Cape Jasmine Infestation
by Mole Cricket!
In Beijing Apartment

It took about a month of me wondering what was causing the soil around the Cape Jasmine (栀子花） to ball up before I decided to investigate. About a week ago I stuck my hand in the very loose soil and there something moved. Something about the size of a large cricket. And gross. I jumped back. I spotted it...stunned as I was. It kept its cool and quickly burrowed back into the soil.

I decided to leave well enough alone for about a week. But the flower being near my bed (could they get out?) and its leaves turning yellow (Cape Jasmine are naturally finicky, so no need to tempt fate), I decided to take action.

I first transplanted the bush to a new. Out popped one of the guys. I stuck it in an old Harrods Marmalade jar. (See more pictures here).

Discovering that the new pot did not drain, I filled it full of water and poked around the soil with a stick until four more of the little gremlins swam helplessly to the surface, clawing with their huge hairy claw-like forearms to some floating debris.

I began to identify with my captive vermin. I even began to pitty them in the bottom of that Harrods jar. They looked like prehistoric dogs scratching microscopic flea-like pests, or as if they could soon begin one of their fantastic mole cricket quintets.

After a night's sleep, I searched the internet and discovered their omnivorous habits were indeed killing the Cape Jasmine.

My warrentless detention of the ringleaders was indeed justified. I don't know how three of them died during the overnight holding. I imagine a midnight gladiator contest. The victors will be re-educated by the alleycat after a six flight free-fall from the balcony window.


The Raul Pop blog has a good mole cricket post with lots of pictures and videos, including this horrible glamor shot:

Then there's wikimedia common's rather pastoral scene of the beast's life cycle:


I hope the things didn't lay too many eggs in the soil.

I originally linked to the project Gutenberg.org for an image until it blocked my inline linking and now I am prevented from downloading it. If you want to see it, it comes from the ebook version of Chatterbox, 1905.

Labels: gardening, horror, houseplants, mole cricket