Southern Mole Cricket

Description:

I went outside at 8:30 p.m. at night, and I saw a brown cricket, resting on the concrete driveway. This cricket was about three fourths of an inch long. The color of this cricket, was different shades of brown. Scapteriscus, is a genus of insects, in the family Gryllotalpidae, the mole crickets. Order: Orthoptera ( grasshoppers, crickets, katydids ). The southern mole cricket, is a pest of lawns, pastures, and gardens. This insect was alive, and able to move. Unlike almost all other members of the Order Orthroptera, it is the forelegs, rather than the hind legs, that are highly developed in mole crickets. This adaption allows them to dig, and the great majority of mole cricket life history, occurs below ground. Mole crickets are a small family, with seven North American species, including three introduced species, that occur as pests, in parts of the southern United States.

Habitat:

Fossorial ( digging ) nocturnal. They inhabit agricultural fields, and grassy areas. Also, lawns, pastures, and gardens.

Notes:

I went outside at 8:30 p.m. at night, and I saw a brown cricket, resting on the concrete driveway. This cricket, was about three fourths of an inch long. The color of this cricket, was different shades of brown. This insect was alive, and able to move.