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May 02, 2002 - Moles are on the moveThe Suffolk Times • May 2, 2002 WALKING OUT TO FEED the chickens this week, I noticed the first signs of ground moles. Most are familiar with their meandering upheavals in our lawns and gardens. Some people don't look too well on ground moles, but the truth is they are doing your gar- den more good than harm for what they are after, among other things, are the white grubs of the Japanese bee- tles. Nevertheless, their raised tunnels are an eyesore to most. It's actually been calculated that a ground mole in one single night will travel anywhere from 75 to 100 FOCUS yards, which ON means almost 300 feet of tun - N AT U R E neling. He does by Paul it with oversized, spade -like Stoutenburgh forelegs that allow him to almost swim through the soil. His pow- erful arms move him ahead in search of worms, grubs and other insects that live in the ground. The ground mole has tiny eyes, as it has little use for them in its underground tunnels. A ground mole seldom leaves its plowed -up passageway unless looking for a mate and therefore has few ene- mies such as owls and hawks that prey on mice and voles and rats that live above the ground. One predator that takes ground moles is the snake, but we have just about eradicated them from our East End. At one time the big black snake might have enjoyed a meal of a mole, but you have to go a long way to find one of those today. It is a shame so many people are petri- fied of snakes. We have no poisonous snakes on Long Island and so we should be glad when we see an occasional garter or milk or hognose snake.'I'm often called in to identify a snake for some- one who thinks they have a water moccasin or a rattler or some kind of poisonous snake. But when I get there, I usually find it has been pounded to death and it's nothing but a milk snake or one of the other harmless snakes. The fur of the ground mole is some- thing special. It is soft and velvet -like to the touch when rubbed in either direction. The skins at one time were highly sought after for clothing. Some of the finest shawls and capes were Mo nt e ove Times /Review photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh We seldom see this ground mole, but are all familiar with Its ridge of pushed -up earth that it makes in its endless pursuit of grubs, worms and Insects of all sorts. made of moleskin. I've occasionally found or dug up a mole to check him out and found the fur is never muddy or dirty. Somehow they seem to be able to move through the ground without gathering dirt on their coat. Outside of the little shrew, the ground mole is probably the most ferocious of all animals size for size. They are on a continual hunger hunt, for their body must have a diet of insects of all kinds to keep it going. It's in a 24- hour - -a -day pursuit of worms, grubs, etc. It's often been accused of eating roots or tubers or plants in the garden. While we are on the subject of upheavals in the gardens and lawns, I continually get calls from people who want to know why their lawns are all ripped up. This time it is not the ground mole but, believe it or not, it's Mr. Raccoon, who loves to dig up and eat grubs of all sorts that are lying just below the surface of our lawns. So if your lawn is torn up, the problem probably is you have grubs in your lawn and Mr. Raccoon knows it and cherishes a meal of them. But back to the ground mole that is accused of eating the roots of the plants in your garden; what actu- ally happens is that the ground mole will make its under- ground run through your garden in pursuit of grubs and worms. Then when the ground mole's away a field mouse or vole or one of those root - eating rodents will follow in the now easily traveled tunnel and when it comes to roots, it will stop to enjoy them.. This is the reason the ground mole gets blamed for the destruction when the truth is it is not him at all but the pesky little vole or field mous that's really to blame. The ground mole can detect the slightest movement above ground, which is why it is so hard to creep up on them. If you are real patient you i can stand by the mole hill that you have just pressed down and wait and wait and sooner or later you'll see the ridge start to rise. Then if you are lucky and fast enough, you can dig up the mole and hopefully transport it to another area away from your garden and lawn. On an entirely different subject, I had a call from a lady who had a pray Iing mantis experience that I'd like to relate to you. We all know the large green mantis with a triangular head that swivels and big eyes that we occa sionally see in our garden or around our shrubs. The thing we don't know about this insect is that the female is not a very nice companion. She eats insects of all sorts, which is good for our gardens, but when it comes to mating she allows the male to mate and drift off into ecstasy and often eats him on the spot. Or as one writer explained it, "She may eat the male after mating or during, it all depends on how hungry she is." Now that's pretty rough, I'd say. The famous French entomologist J. Henri Fabre studied the praying man- tis brought some into his laboratory t watch the murderous antics of the female. He put seven males in succes- sion with a female and they all per- formed the rituals of courtship an then were immediately eaten as if they were just another meal. As Fabre said, "All paid for their nuptial ecstasy with their lives." Nevertheless, the praying mantis is a good fellow to have in your garden, for it has a ravenous appetite for any insects such as crickets, bugs, bees, flies, anything that moves will be eaten. If you look at the praying mantis, it is well equipped for capturing insects, as it has sharp spines on its forelegs that act like barbs on a hook and once they are thrust out the insect is doomed, for it cannot get away. Some believe that when the praying mantis rears up on its back legs and presents itself in front of its prey, the insect becomes frozen with fright, which makes for easy picking. This is mere theory but one can imagine an insect looking up at this big - eyed monster rearing up and staring down at it. The mantis rears up only when faced by a more formidable prey. When the female lays her cluster of eggs they have a protective coating so the eggs inside can "survive" well through the winter months until spring, when the young will hatch out by the hundreds. And so let's go back to the begin- ning of my story about the lady who called to tell me her preschooler had taken one of the praying mantis egg cases to school in a jar and while at school they had hatched out, all 200 of them. They were brought back home to her and she wondered what to do with them. The best thing to do if you want to watch this miracle of birth is to put your open jar with the egg case out- side where you can watch it. Then let nature take its course. The young will hatch and hopefully reach your gar= den, where they'll do much good devouring bugs of all sorts. Some peo- ple actually buy praying mantis egg cases and put them in their gardens. No better wav to control insects.