Gryllotalpa africana
| Gryllotalpa africana | |
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| Family: | Gryllotalpidae
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| Species: | G. africana
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| Binomial name | |
| Gryllotalpa africana (Palisot de Beauvois, 1805)
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Gryllotalpa africana, also known as the African mole cricket, is a relatively small mole cricket species, native to Africa, but local populations exist in Asia, and southern Europe.
Subspecies and similar species[]
It is now understood that G. africana is a species complex that may include cryptic species. These cryptic species can be distinguished only by their song patterns. There are two subspecies of G. africana; the Orthoptera Species File[1] lists:
- Gryllotalpa africana Palisot de Beauvois, 1805
- G. africana africana Palisot de Beauvois, 1805 (Africa, Portugal, Indian Subcontinent)
- G. africana microphtalma Chopard, 1936 (Senegal)
- Townsend, 1983
- Gerstaecker, 1869
- Saussure, 1877
- Townsend, 1983
- Chopard, 1948
Biology[]
The species is omnivorous. The mole cricket lives underground, making burrows and feeding on plant roots, larvae and other insects. It goes to the surface only at night - mostly in the mating season. It can fly too, when changing territory or when females are searching for males. Males call females by chirping. This cricket is considered a pest in some regions.
References[]
External links[]
Media related to Gryllotalpa africana at Wikimedia Commons- Orthoptera Species File - Distribution and taxonomy for sensu stricto sp.
- Agroatlas.ru - Information and images
- Gryllotalpidae
- Orthoptera of Europe
- Insects described in 1805