Mole cricket

history

The mole crickets compose family Gryllotalpidae, of thick-bodied insects about 3-5 cm (1-2 inches) long, with large beady eyes and shovel-like forelimbs highly developed for burrowing and swimming. They can also fly—the adult mole cricket may fly as far as during mating season, is active most of the year, and spends the winter in hibernation. Younger insects can have shorter wings, and their appearance varies by species, with some resembling grasshoppers or very large ants or dark-colored "termites" when wings are short.

Mole crickets are omnivores, feeding on larvae, worms, roots, and grasses. Common predators of mole crickets include birds, rats, skunks, armadillos, raccoons and foxes. Mole crickets are relatively common, but because they are nocturnal and spend nearly all their lives underground in extensive tunnel systems, they are rarely seen. They inhabit agricultural fields, lawns and golf courses. They are present in every continent with the exception of Antarctica, and are commonly considered pests. In East Asia, however, they are sometimes used as food (fried).

In some places, mole cricket numbers are declining due to soil erosion and habitat destruction.

Mole cricket species

There are several species of mole cricket, separated into groups by tribe:

Gallery

Image:Molecrick-s.jpg Image:Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa vergleich detail.jpg Image:Snodgrass Neocurtilla hexadactyla.png|Neocurtilla hexadactyla

See also

  • camel cricket - another underground insect, with a humped back.
  • Larra bicolor - parasitoid of Scapteriscus mole crickets

External links


home | This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. See full license termsIt uses material from the Wikipedia article "mole_cricket ". | compliance | March 20th 2010