First Report of Northern Mole Cricket Damage on a Nebraska Golf Course (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae)

Abstract

The northern mole cricket, Neocurtilla hexadactyla (Perty) (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae), is native to North America and is widely distributed across the eastern two thirds of the United States from southern Canada to Florida in the east and South Dakota to Texas including the northeast corner of Colorado in the west (Capinera, 2004). Based on Nebraska State Insect Records (nebrecs.unl.edu, accessed February 1, 2008), the first report of N. hexadactyla in Nebraska was from Saunders County in 1909. It is currently known from 61 of Nebraska’s 93 counties (Fig. 1). Mole crickets (especially the tawny mole cricket, Scapteriscus vicinus Scudder, southern mole cricket, S. borellii Giglio-Tos, and short-winged mole cricket, S. abbreviatus Scudder) are important pests of turfgrasses in southeastern regions of the United States (Brandenburg and Villani, 1995; Potter, 1998; Vittum et al., 1999). During the summer of 2007, northern mole crickets were observed damaging a Penncross creeping bentgrass, Agrostis palustris Huds. (Family Poaceae), putting green on a golf course in Butler County, Nebraska. This is the first known report of northern mole crickets causing significant damage to golf course turf in Nebraska, and is noteworthy because N. hexadactyla is rarely, if ever, considered a pest of turfgrasses (Vittum et al., 1999). Little is known about the biology, ecology, and life history of N. hexadactyla in Nebraska and the midwest. Like most mole crickets, N. hexadactyla seems to prefer moist low-lying areas and is often found along the margins of lakes and streams. The 2007 infested putting green was adjacent to a water hazard, consistent with previous environmental habitat observations. Foraging adults and immatures of mole cricket species burrow in damp loose soil and feed on the roots of plants. This tunneling behavior can cause considerable disruption to highly maintained turfs such as putting greens (Vittum et al., 1999). Soil at the 2007 infested green consisted of approximately one cm sand