What is the Mole Cricket?
The mole cricket, with its Latin name “Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa,” is a powerful and large insect species found worldwide, especially in tropical regions. It is generally seen in America, Central America, South America, and West Africa. These insects attract attention with their size and magnificent horns and are among the largest in the insect world. Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa is classified as an endangered or threatened insect in many European countries and is protected by law.
Life Cycle and Appearance of the Mole Cricket
The mole cricket has greatly widened front legs with finger-like projections (an adaptation for digging in the soil). Adults have thick bodies in grayish-brown to yellowish-brown colors, are 35-50 mm in length, and are covered with a velvety layer of fine hairs. They have short forewings and large, long hindwings that are rolled longitudinally and are relatively inconspicuous when the insect is stationary. The most remarkable feature of these insects is the long horns that can grow on the front of the males' heads. These horns are used to push or defend against rivals in mating struggles. Female mole crickets have smaller horns.
Mole crickets feed especially on larvae that rot wood and by eating fruits. Adults, on the other hand, rarely feed and devote most of their lives to mating and reproduction activities.
Mole crickets create tunnels a few cm below the surface by digging the soil. These insects generally live in tropical forests and rainforests. Their larvae are found in decayed trees. At night, especially on hot summer evenings, adults can come to the surface and fly in swarms. Adult males have the ability to chirp and do this to attract females.
When the mating season arrives, males fight rivals with their horns, and winners can invite females to mate. Females lay their eggs in the soil, and larvae develop within the soil. Following mating, females create a large underground chamber where they lay 100-300 eggs. The young hatch within 2-3 weeks, but the female continues to care for her offspring until the nymphs reach the second instars. Then the nymphs separate to feed and develop independently. Developing from the egg stage to the adult stage takes about a year in Southern Europe and up to 18 months in cooler regions.
Why is the Mole Cricket Seen in Homes and Gardens?
Mole crickets can be seen especially in gardens and near houses, but these situations may be due to the destruction of natural habitats or environmental changes. The reasons for the mole cricket being seen in homes and gardens can be explained as follows;
- Environmental Changes: The destruction or modification of natural habitats can cause mole crickets to migrate to more man-made areas. Cutting down forests can lead to the destruction of the insects' natural habitats, which can draw the insects to areas where humans live.
- Light Pollution: Light pollution can cause insects to be seen more in areas where they are active at night. Intense lighting around houses or on streets can attract these types of insects.
- Fruit Trees and Gardens: Mole crickets can be attracted to fruit trees and gardens. Rotten fruits and tree bark are food sources for their larvae and adults. Therefore, orchards and gardens can cause these insects to be present in the vicinity.
- Random Migrations: In some cases, mole crickets can migrate randomly. This means they move from one region to another without a specific reason. During such migrations, they may pass near houses and gardens.
- Mating and Reproduction: During the mating period, male mole crickets frequently fly over wide areas to find females. This can lead to these insects being seen more when they fly over houses and gardens.
Damages of the Mole Cricket
The damages of the mole cricket stem from its way of life. The mole cricket, which advances by opening galleries in the soil, continues on its way by gnawing on the seeds, roots, tubers, and all plant materials you can think of that it encounters during this time. For this reason, it causes the death of plants and destruction over a wide area. In short, the mole cricket eats roots and the base parts of stems without discrimination.
Especially newly planted saplings, seedlings, and crops suffer from the damage of the mole cricket. The insects, which feed on crowns and developing small fruits and fruits, consume especially by gnawing on the roots and the bases of the stems. Mole crickets can also feed on crowns and developing small fruits and fruits, for example in strawberries. As a result of feeding, the growth of crops located on mole cricket galleries and destroyed at the root stops, and many of them dry up in a short time. Due to the damage it causes by disrupting seed beds while advancing in the field, the mole cricket pest also renders germinating and growing seeds non-functional. The mole cricket pest most commonly hosts on; corn, rice, wheat, vegetables, sunflower, ornamental plants, cotton, tobacco, fruit, and forest saplings.
In fact, plants constitute a small part of the food this pest feeds on. The mole cricket pest also eats other insects, worms, and animals.
Mole Cricket Pesticide and Control
Chemical control is carried out after its presence is determined in the greenhouse, regardless of the density. Poisonous bait is used in its control.
To prepare poisonous bait, 500 g of sugar and a suitable insecticide are mixed into 10 kg of bran without wetting. Then, water is added to this mixture until it reaches a sponge consistency and, after irrigation in the evening, it is distributed homogeneously around the root collar of the plants at a rate of 5-8 kg/da.
The most suitable insecticide for the mole cricket is Chlorpyrifos-ethyl. Insecticides can be used to control mole cricket populations, but it is important to use mole cricket insecticides according to the label instructions.
Organic and Natural Control Methods
In the natural control of the mole cricket, one of the most effective methods is to select more humid regions in cultural areas and dig the soil 40 cm deep in various parts of the land. The dug pit can be 1 meter long and 1 meter wide. The number and width of the dug pits vary mostly according to the size of the land. Then the opened pits are filled with farmyard manure. The mole cricket spends the winter in these opened pits; in the spring, it becomes easier to fight the mole cricket eggs and nymphs wintering here in small areas. It is possible to control the population to a great extent in these areas with partial chemical pesticide applications.
Another cultural measure is; of course, this method is valid for smaller lands. By applying excessive irrigation, the mole cricket nests under the soil can be destroyed, ensuring they move away from the environment. In agricultural lands, the mole cricket can also be controlled by performing deep tillage at the end of the production season.
Prevention and Protection Tips for the Mole Cricket
If you have fruit trees or gardens, attention should be paid to plants that insects can damage. Appropriate measures should be taken to protect damaged fruit trees or plants. At the same time, fruit residues and rotten crops must be removed from the garden. It is also very important to perform proper irrigation and fertilization in the field or orchard.
Mole crickets are also active at night, and light can cause mole crickets to be seen more around the field. For this reason, excessive lighting should be avoided at night or unnecessary lighting should not be done.
It is also important to keep in mind that mole crickets can travel long distances, so control measures should also be taken in surrounding planting areas.
