Mole crickets are cylindrical-bodied, fossorial insects about 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) long as adults, with small eyes and shovel-like fore limbs highly developed for burrowing.

Male mole crickets have an exceptionally loud song; they sing from a burrow that opens out into the air in the shape of an exponential horn.

In Zambia, mole crickets are thought to bring good fortune, while in Latin America, they are said to predict rain.

[10] 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.

This may be 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.

[1] Mole crickets undergo incomplete metamorphosis; when nymphs hatch from eggs, they increasingly resemble the adult form as they grow and pass through a series of up to 10 moults.

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.

Their digging technique is to force the soil to either side with their powerful, shovel-like fore limbs, which are broad, flattened, toothed, and heavily sclerotised (the cuticle is hardened and darkened).

In both species, the burrow has two openings at the soil surface; at the other end is a constriction, then a resonating bulb, and then an escape tunnel.

[14][16] Mole crickets stridulate like other crickets by scraping the rear edge of the left fore wing, which forms a plectrum, against the lower surface of the right fore wing, which has a ratchet-like series of asymmetric teeth; the more acute edges face backwards, as do those of the plectrum.

[3] Besides birds, toads, and insectivorous mammals, the predators of mole crickets include subterranean assassin bugs, wolf spiders, and various beetles.

[22] The South American nematode Steinernema scapterisci kills Neocapteriscus mole crickets by introducing bacteria into their bodies, causing an overwhelming infection.

[26] Fungal diseases can devastate mole cricket populations during winters with sudden rises of temperature and thaws.

[27] The fungus Beauveria bassiana can overwhelm adult mole crickets[28] and several other fungal, microsporidian, and viral pathogens have been identified.

[22] Mole crickets evade predators by living below ground, and vigorously burrowing if disturbed at the surface.

[30] Mole crickets are relatively common, but because they are nocturnal and spend nearly all their lives under ground in extensive tunnel systems, they are rarely seen.

[34] Invasive species are those that cause harm in their newly occupied area, where biological control may be attempted.

[31] 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.

[40]Scapteriscus mole cricket populations had built up since the early decades of the 20th century and damaged pastures, lawns, playing fields, and vegetable crops.

[44] Efforts to use Larra bicolor as a biological control agent in Florida began by importing a stock from Puerto Rico.

The third biological control agent to target Neoscapteriscus in Florida was the South American nematode Steinernema scapterisci.

[23] Small-scale releases proved it could persist for years in mole cricket-infested sandy Florida soils.

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.

[2] They are also injurious to turf and pasture grasses as they feed on their roots, leaving the plants prone to drying out and damage by use.

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.

When this is applied in strips across grassland, it spreads throughout the pasture (and potentially beyond) within a few months and not only controls the mole crickets, but also remains infective in the soil for future years.

In ancient days, if it was found in the house, the elders advised the people to kill the bugs whilst crying so that it dies with the sorrow it had brought to the family.

In Latin America, Scapteriscus and Neocurtilla mole crickets are said to predict rain when they dig into the ground.

Master Zhuang said: "I take heaven and earth as my inner and outer coffins, the sun and moon as my pair of jade disks, the stars and constellations as my pearls and beads, the ten thousand things as my funerary gifts.

[58] "Ararawan" or "susuhong" in Ilocano language is a delicacy or exotic food than june beetle or salagubang.