← back to grid
European Mole Cricket

uncommon

European Mole Cricket

Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa

Habitat
Damp soil in meadows and gardens across Europe
Body length
45 mm
Order
Orthoptera · Gryllotalpidae

Weird but real

Front legs are literal shovels. Digs a tuned trumpet-shaped burrow that acoustically amplifies its mating song across fields.

Why it's cool

Built its own underground PA system. The males sing from architecture they engineered for the acoustics. Insect audiophiles.

Photographs

European mole cricket; Originating from Gaggenau, Germany. Own collection, therefore not geocoded.
H. Zell · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
European mole cricket (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa) near Leoben, Austria
Tobias b köhler · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source