Details
Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa
The European mole cricket is a burrowing cricket with shovel-like forelegs. At night it emerges or tunnels through moist soil to feed on plant material and small animals.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It inhabits grassland, wetlands, farmland, and damp urban soils in the Palearctic. Soft ground near water is especially suitable.
Length 3.5-5 cm; weight 0.8 g-3.5 g. A stout brown body carries enlarged forelegs shaped for digging. Short hairs and a compact form help it move underground.
Nocturnal and solitary, it spends much of its life in tunnels. Males build underground calling chambers that amplify low songs.
An omnivore, it eats roots, shoots, worms, and small insects. It searches while digging through soil.
Females lay eggs in underground chambers and may guard early eggs or young. Nymphs molt repeatedly before adulthood.
It is listed as Least Concern, though local populations can still be affected by habitat change, collection, or pollution.
