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The mole crickets compose family Gryllotalpidae, of thick-bodied insects about 3?5 centimetres (1.2?2.0 in) 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 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) 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. 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.^[1] 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 genera

There are several genera of mole cricket, separated into tribes:

• tribus Gryllotalpini
  • Gryllotalpa
  • Gryllotalpella
  • Neocurtilla
    • Neocurtilla hexadactyla
  • ? Pterotriamescaptor

• tribus Scapteriscini
  • Indioscaptor
  • Scapteriscus
  • Triamescaptor

• tribus unknown (fossil taxa)
  • ? Archaeogryllotalpoides
  • ? Cratotetraspinus
  • ? Marchandia
  • ? Palaeoscapteriscops

veloped for burrowing and swimming. They can also fly: the adult mole cricket may fly as far as 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) during mating season, is active most of the year, and spends the winter in hiberna tion. 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. 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.^[1] 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 genera

There are several genera of mole cricket, separated into tribes:

• tribus Gryllotalpini
  • Gryllotalpa
  • Gryllotalpella
  • Neocurtilla
    • Neocurtilla hexadactyla
  • ? Pterotriamescaptor

• tribus Scapteriscini
  • Indioscaptor
  • Scapteriscus
  • Triamescaptor

• tribus unknown (fossil taxa)
  • ? Archaeogryllotalpoides
  • ? Cratotetraspinus
  • ? Marchandia
  • ? Palaeoscapteriscops

References

See also

• Camel cricket ? another underground insect, with a humped back.
• Larra bicolor ? parasitoid of Scapteriscus mole cri ckets

External links

• Mole Cricket Knowledge Base at University of Florida / Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
• On the University of Florida / Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Featured Creatures website
  • mole crickets, Scapteriscus spp.
  • mole cricket nematode
  • Larra spp., mole cricket hunters

The Family Gryllotalpidae is a member of the Superfamily Grylloidea. Here is the complete "parentage" of Gryllotalpidae:

• Domain: Eukaryota Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
  • Kingdom: Animalia C. Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
    • Subkingdom: Bilateria (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - bilaterians
      • Branch: Protostomia Grobben, 1908 - protostomes
        • Infrakingdom: Ecdysozoa A.M.A. Aguinaldo et al., 1997 ex T. Cavalier-Smith, 1998 - ecdysozoans
          • Superphylum: Panarthropoda Cuvier
            • Phylum: Arthropoda Latreille, 1829 - Arthropods
              • Subphylum: Mandibulata Snodgrass, 1938
                • Infraphylum: Atelocerata Heymons, 1901
                  • Superclass: Panhexapoda
                    • Class: Insecta C. Linnaeus, 1758 - Insects
                      • Subclass: Dicondylia
                        • Infraclass: Pterygota - Winged Insects
                          • Superorder: Orthopterida
                            • Order: Orthoptera Latreille, 1793 - Locusts, Katydids, Crickets, Grasshoppers
                              • Suborder: Ensifera (en-SIF-er-uh) Ander, 1939
                                • Infraorder: Gryllidea
                                  • Superfamily: Grylloidea Laicharding, 1781
                                    • Family: Gryllotalpidae Blanchard, 1845 - mole crickets, Maulwurfsgrillen