rss Help! Please
I found this but this evening and can’t identify it. Can you help? It looks like an earwig but it would have to be a really big one as the body is over 1.5" long. It looks like it has some small wings growing on its back which I haven’t seen in any pictures on the web.
Greg Phillips
Hi Greg,
This is a Mole Cricket and they live underground.
What The??
Hey Guys,
I found this in my home yesterday in Australia. Very strange bug, never seen anything like it before, looks like a cross between a prawn and a cricket. What do you guys think?
Kind regards
Nick Burgess
Hi Nick,
We have been getting images of Mole Crickets from all over the world lately.
Grio-Topo
Hi from Costa Rica,
What is this little guy? They call him the Grio-Topo here, which is some reference to a mole. He is about 2.5 cm long, has an articulated body behind the second set of legs, has machete like diggers on those front feet, and a mouthful of teeth. He feeds off grass roots, hence destroying most of our front lawn. They dig mole-like tunnels as much as two feet deep (hence their CR name), and like sandy soils. Hope you can identify him by a scientific name or what he goes by in English. We are curious.
Thanks
scmorgan
Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
Limon, Costa Rica
Hi scmorgan,
The reference to moles knows no language barrier as the common English name for this insect is Mole Cricket, not a true cricket, but a member of the family Grylloralpidae.
identification
Dear Bugman,
My husband and son found this bug last night in the kitchen and we are wondering if you may be able to identify it for us. We live in Australia (Victoria) and have a feeling that it may be related to the Potato Bug upon looking at a few examples on your website, however nothing matches exactly. My husband used to see heaps of the them when he was young in his home town of Swan Hill, yet hasn’t seen any for ages. He used to call the "cricket moles" because the looked like crickets and they dig in the ground. Isn’t it lovely how children make up their own names for insects. We have attached a photo of our mysterious bug and the measurements are 5cm from the tip of the head to the end of the tail (abdomen) antennae?? Your assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Yours sincerely,
Fiona Gibson.
Hi Fiona,
The simple way that children view the world often translates into etymology, since the common name for this insect is a Mole Cricket, Family Grylloralpidae.
Dear Bugman,
Thank you so much for your response, this bug has created so much interest in our household for the past 24 hours, it has been amazing. My husband and I , our 4 and 1 year old sons loved it, and our 7 year old daughter hated it.We even gave it a special house for the night. After taking a photo of it and sending it to you we put him back in the garden so he could find his mum and dad. Once again, thank you for your response and my husband is stoked that he had the common name of the cricket right after all this time.
Fiona.
What is this bug
Hi there,
I stay in South Africa and this bug was found by my dog. It has funny front claws, and it is quite strong.
Thanks in advance.
Fred
Hi Fred,
This is a Mole Cricket, a burrowing insect in the family Gryllotalpidae. We get images from the U.S. as well as the Middle East. Some species are capable of flight.
Scary Bug – looks like a shrimp/armadillo
I keep finding these things in my house. Is that tail a stinger? Any clue as to what it is?
Patrick Mooney
Voorhees, NJ
Hi Patrick,
This is a Camel Cricket or Cave Cricket. They like damp dark places. The so-called stinger is an ovipositor which distinguises the female. She uses it to lay eggs.
Cricket?
I thought this might be a cricket-it certainly sounds like one. It was on the wall outside the bathroom door. The wings are so fantastic & I couldn’t find any photos quite like this, so I’d appreciate help on this one too. Thanks! Just outside of Walnut Springs, TX.
Laureen Dozier
Hi Laureen,
What a gorgeous photo. It is our favorite in a long time. It depicts a Snowy Tree Cricket, Oecanthus fultoni, singing away. This cricket is also known as a Thermometer Cricket as it is possible to tell the temperature according to the number of chirps.
what is this bug?
Hi there,
This guy (or one of his/her friends) have been scurrying around our back porch in Hattiesburg, Mississippi ever since Hurricane Katrina came through. I would guess the guy is two and a half to three inches long, somewhat fast on his feet and rather creepy. Any ideas? Great site by the way!
Thanks,
Wesley
Hi Wesley,
This is a Mole Cricket, and though they live underground, some species can fly quite well.
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