Gryllotalpa major

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Gryllotalpa major
Conservation status
Data Deficient (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Orthoptera Family: Gryllotalpidae Genus: Gryllotalpa Species: G. major
Binomial name
Gryllotalpa major Saussure, 1874
Synonyms
Neocurtilla major (Saussure, 1874)

Gryllotalpa major is a molecricket, or species of insect in family Gryllotalpidae known as the prairie molecricket. It is endemic to the United States and is the largest cricket in North America. Its natural habitat is temperate grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss and is currently only found in the four-corners region of Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas. Males of this species produce sounds by rubbing their forewings together. They sing from special burrows they construct in the prairie soil to attract females for mating, and they can be heard at distances up to 400 meters from the burrow. Males aggregate their acoustic burrows in a lek arena and are very sensitive to vibrations carried through the ground. Males communicate with neighboring males through vibrational signals, and the songs they project to flying females are harmonic chirps, rather than the trills produced by most molecrickets.

[edit] Source

• Orthopteroid Specialist Group 1996. Gryllotalpa major. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 09 August 2007.