This is the time of year when I notice that black crickets are particularly active. I hear them singing in my garage when I empty the recycling, and when I’m coming home from a late striper jaunt. It’s usually the time of year where I say to myself, “I gotta fish more cricket flies.” The savvy small stream angler will do boffo box office with crickets this time of year, not to mention on standard-issue trout streams.

Turns out that crickets in the water isn’t always an accident. I read this fascinating piece about parasites in the July 2022 National Geographic. Because of nature’s perfect design, some parasites find their next host by influencing their current host. The nematomorph worm is a prime example. From the article: (nematomorph worms) “mature inside crickets but then need to get to water to mate. So they influence the crickets’ brains, driving the insects to jump into streams, where they become an important food source for trout.”

So the next time you tie up a cricket pattern, think about that unseen little parasite component that helps the bug find the water.