Mole crickets fact sheet | Field of Mars EEC

What are mole crickets?

Mole crickets are unusual insects with bodies shaped for life underground. They are related to grasshoppers, locusts and other crickets, but their wide front legs make them look a little like tiny digging mammals.

Mole crickets have brown bodies, long antennae, short forewings and a soft abdomen. Their strong front legs are flattened like shovels, with claws and spines that help them dig through soil. Many adult mole crickets grow to about 30–40 mm long.

Mole crickets spend most of their lives in underground tunnels. They are often heard more than seen, especially when males call from their burrows during warm, wet evenings.

A mole cricket.

A mole cricket shows the strong shovel-like front legs it uses for digging through soil.

Where do mole crickets live?

Mole crickets are found throughout Australia and are most common in well-watered places with soil and vegetation. They may live in grassy woodland, gardens, parklands, lawns, vegetable gardens and other damp soil habitats.

In eastern Australia, Gryllotalpa pluvialis is a native mole cricket species known from areas including Sydney and Brisbane. Some mole cricket species have also been moved outside their natural range and can become pests when they damage lawns or gardens.

Mole crickets dig tunnels just below the soil surface and also make deeper burrows. Small mounds, raised trails or openings in the soil can show where they have been moving underground.

At Field of Mars Reserve, moist soil, leaf litter, ground cover and vegetated areas provide habitat for many soil invertebrates. Animals such as mole crickets are often easier to hear than see because they spend so much time underground.

A mole cricket uses its strong front legs to dig through loose soil.

What do mole crickets eat?

Mole crickets may be herbivores, carnivores or omnivores, depending on the species. Some feed mainly on plant roots, seeds and underground plant parts. Others eat worms, beetle larvae and small invertebrates that live in soil.

Some mole crickets can damage lawns, seedlings or garden plants when they feed on roots or disturb the soil while tunnelling. They are also part of the soil food web and provide food for other animals.

Mole crickets usually feed underground, but they may sometimes come to the surface at night.

A mole cricket may come to the surface at night but spends most of its life underground.

What is the life cycle of a mole cricket?

Mole crickets go through incomplete metamorphosis. This means their life cycle has three main stages: egg, nymph and adult.

Mating usually happens underground. Males call from specially shaped burrows that make their songs louder. Females can fly and may be attracted to suitable calling sites, especially damp places where eggs are more likely to survive.

After mating, the female lays eggs in an underground chamber. In many mole crickets, the female stays in the burrow and guards the eggs and young nymphs. The nymphs look like small, pale adults without fully developed wings. They moult several times as they grow.

A mole cricket moving through loose soil and leaf litter.

Mole crickets go through incomplete metamorphosis.

What adaptations do mole crickets have to help them survive?

Mole crickets have strong, shovel-like front legs that help them dig through soil. Their claws and leg spines help them push soil aside and move quickly through tunnels.

The front part of a mole cricket’s body is hardened and rounded. This helps protect the head and body as it pushes through soil. Their soft abdomen helps them move through narrow underground spaces.

Living underground helps mole crickets hide from many predators and avoid drying out. Their tunnels provide places to feed, shelter, call, mate and lay eggs.

Some mole crickets can also release a foul-smelling liquid from the end of their body when disturbed. This may help discourage predators.

The smooth, hardened front of a mole cricket helps protect it while it pushes through soil.

Why are mole crickets important?

Mole crickets are part of the soil food web. They feed on plants, seeds and small soil animals, and they are eaten by larger animals such as birds, lizards, frogs, spiders and other predators.

They are also important to blue ants. Despite their name, blue ants are not ants. They are native Australian wasps. Female blue ants hunt mole crickets, paralyse them and lay eggs on them. When the wasp larvae hatch, they feed on the mole cricket.

Mole crickets also show how much life can be hidden under the soil. Even when an animal is rarely seen, it can still be part of a busy underground ecosystem.

A blue ant is a native wasp that uses mole crickets as food for its larvae.

How can you help mole crickets?

You can help mole crickets and other soil invertebrates by protecting healthy soil habitat. Leave leaf litter, fallen bark and natural ground cover in garden and bushland areas where it is safe to do so.

Avoid unnecessary pesticide use, especially in places where insects, spiders and other invertebrates live. Many chemicals can harm animals that are part of the soil food web.

If mole crickets are damaging a lawn or garden, try to identify the problem before using control methods. Some mole crickets are native animals, and not all species cause serious damage.

If you find a mole cricket, observe it carefully and let it return to the soil. Do not handle it roughly or disturb its burrow.

Leaf litter helps create healthy soil habitats for small invertebrates.

Related fact sheets

More invertebrate fact sheets

• Invertebrate fact sheets – Explore insects, spiders, crustaceans, molluscs, worms and other small animals found across Sydney and NSW.
• Insects fact sheet – Learn about insect body parts, life cycles and the roles insects play in ecosystems.
• Cricket fact sheet – Compare true crickets with burrowing mole crickets.
• Grasshopper fact sheet – Compare another Orthopteran insect with strong legs and incomplete metamorphosis.

Habitats and ecosystems

• Leaf litter habitats fact sheet – Learn how fallen leaves, bark and soil create shelter for small animals.
• Ground cover habitats fact sheet – Explore how grasses and low plants protect soil and shelter invertebrates.
• Rock and log habitats fact sheet – Find out how cool, sheltered places support many ground-dwelling animals.
• Eucalypt forest fact sheet – Learn about the bushland ecosystem that supports soil, leaf litter and invertebrate food webs.
• Field of Mars Reserve fact sheet – Explore local bushland habitats that support insects and other small animals.

Food webs and ecological relationships

• Wasp fact sheet – Learn about wasps, including species that hunt other invertebrates for their larvae.
• Spider fact sheet – Explore predators that feed on insects and other small invertebrates.
• Birds fact sheet – Learn about birds, including species that feed on insects and other small animals.
• Reptiles fact sheet – Explore reptiles such as lizards that may feed on ground-dwelling invertebrates.
• Amphibians fact sheet – Learn about frogs and other amphibians that can feed on small invertebrates.

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