Does anyone on this site know how to take care of mole crickets?

[A cave cricket]

I've been trying to keep mole crickets for so long but seemed to fail every time I don't get why? Will somebody please tell me how

 

[Poonjab]

How have you been keeping them?

 

[Wolfram1]

on second thougt, pm me

 

[A cave cricket]

I don't know how to take care of them that's why I'm asking.

 

[DaveM]

Apparently, mole cricket care is secret, esoteric knowledge. You have to pm @Wolfram1 to gain admission to the brotherhood of the mole cricket.

If you're not deemed worthy -- and I hear @Wolfram1 is hard to impress -- you can start with lesser information that is freely available to all, such as here:

Mole Cricket care

I found a mole cricket yesterday and was wondering if anyone knew how to take care of 'em. He seems to be a healthy adult. Life span, feeding, enclosure, and other general care would be appreciated.

arachnoboards.com

 

[A cave cricket]

What dose that mean? Btws im new so.

Pm?

 

[DaveM]

Pm?

PM stands for 'personal message' or 'private message' -- you can do it on Arachnoboards by hovering over a username and clicking the 'Start conversation' button in the popup.

I think it will be best to speak to you very plainly. I don't know why Wolfram1 wants to speak to you privately -- I'm very curious actually -- but consider it an honor to be invited to speak personally with a person of his stature, and contact him right away (Start conversation, as instructed above).
Then, reward the rest of us by reporting here what mole cricket secrets he tells you. Do you understand?

 

[A cave cricket]

I did that lol.

Sorry I will not snitch. Nice try.

 

[Wolfram1]

Hahaha, i didnt know i was this famous @DaveM , a person of statue no less xd


No i was just making sure i didn't incriminate myself. I was not, as i just found out, but the species really is protected in Vienna as well as in Germany, but not in the other federal states of Austria. Still Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa, the european mole cricket is among the endangered species of Orthoptera in europe. Habitat destruction is the main cause however so sharing how to keep them is probably important.

All the more reason to learn how to keep them really. Even so check your lokal laws.

I would recommend something like this: 1100ml or about 10x10x10cm

This is an example of soil collected alongside the animals.

It was taken from the mounds of ether a regular mole or some other burrowing rodent. That way it is already broken up in fine grains.


All you need to do is fill up the container almost to the top, were you ventilate it ether as shown with a melted in steel gauze or with simple holes. You can even cover it slightly with a paper if it already has the desired ratio of moisture and prevent it from evaporating too quickly.
Keep the soil slightly moist, not wet!!!!
Do not press it down. Loose soil is the way to go. Put food on top.


They need to be kept singly since they are omnivores so you can feed them carrots and other root vegetables, as well as pieces of fruit and about half should be live or pre-killed insects. Mealworm pupae work great, but you can vary the diet and they should be able to take down most feeder insects as long as they are appropriately sized.

You will never see them unless you dump out the earth, and them with it. You can check on them this way if you have to. It would be bad luck if you catch it in a molt however. They create a chamber below ground were they spend all their time.

Do not let things rot or mold. Temperatures are not all that important but 18-24°C should be fine. Not sure what your species will need if it is one native to america.


There are quite a few publications on the species. All in german however. Not sure if you can read or translate it somehow. Most can be found on www.zobodat.at

Wolfgang Tiefenbrunner (1986): Untersuchungen zur Larvalenentwicklung von Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa (L.) 1758 – Verhandlungen der Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien. Frueher: Verh.des Zoologisch-Botanischen Vereins in Wien. seit 2014 "Acta ZooBot Austria" – 124: 151 - 168.

GODAN D., 1966: Erfahrungen bei der Aufzucht von Maulwurfsgrillen, Frucht- und Taufliegen sowie Gallmücken. Mitt. dtsch. entomol. Ges. 25.4.1966.
(i couldn't find a pdf for this one sadly, probably wasn't scanned)


This one especially describes the pairing of Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa in detail which i have not yet witnessed myself.

B. Th. Boldyrev (1913): Die Begattung und der Spermatophorenbau bei der Maulwurfsgrille (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa L.) – Zoologischer Anzeiger – 42: 592 - 605.

good luck.

 

[DaveM]

Hahaha, i didnt know i was this famous @DaveM , a person of statue no less xd

You are well on your way to becoming legendary.
Excellent information. Thank you.

 

[Wolfram1]

my pleasure, lets hope it is of any use

 

[A cave cricket]

Thank you for this information now I will be keeping them!

Btw are they closer to Jerusalem crickets or true crickets?

 

[Wolfram1]

no idea

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

They're closely related to true crickets.

 

[Wolfram1]

As a small tip, if you want to figure out the evolutionary relation of an animal to another you can work your way down the phylogenetic tree of life (or up the taxonomic ranks) until you find the closest common ancestor.

I never really bothered keeping other Orthoptera so i didn't bother looking it up.

 

[A cave cricket]

Ok...? Thx?