NZ Mole Cricket Photo: supplied/George Gibbs
Mole crickets are found around the world, but ours is unusual in having no wings. Robustly built with strong jaws for chewing and powerful front legs, Mole crickets use their front legs to dig underground tunnels. Unlike crickets, their rear legs are not enlarged as they burrow not jump.
DoC's threatened species ambassador, Nicola Toki has been digging up information about this rare critter, the native mole cricket
