The Mole Cricket is one strange looking insect, I never saw one of these strange looking creatures until I came to Pattaya. The Thai people sometimes call them “Tinglits”, the first time I saw one I thought it looked like a miniature Bat crossed with a Grasshopper. The Mole Cricket is yet another bug which the Thai people regard as a tasty snack.
The Mole Cricket actually spends most of it’s life underground, they have well developed front limbs, much like a Mole’s, which they use for burrowing, they can often be heard chirping, much the same as a grasshopper.
Despite being very adept burrowers, Mole Crickets can fly, males can fly as far as 8 kilometers. You will occasionally see them on the footpaths of Thailand but they are more common in grassy areas such as lawns, arable land and golf courses. If you are one the brave souls who like to sample all the Thai food you can, then you just might find yourself eating one.
