A question about … a bug!
Great site … say I, as I type on a keyboard graced by a dead ‘Longhorn’ of some description (found by my wife in the innards of a malfunctioning microwave and left here for my admiration, no doubt). I have a picture or two for you and, probably, an easy one for you to identify … “just a dumb old cricket” the opinion of one secretary I had hoped to gross out, totally unimpressed by my find. Not like any cricket I ever saw though (I grew up back east where they are all black and have flatter bodies and larger, more angulated hind legs). And we never hear the chirping of crickets around here either … “here” being west-central Alberta, in the heart of the Canadian Rockies.. Anyway – this specimen was found in, floating near the bottom in, a full water trough one morning. I went down to feed the ponies and this beast was only about one inch off the bottom and lifeless. I scooped it out but caried it around while doing the rest of the chores, hoping to identify it later or show it to someone who could. Eventually, about half an hour later, when showing it to someone, it had grabbed onto my fingers and wouldn’t let go. So – I did the befriend-a-bug thing, took it’s picture and let it go. (There must be some award on this site for such gallantry – though I could as easily fill your ‘carnage’ pages.) Any definitive I.D. on this one? (Sorry for the unintended use of the flash but I had let it go before I realized what it had done to the pictures.) … and how long can they survive under water, anyway … or would he have had brain damage?
Terry in Alberta

Hi Terry,
This is a Grig, a Hump Winged Cricket. It is a member of a family found in the Pacific Northwest. Sorry, we can’t answer your questions about drowning or brain damage.

British Columbia Insect
We found the attached bug in a campsite in a pine forest near Princeton, BC. It was about an inch long, and when we poked it (gently, of course), it flipped onto its back. In the hour or so we watched it, it didn’t move at all, aside from the backflips. I’ve tried to identify it online, but the closest match I’ve been able to find is a Mormon cricket, and this one looks slightly different and doesn’t have the long ovipositor. Any ideas what it might be? Thanks very much,
Chris

Hi Chris,
This is a wonderful contribution to our site. This creature is a Great Grig, Cyphoderris monstrosa. Grigs are in the family Prophalangopsidae, the Hump Winged Crickets. They are in the suborder Ensifera or Long Horned Orthopterans that includes Katydids, Potato Bugs, and Crickets, but taxonomically, they are a distinct group. We have only received one other photo in the past, and it has been alone on our Grig page until now.