Northern Mole Cricket

Few insects in nature are as rarely seen or as odd in appearance as the mole cricket. Looking superficially like its mammal namesake, the mole cricket possesses paddle-like forelimbs well adapted for digging and burrowing. Their head and thorax are heavily armored (for a cricket) and much wider than the rest of their body which is much softer in comparison. This abnormally large head is useful when barging your way through soil creating tunnels all night which they can do at surprisingly rapid speeds.  A torpedo-shaped body covered in fine hairs allows them to move rapidly both forward and backward through the tunnels they excavate. Their back legs somewhat resemble the legs of true crickets, but rather than being adapted for leaping (which they do poorly), they are used for pushing their way through soil. Northern Mole Crickets (pictured) are found throughout the eastern United States and parts of Canada. Their preferred habitat is the muddy or sandy soils along ponds and creeks. They also occur with some regularity in agricultural fields.

Males, like all crickets sing to attract mates, in the case of the mole cricket they dig a funnel-shaped tunnel that leads to the surface. Many species of mole crickets leave the tunnel open to the surface, but the Northern Mole Cricket places a dirt covering over his tunnel. Most likely this is to evade predators located at the surface. This danger to the male usually comes in the form of parasitic wasps, however other insect-eating predators like mice, toads, and wolf spiders all find mole crickets a tasty meal. The call of mole cricket is extremely loud and may attract females from as far as five miles away. Even with the dirt cover over his tunnel the male Northern Mole Cricket makes himself heard and his song vibrates the ground up to eight inches in diameter. For an insect barely an inch and a half long, this is an impressive feat. Both males and females possess shortened wings and are capable of flight, but females are more prone to fly than males. About half of females have functional wings, whereas the other half do not. Once a female homes in on a male's enticing song, those that can fly will take flight to his location. The unfortunate females lacking usable wings must travel over the surface of the ground in a daring journey with many obstacles and dangers in the form of predators. If a female is lucky enough to be underground nearby, she may travel by digging a tunnel that leads her directly to the male. Once mated the female will lay a large cluster of eggs in a chamber located off one of the main burrows. She will enclose the chamber with soil and remain with the eggs and guard them from predators for a short period before dying. The male dies shortly after mating.  Once the eggs hatch the young nymphs will feed on the root systems of various grasses and other plants.  In temperate climates, like Missouri, they will overwinter as nymphs or in some cases adults.

In their native lands mole crickets rarely cause harm to plants with their feeding because of the various predators that have evolved along with them to keep them in check. However, species that find themselves in new lands can wreak havoc on turf and pasture grasses. As they tunnel through the top few inches of soil they push the ground up creating ridges that increase the evaporation of surface moisture which disrupts the germination of seedlings and may damage the root systems of young seedlings. They will also feed, often unchecked on the roots of turf and pasture grasses. This constant burrowing and feeding can dry out the roots causing large patches of dead grasses. Fortunately, these invaders have not made their way into Missouri as of yet. However, they are found in many southern states where they do cause significant damage annually. Controlling mole crickets is not as easy as controlling other fossorial insects like grubs. It requires extensive management of the grasses and turf in question. First, it must be determined if the problem is mole crickets or some other culprit. If it turns out to be mole crickets, you will most likely need to speak to a turf grass expert to determine the best course of action to take.

Mole crickets are harmless to humans, but if you should decide to handle one be prepared that it may secrete a foul-smelling brown liquid from the posterior region that is sure to make you release it. If not, you may get a nip for holding on too long. The bite will be superficial but will definitely get your attention and make you think twice before handling one again. However, you will rarely see a mole cricket as these unique and odd insects are only active at night and live nearly their entire life underground. Occasionally they may come to the surface and a chance encounter will happen. Like those in Zambia, Africa, where mole crickets are considered good luck we too should consider ourselves lucky for the experience.