, Insects and Arachnids of Canada)

Ecology

Nocturnal omnivorous scavenger of organic debris, fungi, roots, foliage, fruits, dead and living insects; in buildings may chew paper goods and fabrics. Moisture-dependent; confined to damp voids.

Resistance

Unknown, not a pesticide target; no documented resistance.

IPM implications

Monitoring by visual inspection of damp voids (no pheromone monitoring exists for this insect). Management is moisture and harborage reduction: dry the crawlspace/basement, remove clutter and organic debris, seal ground-level entries. Indoor individuals are a damp-void signal, not an infestation.

Chemical ecology

No stridulation and no notable defensive chemistry, camel crickets are silent and chemically unremarkable.

Genetics and DNA

No reference genome published as of 2026 (only transcriptomic and mitochondrial data available for the genus).

Taxonomy

Order Orthoptera, family Rhaphidophoridae, subfamily Ceuthophilinae. Ceuthophilus Scudder, 1862.

Open questions

Species-level identification of Ontario indoor records, native Ceuthophilus vs. introduced greenhouse camel cricket (Diestrammena/Tachycines), is unresolved; the northern range limits of the introduced species are poorly documented.

References

Hubbell, T.H. (1936). A monographic revision of the genus Ceuthophilus (Orthoptera, Gryllacrididae, Rhaphidophoridae). University of Florida.
Vickery, V.R. & Kevan, D.K.McE. (1986). The Insects and Arachnids of Canada, No. 14: The grasshoppers, crickets, and related insects of Canada and adjacent regions.