Mole Cricket

Description:

Mole crickets vary in size and appearance, but most of them are of moderate size for an insect, typically 3-5 cm long. This one was of average size: about 4cm long, not including the two back "whisker" like appendages. They are muscular, as one may verify by holding one in the hand; they are not aggressive, but the confined insect will try to dig its way out with considerable force. It's front claw-like appendages are definitely designed/adapted for digging! The abdomen is rather soft, but the head, forelimbs, and prothorax are heavily sclerotised. The hind legs are shaped somewhat like the legs of a real cricket, but are more adapted for shoving while digging, rather than leaping, which they do rarely and poorly.

Habitat:

A mole cricket is native to Australia (New South Wales and Sydney) and was first identified/discovered/named in the works of Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure in 1870. They inhabit agricultural fields, lawns and golf courses. They are now 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). This one was spotted in deep East Texas. In some places, mole cricket numbers are declining due to soil erosion and habitat destruction.

Notes:

Most species of mole crickets can fly powerfully, if not with agility or frequency. Usually they fly only when moving long distances, such as when changing territory. The adults of some species of mole cricket may fly as far as 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) during the mating season. Mole crickets are active most of the year, but spend 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, foxes and blue ants. 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. Mole crickets amplify their song by chirping in a burrow that they've carefully sculpted into the shape of a double exponential horn, which acts as a megaphone.