Why do crickets turn white?

Crickets are insects that belong to the Gryllidae family and are related to the family of grasshoppers. What makes them distinct is that the sound they emit when sliding their wings against each other.  These chirping sounds make people recognize crickets from other insects that may have similar appearance.  Crickets are also harmless to humans and this is why many people have them as pets.  Many cricket owners have also noticed that some of their crickets turn to white from either brown or black for example. Some people assume that this is some kind of cricket disease while others get worried that their crickets must be dying because of the very pale and whitish color.  The basic reason for this occurrence is that the crickets actually shed their skin to be able to grow and develop.

As part of a cricket’s natural life cycle, they shed their outer covering which may be black or brown and expose the inner part of their bodies which may be white for some species.  When this happens, the inner part of the body will be shown and it will serve as a chance for crickets to grow and mature further. Their darker outer skins are called exoskeletons and these must be shed at some point in their natural cycle in order to allow their bodies to grow bigger and mature further.  If they don’t shed these outer layers, the crickets will not be able to grow bigger than they already are. When all parts of their external skin or exoskeleton is shed off from their bodies, some crickets will appear lighter in color with some species appearing as white.

The old skin or exoskeleton will then be discarded and the cricket will eventually grow a new one.  As the cricket’s body will grow bigger and bigger, a bigger exoskeleton will also grow on it to accommodate the new body. This new outer skin will also darken over time and therefore will cover the white inner body of some crickets.  Depending on the species, some crickets will have black outer shells while others will develop grayish exoskeletons.