Imitator Mole Cricket

Neoscapteriscus imitatus (Nickle & Castner)
(Ney-oh-scap-terr-ISK-us im-it-AHT-us)

Distribution

The imitator mole cricket probably arrived in Puerto Rico in the 1930s from northern South America.

Description

The color pattern of the dorsal side of the thorax is helpful in distinguishing between Neoscapteriscus species. In this species, the pronotum is dark and distinctly patterned. The pronotum in this species is oval, about one-half longer than it is wide.

The space between the tibial dactyls is important, but cannot be seen without a magnifying lens or microscope. The tibial dactyls of the imitator mole cricket have an interdactyl distance of 0.25 mm, and the dactyls are moderately separated.

The general appearance of the various species distinguishes them when they are compared or when the observer is familiar with them, but is difficult to put into a short but easily-understood written description. The behavior of living adults of the species helps to distinguish them when they are captured alive. The songs of males of the 4 species that sing (the short-winged mole cricket does not sing) separate them very clearly and without question, but require electronic equipment for precise analysis; the songs can be heard, remembered, and distinguished by anyone with a musical ear.

The imitator mole cricket is a darkly mottled mole cricket with wings longer than the body and tibial dactyls moderately separated. When captured it does not "play dead" but struggles and will bite. It is known only from parts of Puerto Rico in the North American area.

Life Cycle

The life cycle and seasonality of the imitator mole cricket have not been studied in Puerto Rico.

Life-cycles of this and other species are contrasted in this knowledgebase with that of the tawny mole cricket, because it is the best-studied species.

Damage

The imitator mole cricket is probably a pest in Puerto Rico, but the level of damage caused by it has not been distinguished clearly from damage caused by N. didactylus (Latreille), the West Indian mole cricket.


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