Tawny Mole Cricket vs Sand Gropper

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Tawny Mole Cricket Sand Gropper
Scientific Name Neoscapteriscus vicinus Cylindraustralia kochii
Order Orthoptera Orthoptera
Family Gryllotalpidae Cylindrachetidae
Size 25-35mm 20-35 mm
Habitat Farmland Heathland
Diet Root Feeders Root Feeders
Regions South America, North America Oceania
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Tawny Mole Cricket

An invasive burrowing cricket with tan coloring and powerful digging forelegs. It is a major turf pest in the southeastern United States. Its tunnels damage grass roots extensively.

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Did You Know?

A single mole cricket can tunnel up to 6 meters per night, leaving raised ridges of dying turf behind it.

Sand Gropper

A bizarre cylindrical cricket adapted for burrowing in sandy soils in Australia.

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Did You Know?

It convergently evolved a mole-cricket-like body despite being in a separate family.