Species map 13. Mole cricket. Sussex Orthoptera - Online Atlas
For ease of comparison with Haes and Harding (1997), records are shown as: pre-1970, 1970-1999 and as 2000 (onwards). The eventual aim is to update all maps as completely as possible with records for 2001 onwards, to show the status of Sussex orthopteroids in the first decade of the new millennium. Records shown for boundary squares may pertain to neighbouring counties.
Mole cricket, Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa (Linnaeus, 1758)
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pre-1970
please email additions, corrections or updates
1970-1999
2000 (onwards)
The status of the Mole cricket in mainland Britain is uncertain. It is listed as Endangered and protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (Schedule 5). Mole crickets may be quite hard to find, even in known localities as they spend much of their time underground. In Guernsey where the insect is still reasonably common, Mole crickets occur in damp sandy soil in gardens and along the sides of ponds and drainage channels, where the water table is high for much of the year. Signs to look for are raised ridges in the soil (similar to but smaller than the ridges produced by moles) and the runs produced when the insects tunnel under sheeting or pieces of junk lying on the soil. After heavy rain they may be found drowned in ponds. It is interesting but possibly coincidental that Mole crickets were common in the days when moles were actively controlled and that in Guernsey there are no moles.