 Mole crickets vary in size and appearance , but most of them are of moderate size for an insect , typically between 3 @.@ 2 and 3 @.@ 5 cm ( 1 @.@ 3 and 1 @.@ 4 in ) long as adults . They are adapted for underground life and are cylindrical in shape and covered with fine , dense hairs . The head , forelimbs , and <unk> are heavily <unk> but the abdomen is rather soft . The head bears two threadlike <unk> and a pair of <unk> eyes . The two pairs of wings are folded flat over the abdomen ; in most species , the fore wings are short and rounded and the hind wings are <unk> and reach or exceed the tip of the abdomen ; however , in some species the hind wings are reduced in size and the insect is unable to fly . The fore legs are flattened for digging but the hind legs are shaped somewhat like the legs of a true cricket ; however , these limbs are more adapted for pushing soil , rather than leaping , which they do rarely and poorly . The nymphs resemble the adults apart from the absence of wings and <unk> ; the <unk> become larger after each successive moult . 
