Gryllotalpa sp '??'

What on earth is this thing?







Well, its actually a mole cricket!
This guy is underground inhabiter, which means they spend most of their family business down to earth.
It is mainly a very good digger but there are also able to lift off, but very bad skill of flying as if they are coordination in flight is not properly developed. Most people will encounter this species during their childhood, well I do. But now for me, I feel that the population is declining.

They are omnivores, they feed on grass roots and meal worms as well.

Substrates used are cocopeat.

In some country, there are considered as pest, I'm not sure of the status in Malaysia.



I'm currently gathering information of this Gryllotalpa,
Anyone know their common name in Malaysia?
And I want to know if there are breeding record or keeping record of them.
I open this thread because I was hoping to find new local record of them that might be up for good use.
Currently I'm still learning how to ID this guy until their species, any sifu are most welcomed to share their thought

:::Taxonomy:::

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Suborder: Ensifera
Family: Gryllotalpidae
Genus: Gryllotalpa
Species: ???


Come and share your experience of this little miners here! Support local species.

:::Anatomy:::



Source:
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/fasulo/molecrickets/molep5-2.gif
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gryllotalpa_gryllotalpa

Wow...u r opening a "Mole Cricket" thread?Congrats congrats...R u keeping them as pet or as food 4 ur scorp?

bro i just caught one yesterday but died an hour later,dont know why...but they realy are intresting..

I'm opening a thread because it is a local species that lack limelight, and not much info are known about them because they are underground dwellers, and maybe to find some literature aspects in folklore should also be fun to look at.

Even my mom don't know the common name eventhough it was quite common back then

Keeping as pets, they are fun to look at and quite cute too.

well you have to keep it in a temperate humid enclosure with substrates, then like myself, I add pandan leaf and spray them once in two days.

There is not really a proper caresheet about them because they are mainly regard as pest and we here in Malaysia, might be a little different.

Well Rism, do you think their population are dwindling?

This post has been edited by aros: Jun 3 2009, 07:26 PM

But they like to burrow right?So how r u going to feed them ?I saw some b4 when i was younger,c them just dig...dig...dig...then c nothing left.Quite interesting but scare to catch

i c,dont know la bro if can wana take them as pet kind of intresting..i cought them only c them at night..

they are nocturnal, so basically you can only see them at night.
Unless you manage to discover the burrow, of course, which is I believed under rotten tree barks.

But usually you will see them come to you at night as they are attracted to light.

So I guess to attract them the best way is by doing the net light method.

---

Added on June 4, 2009, 6:13 pm
Enclosure



Digging update:



This post has been edited by aros: Jun 4 2009, 06:13 PM

so you've opened a thread about this little digger.. the thing is, we dont really see this sp around us like we used to be, so we assuming that the sp is declining. The only method to protect/conserve them is to breed and let them loose and reproduce them self.. 1st must find where they hide and like aros has stated they attracted to light.. can set up a trap.. might do this over the school holidays..

More treasure hunting:

Good Effort from u, Aros.

Catch more n breed in captivity, and release back to wild..

LoL i just found a Mole Cricket roaming around the house..