Digging for a Living

What am I looking at?

This is a close-up view of a northern mole cricket. You can see its powerful front legs and outward-facing claws (1), which are perfectly adapted for digging; the so-called maxillary palps on its mouthparts (2); and its smooth exoskeleton – covered in tiny, velvet-like bristles (3) – on its upper, or dorsal, thorax. Click on the right arrow to see an alternate view of this insect.

Biology in the background

These crickets can be found in northern regions in most of the world. While most cricket species live a secluded life, the northern mole cricket takes solitude a step further – its features have adapted to enable it to dig and spend much of its time underground. This species is omnivorous, meaning it eats both plants and animals that it roots for underground.

Mole crickets (which are insects) and moles (which are mammals) are a great example of convergent evolution, or the evolution of similar features and adaptations in unrelated organisms. They are both adapted very well to their lifestyle of digging and living underground. Both have cylindrical bodies covered in fine velvety “fur” that slides through the ground relatively easily, and both have outward-facing front feet with strong claws for digging. However, unlike the mole, the mole cricket can fly (though the males rarely do). Interestingly, the males dig funnel-shaped holes that can amplify their songs like a megaphone during the mating season.

A northern mole cricket can grow up to 3.5 centimeters in length, or roughly 1.5 times the size of a human thumbnail.

Technique

These images were created using macrophotography.