Mole Cricket

Scientific Name: Gryllotalpa spp. & Scapteriscus spp.

Order: Orthoptera

Description

The mole cricket is a brown elongate insect pest with a hard, shiny head and wings, body up to 50mm long. They possess large front legs with jagged claws for digging, and powerful hind legs that are used for removing loose soil while burrowing.

Biology and Lifecycle

Egg laying has been observed to begin from November throughout the warmer months. Adult females construct egg chambers depositing up to 200 eggs with each egg measuring 2mm in length. Within two weeks of laying, the eggs hatch and become young nymphs that resemble adults. While adult male mole crickets die after mating, females die after depositing their eggs. There appears to be only 1 generation of insect per year. However in the US, multiple generations have been recorded.

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