35 s of calling, from Santa Clara County, Calif., 25.5°C. Dominant frequency 4.5 kHz. Recording by D.B. Weissman (S15-114, R15-372); used by permission.
This spectrogram is a 10 s excerpt of the 35 s audio file accessible above. The excerpt begins at 10 s.
Spectrogram showing first 4 chirps of 10 s sample above.
Song:
Weissman and Gray (2019) described the song as a chirp with 3-5 pulses per chirp (range 2-7), 50-280 chirps per minute. Pulse rate 14-25. The chirps in the spectrograms above are in pairs, which is evident in the spectrograms but becomes more conspicuous when listened to. In an email from Dr. Weissman about the paired chirps in the spectrograms, he stated that the pairs were not the usual case because he had checked other songs and they lacked any pairing (though they may be irregular in places).
Identification:
A key to the adult males of native US Gryllus is in Weissman and Gray (2019).
G. saxatilis is able to tolerate a wide range of ecological conditions but is almost always associated with rocks; occasionally found in building cracks and river bed debris.
Life cycle:
No egg diapause; probably one generation per year in Southern and Central California; appears to be two generations per year in Nevada.
Season:
Singing is first heard in early May.
Remarks:
Weissman and Gray (2019) noted G. saxatilis is geographically diverse and probably contains cryptic species—see their Fig. 238 on p. 236.
Name derivation:
Latin: "saxatilis" = "found among rocks"; in reference to this species' typical habitat.
