David Element's Wildlife Web Page Orthopteroids 13

David Element

Wildlife Photography

and Digital Video Images

________ Orthopteroids 13 - Mole Crickets 1

MOLE CRICKET Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa (m)

A real rarity is portrayed here in the shape of a Mole Cricket. The photographer received notification of the discovery of this insect from Dr. Peter Sutton, the National Orthoptera Recorder and was able to photograph and film it in temporary captivity - not an easy task as it wouldn't stay still! With gratitude to Peter and also to Richard Lamb and Emma Butt and their colleagues for allowing access to this fascinating insect. At the time that these pictures were taken of this adult male, only three live examples had been seen since in the UK since 1970 plus a fourth dead specimen. The true status of this elusive subterranean creature is very difficult to ascertain but it is presumed that this individual must have had parents and siblings somewhere! *Following further discussion with Peter it would appear that there is now some doubt about the origins of this insect as it may have been imported in produce from Europe. This discovery has been written up in full in the 'Wildlife Reports' section of 'British Wildlife', October 2004.

Links to 'ARKive' species accounts:

OTHER USEFUL LINKS:

The Natural History Museum has a webpage with further useful information about the status of this extraordinary species. In addition, a recording of the song of the Mole Cricket may be downloaded from: http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:sQFw80iLQcsJ:www.nhm.ac.uk/science/news/news.htm+%22mole+cricket%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8