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Triamescaptor
† Archaeogryllotalpoides
† Cratotetraspinus
† Marchandia
† Palaeoscapteriscops
Mole cricket fossils are rare . A stem group fossil , Cratotetraspinus , is known from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil . Two specimens of Marchandia magnifica in amber have been found in the Lower Cretaceous of Charente @-@ Maritime in France . They are somewhat more abundant in the Tertiary amber of the Baltic and Dominican regions ; impressions are found in Europe and the American Green River Formation .
Mole crickets are not closely related to the " pygmy mole crickets " , the Tridactyloidea , which are in the grasshopper suborder Caelifera rather than the cricket suborder Ensifera . The two groups , and indeed their resemblance in form to the mammalian mole family Talpidae with their powerful front limbs , form an example of convergent evolution , both developing adaptations for burrowing .

= = Behavior = =

Adults of most species of mole cricket can fly powerfully , if not with agility , but males do so infrequently . The females typically take wing soon after sunset , and are attracted to areas where males are calling , which they do for about an hour after sunset . This may be in order to mate , or they may be influenced by the suitability of the habitat for egg @-@ laying , as demonstrated by the number of males present and calling in the vicinity .

= = = Life cycle = = =

Mole crickets are hemimetabolous meaning they undergo incomplete metamorphosis ; when nymphs hatch from eggs , the nymphs increasingly resemble the adult form as they grow and pass through a series of up to ten moults . After mating , there may be a period of one or two weeks before the female starts laying eggs . She burrows into the soil to a depth of 30 cm ( 12 in ) , ( 72 cm ( 28 in ) has been seen in the laboratory ) , and lays a clutch of 25 to 60 eggs . Neoscapteriscus females then retire , sealing the entrance passage , but in Gryllotalpa and Neocurtilla species , the female has been observed to remain in an adjoining chamber to tend the clutch . Further clutches may follow over several months , according to species . Eggs need to be laid in moist ground and many nymphs die because of insufficient moisture in the soil . The eggs hatch in a few weeks , and as they grow , the nymphs consume a great deal of plant material either underground or on the surface . The adults of some species of mole cricket may move as far as 8 kilometres ( 5 @.@ 0 mi ) during the breeding season . Mole crickets are active most of the year , but overwinter as nymphs or adults in cooler climates , resuming activity in the spring .

= = = Burrowing = = =

Mole crickets live almost entirely below ground , digging tunnels of different kinds for the major functions of life , including feeding , escape from predators , attracting a mate ( by singing ) , mating , and raising of young .
Their main tunnels are used for feeding and for escape : they can dig themselves underground very rapidly , and can move along existing tunnels at high speed both forwards and backwards . Their digging technique is to force the soil to either side with their powerful , shovel @-@ like forelimbs , which are broad , flattened , toothed and heavily sclerotised ( the cuticle is hardened and darkened ) .
Males attract mates by constructing specially @-@ shaped tunnels in which they sing . Mating takes place in the male 's burrow ; the male may widen a tunnel to make room for the female to mount , though in some species mating is tail @-@ to @-@ tail . Females lay their eggs either in their normal burrows or in specially @-@ dug brood chambers which are sealed when complete in the case of the genus Neoscapteriscus or not sealed in the case of genera Gryllotalpa and Neocurtilla .

= = = Song = = =

Male mole crickets sing by stridulating , always underground . In Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa the song is based on an almost pure tone at 3 @.@ 5 kiloHertz , loud enough to make the ground vibrate 20 cm all round the burrow ; in fact the song is unique in each species . In Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa the burrow is somewhat roughly sculpted ; in Gryllotalpa vineae , the burrow is smooth and carefully shaped , with no irregularities larger than 1 millimetre . In both species the burrow takes the form of a double exponential horn with twin openings at the soil surface ; at the other end there is a constriction , then a resonating bulb , and then an escape tunnel . A burrow is used for at least a week . The male positions himself head down with his head in the bulb , his tail near the fork in the tunnel .
Mole crickets stridulate like other crickets by scraping the rear edge of the left forewing , which forms a plectrum , against the lower surface of the right forewing , which has a ratchet @-@ like series of asymmetric teeth : the more acute edges face backwards , as do those of the plectrum . The plectrum can move forwards with little resistance ; but moving it backwards makes it catch each tooth , setting up a vibration in both wings . The sound @-@ producing stroke is the raising ( levation ) of the wings . The resulting song resembles the result of modulating a pure tone with a 66 Hertz wave to form regular chirps . In G. vineae , the wing levator muscle , which weighs 50 milligrams , can deliver 3 @.@ 5 milliWatts of mechanical power ; G. gryllotalpa can deliver about 1 milliWatt . G. vineae produces an exceptionally loud song from half an hour after sunset , continuing for an hour ; it can be heard up to 600 metres away . At a distance of 1 metre from the burrow , the sound has a mean power over the stridulation cycle of up to 88 decibels ; the loudest recorded peak power was about 92 decibels ; at the mouths of the burrow , the sound reaches around 115 decibels . G. gryllotalpa can deliver a peak sound pressure of 72 decibels and a mean of about 66 decibels . The throat of the horn appears to be tuned ( offering low inductive reactance ) , making the burrow radiate sound efficiently ; the efficiency increases when the burrow is wet and absorbs less sound . Mole crickets are the only insects that construct a sound @-@ producing apparatus . Given the known sensitivity of a cricket 's hearing ( 60 decibels ) , a night @-@ flying G. vineae female should be able to detect the male 's song at a range of 30 metres ; this compares to about 5 metres for a typical Gryllus cricket that does not construct a burrow .
The loudness of the song is correlated with the size of the male and the quality of the habitat , both indicators of male attractiveness . The loudest males may attract 20 females in one evening , when a quieter male may attract none . This behaviour enables acoustic trapping : females can be trapped in large numbers by broadcasting a male 's song very loudly .

= = = Food = = =

Mole crickets vary in their diets ; some like the tawny mole cricket are herbivores , others are omnivores , feeding on larvae , worms , roots , and grasses , and others like the southern mole cricket are mainly predacious . As well as consuming roots underground , mole crickets leave their burrows at night to forage for leaves and stems which they drag underground before consumption .

= = = = Predators , parasites and pathogens = = = =

Besides birds , toads and insectivorous mammals , the predators of mole crickets include subterranean assassin bugs , wolf spiders , and various beetles . The South American nematode Steinernema scapterisci kills Neocapteriscus mole crickets by introducing bacteria into their bodies , causing an overwhelming infection . Steinernema neocurtillae is native to Florida and attacks native Neocurtilla hexadactyla mole crickets . Parasitoid wasps of the genus Larra ( Hymenoptera : Crabronidae ) attack mole crickets , the female laying an egg on the external surface of the mole cricket , and the larva developing externally on the mole cricket host . Ormia depleta ( Diptera : Tachinidae ) is a specialized parasitoid of mole crickets in the genus Neoscapteriscus ; the fly 's larvae hatch from eggs inside her abdomen ; she is attracted by the call of the male mole cricket and deposits a larva or more on any mole cricket individual with which she comes in contact . Specialist predators of mole cricket eggs in China and Japan include the bombardier beetle Stenaptinus jessoensis whereas in South America they include the bombardier beetle Pheropsophus aequinoctialis ( Coleoptera : Carabidae ) ; the adult beetle lays eggs near the burrows of mole crickets , and the beetle larvae find their way to the egg chamber and eat the eggs . Fungal diseases can devastate mole cricket populations during winters with sudden rises of temperature and thaws . The fungus Beauveria bassiana can overwhelm adult mole crickets and several other fungal , microsporidian and viral pathogens have been identified . Mole crickets evade predators by living below ground , and vigorously burrowing if disturbed at the surface . As a last @-@ ditch defence , they eject a foul @-@ smelling brown liquid from their anal glands when captured ; they can also bite .

= = Distribution = =

Mole crickets are relatively common , but because they are nocturnal and spend nearly all their lives underground in extensive tunnel systems , they are rarely seen . They inhabit agricultural fields and grassy areas . They are present in every continent with the exception of Antarctica ; by 2014 , one hundred and seven species had been described and more species are likely to be discovered , especially in Asia . Neoscapteriscus didactylus is a widespread pest species , originating in South America it has spread to the West Indies and New South Wales in Australia . Gryllotalpa africana is a major pest in South Africa ; other Gryllotalpa species are widely distributed in Europe , Asia and Australia . They are native to Britain ( as to western Europe ) , but the former population of G. gryllotalpa may now be extinct in mainland Britain , surviving in the Channel Islands .

= = = Invasive mole crickets , and their biological control = = =

Invasive species are those that cause harm in their newly occupied area , where biological control may be attempted . The first @-@ detected invasive mole cricket species was Neoscapteriscus didactylus , a South American species reported as a pest in St. Vincent , West Indies as early as 1837 ; by 1900 , it was a major pest of agriculture in Puerto Rico . It had probably slowly expanded its range northwards , island by island , from South America . The only biological control program against N. didactylus was in Puerto Rico , and it succeeded in establishing the parasitoid wasp Larra bicolor from Amazonian Brazil . In 2001 , N. didactylus in Puerto Rico seemed to be a pest only in irrigated crops and turf . Small scale experimental applications of the nematode Steinernema scapterisci were made in irrigated turf , but survival of the nematode was poor . Very much later , this same species was reported as a pest in Queensland , Australia , presumably arriving by ship or plane . The next @-@ detected invasive species was in the late 19th century in Hawaii , probably by ship . It was named as Gryllotalpa africana , but was probably G. orientalis . It attacked sugarcane and was targeted with Larra polita from the Philippines in 1925 , apparently successfully .
The next detection was in Georgia , USA , and at that time was assumed to be N. didactylus from the West Indies . It was in fact three South American Neoscapteriscus species , N. abbreviatus , N . vicinus , and N. borellii , probably arrived in ship ballast . They caused major problems for decades as they spread in the southeastern USA.Scapteriscus mole cricket populations had built up since the early decades of the 20th century and damaged pastures , lawns , playing fields and vegetable crops . From the late 1940s chordane had been the insecticide of choice to control them , but when chordane was banned by the U.S. EPA in the 1970s , ranchers were left with no economic and effective control method . Especially to aid Florida ranchers , a project that became known as the UF / IFAS Mole Cricket Research Program was initiated in 1978 . In 1985 , a multi @-@ authored report was published on accomplishments . In 1988 , an account was published on prospects for biological control , and in 1996 an account of promising results with biological control . The program ended in 2004 after 25 years of running monitoring stations , and in 2006 a summary publication announced success : a 95 % reduction in mole cricket numbers in northern Florida , with biological control agents spreading potentially to all parts of Florida . Efforts to use Larra bicolor as a biological control agent in Florida began by importing a stock from Puerto Rico . It became established in a small area of southeastern Florida but had little effect on Neoscapteriscus populations . A stock from Bolivia became established in northern Florida and spread widely ( with some help ) to most of the rest of the state and neighboring states . Its survival depends upon the availability of suitable nectar sources .
Once it was discovered that gravid female Ormia depleta flies are attracted to the song of Neoscapteriscus males in South America , a path to trap these flies at synthetic mole cricket song was opened . Experimentation then led to a rearing method . Laborious rearing of over 10 @,@ 000 flies on mole cricket hosts allowed releases of living fly pupae at many sites in Florida from the far northwest to the far south , mainly on golf courses , and mainly in 1989 @-@ 1991 . Populations were established , began to spread , and were monitored by use of synthetic mole cricket song . Eventually it was discovered that the flies had a continuous population from about 29 degrees North all the way south to Miami , but that the flies failed to survive the winter north of about 29 degrees . Shipment and release of the flies to states north of Florida was thus a wasted effort . As the flies had been imported from 23 degrees South in Brazil and could not overwinter north of 29 degrees North in Florida , it was investigated in 1999 whether flies from 30 degrees South in Brazil might survive better in northern Florida , but they did not .
The third biological control agent to target Neoscapteriscus in Florida was the South American nematode Steinernema scapterisci . Small @-@ scale releases proved it could persist for years in mole @-@ cricket @-@ infested sandy Florida soils . Its use as a biopesticide against Neoscapteriscus was patented , making it attractive to industry . Industrial @-@ scale production on artificial diet allowed large @-@ scale trial applications in pastures and on golf courses , which succeeded in establishing populations in several counties , and these populations spread , but sales were disappointing , and the product was withdrawn from the market in 2014 .

= = = As pests = = =

The main damage done by mole crickets is as a result of their burrowing activities . As they tunnel through the top few centimetres of soil they push the ground up in little ridges , increasing evaporation of surface moisture , disturbing germinating seeds and damaging the delicate young roots of seedlings . They are also injurious to turf- and pasture @-@ grasses as they feed on the roots of the grasses , leaving the plants prone to drying @-@ out and damage by use .
In their native lands , mole crickets have natural enemies that keep them under control . This is not the case when they have been accidentally introduced to other parts of the world . In Florida they are considered pests and are described as " a serious problem " . A University of Florida Entomology report suggests that South American Neoscapteriscus mole crickets may have entered the United States at Brunswick , Georgia in ship 's ballast from southern South America around 1899 , but were at that time mistakenly believed to be from the West Indies . One possible remedy is biological pest control using the parasitoidal wasps Larra bicolor . Another remedy that has been successfully applied is use of the parasitic nematode Steinernema scapterisci . When this is applied in strips across grassland , it spreads throughout the pasture within a few months and not only controls the mole crickets , but remains infective in the soil for future years .

= = In human culture = =


= = = Folklore = = =

In Zambia , Gryllotalpa africana is held to bring good fortune to anyone who sees it . In Latin America , Scapteriscus and Neocurtilla mole crickets are said to predict rain when they dig into the ground . In Japan in the past they seem to have been associated with the worms / corpses / bugs that announce a persons sins to heaven in the Koshin / Koushin belief — see the spirit ghoul shokera / shoukera .

= = = As food = = =

Gryllotalpa mole crickets have sometimes been used as food in West Java and Vietnam . In Thailand mole crickets ( Thai : กระชอน ) are valued as food in Isan . They are usually eaten fried along with sticky rice .
In the Philippines , they are served as a delicacy called Camaro in the province of Pampanga and are a tourist attraction . They are also served in parts of Northern Luzon .


= Maryland Route 194 =

Maryland Route 194 ( MD 194 ) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland . The state highway runs 23 @.@ 87 miles ( 38 @.@ 42 km ) from MD 26 in Ceresville north to the Pennsylvania state line near Taneytown , where the highway continues as Pennsylvania Route 194 ( PA 194 ) toward Hanover . MD 194 is the main highway between Frederick and Hanover ; the state highway connects the towns of Walkersville and Woodsboro in northeastern Frederick County with Keymar and Taneytown in northwestern Carroll County . MD 194 was blazed as a migration route in the 18th century and a pair of turnpikes in Frederick County in the 19th century , one of which was the last private toll road in Maryland . The state highway , which was originally designated MD 71 , was built as a modern highway in Frederick County in the mid @-@ 1920s and constructed as Francis Scott Key Highway in Carroll County in the late 1920s and early 1930s . MD 194 received its modern route number in 1956 as part of a three @-@ route number swap . The state highway 's bypasses of Walkersville and Woodsboro opened in the early 1980s and mid @-@ 1990s , respectively .

= = Route description = =

MD 194 begins at an intersection with MD 26 ( Liberty Road ) in Ceresville . The roadway continues south as MD 26 , which crosses the Monocacy River on its way toward Frederick . MD 26 heads east from the intersection as a two @-@ lane road toward Libertytown . MD 194 heads north as Woodsboro Pike , which starts as a four @-@ lane divided highway but reduces to two lanes as the highway passes through the suburban communities of Discovery and Spring Garden , where the state highway passes the historic Woodsboro and Frederick Turnpike Company Tollhouse . At Walkersville High School , the state highway enters the town of Walkersville and the highway 's old alignment , Frederick Street , splits to the north . MD 194 collects the other end of Frederick Street and passes between residential subdivisions before leaving the town at the highway 's intersection with Devilbiss Bridge Road and Daysville Road . The former road heads west toward the historic Harris Farm ; the latter highway leads to the 19th century Crum Road Bridge .
MD 194 parallels the Maryland Midland Railway 's north – south line , Israel Creek , and Laurel Hill north to Woodsboro . At the south end of the town , Main Street , which is unsigned MD 194A , continues straight north while MD 194 veers northeast to bypass the town . The state highway starts to run concurrently with MD 550 at Woodsboro Road , which heads east as MD 550 toward Libertytown . On the north side of town , MD 550 heads west as Woodsboro Creagerstown Road , which meets the northern end of Main Street before heading northwest toward Creagerstown and Thurmont . MD 194 veers northeast and has a grade crossing with the railroad track at New Midway , where the highway intersects Legore Road , which leads to the LeGore Bridge . The state highway passes through the village of Ladiesburg before crossing Little Pipe Creek , one of the tributaries of Double Pipe Creek , into Carroll County .
MD 194 continues as Francis Scott Key Highway through Keymar , where the north – south and east – west lines of the Maryland Midland Railway intersect . The state highway has a grade crossing of the east – west rail line and intersects Middleburg Road , which heads west as MD 77 . In the hamlet of Bruceville , MD 194 crosses Big Pipe Creek and intersects Keysville Bruceville Road , which heads northwest toward the village of Keysville and Terra Rubra , the birthplace of Francis Scott Key . The state highway passes the historic Winemiller Family Farm and Keefer @-@ Brubaker Farm on its way to Taneytown . MD 194 , which becomes Frederick Street , crosses a branch of Piney Creek and passes the Ludwick Rudisel Tannery House . In the center of the Taneytown Historic District , the state highway intersects MD 140 ( Baltimore Street ) , where MD 194 becomes York Street . After leaving Taneytown , the state highway becomes Francis Scott Key Highway again as it heads through farmland . MD 194 crosses Piney Creek before reaching its northern terminus at the Pennsylvania state line . The roadway continues north as PA 194 ( Frederick Pike ) toward Littlestown and Hanover .
MD 194 is a part of the National Highway System as a principal arterial from its southern terminus in Ceresville to Daysville Road in Walkersville and within the city of Taneytown .

= = History = =

In the 18th century , the corridor of what is now MD 194 was the Hanover – Frederick portion of the Monocacy Road , a migration route that connected Philadelphia and Winchester , Virginia via York , Frederick , Boonsboro , and Williamsport . The Frederick County portion of the highway later became the path of a pair of turnpikes . The Woodsboro and Double Pipe Creek Turnpike connected the namesake town and creek ; the Woodsboro and Frederick Turnpike extended from Woodsboro south to the junction with the Liberty and Frederick Turnpike in Ceresville . The two turnpikes issuing from Ceresville were connected to Frederick by the Frederick and Woodsboro Turnpike . The Woodsboro and Frederick Turnpike was the last privately maintained toll road in Maryland when it was purchased by the Maryland State Roads Commission , the predecessor to the Maryland State Highway Administration , in 1921 .
What is now MD 194 was originally designated MD 71 . The roads commission resurfaced the turnpikes ' macadam surface from Ceresville to Little Pipe Creek to a width of 15 feet ( 4 @.@ 6 m ) by 1926 . That same year , 1 mile ( 1 @.@ 6 km ) of concrete road was constructed north from MD 32 ( now MD 140 ) in Taneytown . In 1930 , construction began to complete the concrete road that MD 71 would follow through Carroll County . The state highway was completed in five sections from a short distance north of Big Pipe Creek to the Pennsylvania state line in 1933 . The Carroll County section of MD 71 was dedicated as Francis Scott Key Highway in 1931 . The two sections of MD 71 were separated by a county @-@ maintained segment of highway through Keymar . This gap in the state road system remained through at least 1949 .
MD 71 received a new steel I @-@ beam bridge over Big Pipe Creek in 1940 ; this bridge was replaced in 2005 . The state highway was widened through Taneytown in 1948 . MD 71 's present steel I @-@ beam bridge over Little Pipe Creek at the county line was started in 1953 and completed in 1954 along with 1 mile ( 1 @.@ 6 km ) of approach roads . The state highway was reconstructed and widened from the Little Pipe Creek Bridge to New Midway in 1952 and 1953 . Reconstruction of the highway commenced from New Midway to Woodsboro in 1953 , from Woodsboro to Ceresville in 1956 , and from Taneytown to the Pennsylvania state line in 1957 .
In 1956 , MD 71 was involved in a three @-@ route number change involving highways in three different areas of the state . MD 71 was reassigned to the Blue Star Memorial Highway then under construction from Queenstown to the Delaware state line ; this designation lasted only three years before U.S. Route 301 was rerouted onto the highway in 1959 . MD 71 was designated MD 194 to match the adjacent numbered highway in Pennsylvania . MD 194 had previously been assigned to Flower Avenue in Takoma Park ; Flower Avenue was then designated MD 787 .
MD 194 's bypass of Walkersville was completed around 1981 . The state highway 's bypass of Woodsboro was under construction by 1995 and completed in 1997 ; Main Street through town was designated MD 194A . MD 550 , which ran concurrently with MD 194 along Main Street , joined the latter route on the new bypass and on a bypass section of its own at the north end of town . In conjunction with the reconstruction of MD 26 as a divided highway from Market Street ( then part of MD 355 ) in Frederick to Ceresville in 1997 , the MD 26 – MD 194 intersection was reconfigured so the primary movement through the intersection is between MD 26 to the west and MD 194 to the north ; the southernmost portion of MD 194 became an extension of the MD 26 divided highway . This configuration was chosen because two @-@ thirds of traffic passing through the intersection was between Frederick and Woodsboro .

= = Junction list = =


= = Auxiliary routes = =

MD 194 has four existing auxiliary routes and two that no longer exist . MD 194A and MD 194B are in Woodsboro . MD 194D and MD 194E are north of Taneytown . Former MD 194C and MD 194F were also north of Taneytown .
MD 194A is the designation for Main Street , which runs 1 @.@ 28 miles ( 2 @.@ 06 km ) between MD 194 on the south side of Woodsboro and MD 550 on the north side of Woodsboro . MD 194A is municipally maintained for 0 @.@ 75 miles ( 1 @.@ 21 km ) from Mt . Hope Cemetery north to Coppermine Road .
MD 194B is the designation for a 0 @.@ 09 @-@ mile ( 0 @.@ 14 km ) section of Main Street that is now a spur south from MD 194A just north of MD 194 's southern end at MD 194 .
MD 194C was the designation for an unnamed 0 @.@ 03 @-@ mile ( 0 @.@ 048 km ) connector between MD 194 and former MD 853D . MD 194C and MD 853D were removed from the state highway system in 2004 due to the roadway being overgrown .
MD 194D is the designation for an unnamed 0 @.@ 02 @-@ mile ( 0 @.@ 032 km ) connector between MD 194 and MD 853E , the old alignment that parallels the northbound direction of the modern highway south of Angell Road .
MD 194E is the designation for an unnamed 0 @.@ 02 @-@ mile ( 0 @.@ 032 km ) connector between MD 194 and MD 853A , the old alignment that parallels the southbound direction of the modern highway south of the Pennsylvania state line .
MD 194F was the designation for an unnamed 0 @.@ 02 @-@ mile ( 0 @.@ 032 km ) connector between MD 194 and former MD 853D . MD 194F and MD 853D were removed from the state highway system in 2004 due to the roadway being overgrown .


= Le souper de Beaucaire =

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