I knew of such a bog in the northwest corner of the state of Connecticut. Sphagnum Ground Crickets live solely in open sphagnum moss bogs. Because of this, our forays often cover little more than a few yards per hour. We are all naturalists, each with a focus unique to the group. The friends are part of a group we call “Corps of Discovery”, after the band of explorers forming Lewis and Clark’s assemblage in the early nineteenth century. Because of this, previous research into Chinese culture has tended to emphasize only the glamorous side of cricket fighting and paid scant attention to those who sustained it in the background.Corps of Discovery member Andy Brand pushing for crickets by John HimmelmanĪ few years ago I gathered some friends to hunt for the smallest cricket in North America, the Sphagnum Ground Cricket (Allonemobius palustris). In the past it was followed by the emperor and the nobility, by the rich and by intellectuals such as the literati.
With the migration of Chinese to other parts of the world, cricket fighting can be found in New York and Philadelphia, although the species used differ.Ĭricket fights, between two male crickets, is an amusement especially popular among urban dwellers. There are cricket fighting clubs and societies that cater to members interest at all levels of intensity. The bottom of the boxes was cushioned with springs to prevent sudden jolts harming the crickets.Ĭricket fighting is wide spread although mainly found in the large cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong. People put these "treasured" insects in quality foam boxes with ice-filled insulation, because crickets like a cold environment. Only those crickets who survived the cold had proven themselves tough enough to compete. Such "luxury games" were only held in the "snowing season".
Only in recent years has the sport of cricket fighting again been officially allowed, and then only if no gambling is involved - or discovered. When the government prohibited the fights, the sport went underground.
The lower class was attracted to the gambling element, though, and eventually the sport became aligned with slackers and societal problems. The brave and valiant warrior spirit of a cricket in battle captivated audiences - and the cricket’s reputation as an intelligent and competitive insect with an added talent for making beautiful sounds grew.įighting was at first a sport for the upper class, as a means to display wealth. There was even the belief that, because crickets lay hundreds of eggs, the key to success in life was to have as many children as possible.Ĭhina developed the sport of cricket fighting during the Song dynasty (960–1279 AD) the fight is a natural outgrowth of interaction between two males who are competing for territory. To pay tribute, farmers wrote proverbs and songs about the insects, artists rendered paintings of them, and children were told cricket fables. When farmers heard the Jingzhe (the waking of the insects) in spring, they knew that the time was right to begin plowing the fields. In ancient Chinese agricultural societies, however, crickets were appreciated for an entirely different reason - their chirping was a crucial indicator of climate change.
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