Bug ID needed please

[Jason Pereira]

Hi all,

Came across this guy whilst on a walk yesterday on Portugal's west coast just up from Lisbon. He's about 10cm's in length and had the most amazing bulldozer qualities, if it was in his way he moved it with his head or barged through it.

Any info most appreciated!

Thanks

Jason

[indalo]

Grillo-topo.

Gryllotalpa sp.  (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa?)


Jss

[Clive]

Hi Jason and welcome to

It is a mole cricket in English.... Maybe you can find out the Portuguese name and we can add it to the topic title.

Have a look at this website by one of our members.... The quote is from the page where mole crickets are mentioned....
http://www.cornishnature.co.uk/holidays-nature-diary/2-holiday-nature-diary/33-llanos-de-libar-a-land-of-reptile-a-amphibians-a-mole-crickets-.html

Under a rock near the edge of the marsh, in a damp, but not wet, part of the meadow, I was delighted to find my first ever live Mole Cricket – Gryllotalpa species. These elusive burrowing insects have short, flattened, and enlarged claw like front legs which they use to push aside the earth while tunnelling below the surface. As we watched this striking insect trying to hide in it’s exposed tunnels it was easy to see the power with which it excavated new galleries so remarkably quickly. The robust head and thorax looked well designed for a life of digging, but this individual lacked wings of any sort which some other species of Mole Cricket have.

Like other species of Orthoptera it will also stridulate. The song, which is performed at night in spring and early summer at the entrance to the burrow, is a sort of continuous one note churring "rrrrrrrr".

In spring the female lays her eggs in an underground chamber and stays with them until they hatch after 2 to 4 weeks, before continuing to give protection to the young nymphs for a short period. Development may take up to two or three years to for some individuals.Mole Cricket

Having only found the odd remains of Mole Crickets in the past from both southern Portugal & Andalucia over a period of 15 years it was a real treat to see the live insect in the wild, particularly as the only British species Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa, which has fully developed rear wings & is capable of flight, is extinct in my native Cornwall and, in all probability, the rest of the UK mainland.  Sadly it is considered an horticultural pest in places where it is abundant

[andyj]

gorgous!!!

As IDed by jesus and confirmed by Clive, it is a mole cricket.
Difficult to say what species it is (easier to ID from the song) buy is likely to be G.gryllotalpa as Jesus suggests.

Andy

[parthenope]

Hi Jason,

Welcome to  
I am so jealous of that photograph
As Jesus has suggested, given that your Mole Cricket is fully winged it may be Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa
The forked veins on the top side of the forewings suggest it might be a male.
Great shot
Steve

[Jason Pereira]

Excellent!   

Many thanks for the info and the warm welcome.

Clive thanks for the link, the only name I've come up with so far in Portuguese is 'Praga do Milho' which translates to maize pest but bare with me and I'm sure there's a more fitting name for such a marvellous bug.

Have been coming across a few snakes too as the weather's warmed up so may need help with identification on those too but I can't promise a macro shot or even a close up for that matter!

Jason

[andyj]

unfortunately for teh mole cricket "maize pest" is probably an accurate description.
In the UK it used to be a common agricultural pest and where it is still common in Europe it is considered a pest of crops.
Fantastic thing to see and if you can, go out at dusk to hear them sing and you may even see one fly if warm enough. The song will sound a bit like a nightjar churring but is a bit more "pitchy".

Andy