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Mole Cricket

Description:

These insects resemble crickets and have front legs not unlike the common mole, hence the name "mole-cricket." They are 3-3.5 cm long. The head is black, the thorax a deep brown and the abdomen a lighter gray. They have wings and two apendages that protrude back from the end of the abdomen

Habitat:

These insects can be found, mostly at night, alongside foundations, near and/or under rotting logs in the Amazon rainforest of SE Ecuador. This one was found scaling the end of a cement block building under a light @ 04:40.

Notes:

Strange little creatures that are always fun to find.

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19 Comments

Tukup
Tukup 5 years ago

Hi Daniele. Thanks for looking into this. If it is unavoidable from your end because of limitations on your gackage deal on Google, I understand and it isn't a big problem. I just don't want people to think I am ignoring their comments. Yes all the boxes for notifications are checked.

DanielePralong
DanielePralong 5 years ago

Hi Tukup and Mauna! Tukup, I've seen from the separate message we've received from you that you've now worked out how to use our contact form. You will get a reply from me shortly. Regarding notifications, this could be related to limitations to our platform on Google Cloud/App Engine (this is where we are hosted and how we are powered; we are on a restrained package at the moment). Before I investigate further, could you both please check your Settings for me and make sure you have notifications turned on for comments and patches. Thanks!

Brian38
Brian38 5 years ago

Congrats Tukup on your SOTD! Love the second pic showing its digging claw (shovel-like forelimb). Hope your notification issues are resolved!

Tukup
Tukup 5 years ago

Okay, that's good. Not that you're not getting notices too :-) but if it isn't just one individual, I'm sure it will be, or perhaps already is fixed. Thanks Mauna.

mauna Kunzah
mauna Kunzah 5 years ago

Tukup, same here! I’m not getting email notifications for comments or patches.

Tukup
Tukup 5 years ago

Thanks Daniele. I just now saw this. I'm finding that I am not getting comments or patch notifications for some reason. I don't know who to contact. I am going through my pictures and opening everyone that has comments. I've found several that were commented on today that I didn't get notification for. I also noticed I have a new patch that I didn't get a notification on. Do you know who I can contact? Sorry to bother you but I don't know who to tell.

DanielePralong
DanielePralong 5 years ago

Tukup, every day there's a new banner flying at the top of the site announcing Spotting of the Day or Spotting of the Week. They alternate with some other banners, so you just need to navigate the site a few times between pages or spottings and you'll see them appear.

Tukup
Tukup 5 years ago

Thanks Sukanya. Way out here in the jungle we don't have any way for social media. We only recently got a way to use internet, so I am restricted to my laptop and your website. I was hoping there was a place to check on the "home" page for the spotting of the day. Okay. No problem. Thanks for letting me know.

SukanyaDatta
SukanyaDatta 5 years ago

E@Tukup....PN has a facebook page and twitter account...you way like to check that out.

Tukup
Tukup 5 years ago

Hmm. Now that I think about it, I never got a notice on your comment. I wonder why. Oh well, glad I saw it when re-reading Daniele's gracious comment.

Tukup
Tukup 5 years ago

Hi Mauna. Thanks so much. Although I've always thought mole crickets were pretty cool, I never dreamed they were cool enough for a SOTD. While I have the chance to ask, how does one find out who has the spotting of the day? I'd like to follow that.

mauna Kunzah
mauna Kunzah 5 years ago

A belated congratulations, Tukup!

DanielePralong
DanielePralong 5 years ago

You're welcome Tukup! We love the intelligent sense of humor, knowledge and kindness you're bringing to our site. Not to mention your unique and growing collection of critters from Ecuador and elsewhere! Looking forward to see your collection grow.

Tukup
Tukup 5 years ago

Hi Mabijibo. Yes, definitely cool. They are not nearly as colorful as many things we have here but I always enjoy it when I come across them. Funny little creatures. We feel privileged to live in the Garden of Eden. Hopefully I can put some other neat stuff on here. Thanks.

mabijibo
mabijibo 5 years ago

Hi Tukup!
The mole cricket is cool! And I LOVED your Speckled Worm Lizard, from the other day! All I could think was "I WANT ONE!" But, of course, I would never seek to own one, it'd just be nice to have one around to observe ❤ Love all of your insect/ beetle photos! I've always loved insects.

Tukup
Tukup 5 years ago

Thanks António. This was a complete surprise. Hope everyone enjoys the photos.

Tukup
Tukup 5 years ago

Wow. Thanks Daniele. I had no idea mole crickets were in any way unique. Maybe there are other critters I have pictures of that we've gotten so used to we don't realize how cool they are. Thanks again.

Greatfind Tukup,congrats on the well deserved SOTD and thanks for sharing

DanielePralong
DanielePralong 5 years ago

Congratulations Tukup, your mole cricket is our Spotting of the Day:

"Holy moly, it's a mole cricket, our Spotting of the Day! Native or introduced, mole crickets (family Gryllotalpidae) are found on every continent with the exception of Antarctica. They stand out from other Orthopterans (grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets) with their shovel-like forelimbs adapted to burrowing.
To learn more about more crickets: https://buff.ly/2LrO1J7
New Project Noah member Tukup has already lined up an impressive collection of spottings from the Ecuadorian Amazon. Check them out here: https://buff.ly/2UtCCM6 "


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Tukup
Spotted by
Tukup

Morona Santiago, Ecuador

Spotted on May 2, 2011
Submitted on Feb 8, 2019

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