While driving down our lane, I noticed a large, dark insect scuttling across the dusty gravel. It proved to be a mole cricket. As a child, I used to catch mole crickets in our garden in southwestern Iran, but I haven’t seen one in decades. This was like meeting an old friend.
There are several mole cricket species in the southeastern U.S., including some introduced species that are agricultural pests. I think this may be the native Neocurtilla hexadactyla (northern mole cricket), but I let it go instead of collecting it for definitive identification.
AWESOME! It seems like I have seen a similar insect before and thought it was a juvenile of something. I had no idea it could have been a species of mole cricket. Thanks for sharing!
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We have them here too, but I didn’t know that they are called mole crickets.
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Old friend?! That thing is creepy! I have not heard about them since I was in school before 1990.
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