Mole crickets fact sheet

What are mole crickets and what do they look like?

Mole crickets are nocturnal insects related to locusts, grasshoppers and other crickets. Their stocky front legs and outward-facing claws resemble those of a mole which is a burrowing mammal. The strong front legs are used for burrowing into and tunnelling through soil. Most crickets use their long back legs to jump. Mole crickets spend a lot of time underground so their back legs are shorter. They are used to push soil aside as they dig.

Mole crickets have a brown segmented body. The first segment is enlarged and covers the head to protect it while burrowing. They have 2 antennae and a soft abdomen with 2 long cerci – feelers – attached at the end. Both males and females have a pair of wings but it is mostly the females who use them to fly.

Mole crickets are a medium sized insect growing up to 4 centimetres in length.

The  Gryllotalpa pluvialis  species is native to Australia.

Mole crickets look like a mole at the front and a cricket at the back.

Where do mole crickets live?

Mole crickets live on every continent except Antarctica. Australia's native species lives mostly on the east coast.

Natural habitats include woodlands and damp, rich soils in vegetated areas. Managed habitats include gardens, parklands, well-watered lawns such as golf courses, vegetable gardens and compost heaps. Because they disturb lawn and feed on underground grass roots mole crickets are considered a pest in many countries.

Mole crickets dig a maze of tunnels underground where they spend most of their lives feeding, breeding and avoiding predators. Mounds of soil indicate where the tunnel entrances can be found.

Mole crickets can quickly bulldoze their way through dirt and soil.

What do mole crickets eat?

Mole crickets can be herbivores, carnivores or omnivores. Herbivorous species feed only on the roots of vegetation in their underground tunnels. Carnivorous species feed on worms, grubs, insects and other invertebrates found in the soil. Omnivorous species will eat both.

Occasionally mole crickets will look for food on the surface to take underground.

What eats mole crickets?

Mole crickets are eaten by lizards, birds, toads, beetles and spiders.

Mole crickets are also prey for the blue 'ant' which is actually an Australian parasitic wasp. Female blue ants paralyse the cricket and lay eggs on their bodies. The crickets become an instant food source for the newly hatched wasps.

Blue 'ants' which are actually parasitic wasps, lay their eggs into mole crickets. When the eggs hatch the newly hatched wasps feed on the mole cricket.

How are mole crickets adapted to their environment?

Mole crickets have strong, powerful front legs with outward facing claws that are well-adapted for digging underground homes to live in. Their hind legs have no use for jumping as they spend most of their lives underground. Instead they are used for pushing soil out the way as they tunnel and dig. The leg spines assist in digging and plowing through the ground.

The first segment of a mole cricket's body is adapted to protect its head while burrowing and to assist in pushing through different types of earth.

Adapting to an underground habitat provides some protection from predators especially as there are many tunnels to hide in and many exits to escape from.

If disturbed, mole crickets can squirt a foul smelling liquid from their back end as a defence mechanism.

The hard, smooth pointed head of a mole cricket is adapted for burrowing into the earth.

How do mole crickets reproduce?

Mole crickets mate underground. Males will face inwards and call into the funnel-like entrance to attract females. Facing inwards amplifies their call which is created by rubbing the wings together. Females can distinguish between a moist underground home or a dry one just by listening to the type of sound being produced. Damp soil chambers win the females.

After mating, females dig a golfball-sized chamber in which to lay a clutch of eggs. The number of eggs laid depends on the species.

Most females belonging to the mole cricket species will guard the eggs until hatched and care for the hatchlings.

Mole cricket males are the loudest insects after cicadas. They call underground to attract females.

What is the life cycle of mole crickets?

There are 3 stages in the life cycle of mole crickets – egg, nymphs and adults. Nymphs hatch from the eggs after a few weeks. They look like adults but are white, much smaller and have smaller wings. They moult many times as they grow and mature into adults.

Mole crickets go through an incomplete metamorphosis. This means when hatched they go through many stages as a nymph before becoming a full adult.

Related fact sheets

More invertebrate fact sheets

• Invertebrate fact sheets – overview
• Insects fact sheet – overview of insect body parts and features (mole crickets are insects).
• Myriapod fact sheet – many-segmented invertebrates like centipedes and millipedes.
• Gastropod fact sheet – slugs and snails that also live in moist soil and leaf litter.

Habitats and ecosystems

• Leaf litter habitat fact sheet
• Field of Mars Reserve fact sheet

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