Name that creature?

11 years ago

I didn't know where else to put a post about a creature. I've no idea what it was. I was planting some annuals in my front beds which are mulched and as I was digging through the mulch, I came across this creature that was trying to dig its way back into the mulch.

It was about 2 1/2" long and it looked like a cross between a grasshopper and a crayfish. It wasn't an insect as I didn't see any wings and the body, esp the back part was soft rather than covered in an exoskeleton. The back legs looked very much like a grasshopper's. The front by its head had almost flipper like feet that faced outward. The abdomen was rather khaki colored and it had what looked like two beady dark eyes as opposed to multiple eyes like, say a spider. It had long thin appendages, almost like antenna, but facing backward.

Any ideas? I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture....

Featured Answer

Atlamol

11 years ago

Try looking up Mole cricket....

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Comments (11)

eaga
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Sorry, I don't know what it was, but you might also cross-post to the Name This Animal Forum, which is one of the Nature Forums.
Annie Deighnaugh
Original Author
11 years ago
Great thank you, I will!
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
i just googled your words ... anything strike you ... and do report back.. if you get an answer ...

ken

https://www.google.com/search?q=looked+like+a+cross+between+a+grasshopper+and+a+crayfish.&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=_8xTVaXvOcqdsAXM4IG4DA&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=850&bih=745&dpr=0.9
sweet_betsy No AL Z7
11 years ago
Could this be it?
house centipede
User
11 years ago
I was also going to suggest mole cricket.
Annie Deighnaugh thanked User
Annie Deighnaugh
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Yes, thank you all for your help. It is a mole cricket. Funniest looking thing I ever saw.... I understand they can be quite damaging to lawns, so I'll be sure to let our lawn care people know. I guess they are common in the SE...they may be extending their range with global warming as we are in CT.
party_music50
11 years ago
yikes! I've never seen or heard of a mole cricket. Freaky looking creatures. :p
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
11 years ago
Your description was great! I knew right away that you'd seen a Northern Mole Cricket.
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
11 years ago
Aren't they weird? We have them here & they skitter around @ dusk - so creepy!
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
11 years ago
Yes, they are VERY wierd looking. I remember when I saw my very first one (of thousands)! It was the day after we had moved to S. Carolina; I saw a mole cricket, a huge black widow spider on the back of the house, and a large snake of some sort climbing a Long Leaf Pine in the backyard all in one morning.

Yep, there were a LOT of firsts in S.C., I stayed for much of my adult life in spite of that first scary day.

Those were the days before computers.....no Googe to look up that creepy looking little thing.