My girlfriend is scared
Tue, Feb 3, 2009 at 9:04 PM
We have been finding these bugs on the carpet in the last week. We moved in to the house about a month ago. The weather has been unseasonably cold here but it is nearing the later part of winter. The house is on a crawl space and we have hard wood flooring in the living room
Concerned
Rochester Hills Mi
Camel Cricket
Dear Concerned,
This is a Camel Cricket in the family Rhaphidophoridae and it was our featured Bug of the Month last month. Though they can be a nuisance in the home, Camel Crickets are harmless. What appears to be a stinger is actually the ovipositor, the organ the female uses for depositing eggs. The Camel Crickets are probably proliferating in the crawl space and somehow finding their way inside.
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Posted 05 February 2009
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Flying and crwling bug – Namibia
Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 12:49 PM
Hi bugman. Found this bug in my livingroom, it flyies towards light, like a moth, makes no sounds, shell very hard. What is it?
Claudia
Windhoek City, Namibia, Africa
Mole Cricket
Hi Claudia,
It is interesting that a disproportionate number of recent letters have been from Namibia. This is a Mole Cricket and though we are uncertain about the specifics of your individual, we can tell you that Mole Crickets are found in many places in the world in addition to Namibia. We get numerous identification requests from Iraq and Afghanistan and have also gotten many submissions from the U.S. and Australia. Mole Crickets are subterranean dwellers and many species also fly quite well.
Update: Tue, Feb 3, 2009 at 8:18 AM
Hi Daniel:
The ‘Namibian Biodiversity Database’ lists only one mole cricket (family Gryllotalpidae) for Namibia, the African Mole Cricket (Gryllotalpa africana). The taxonomy for this large genus is somewhat confusing and depending on the source G. africana is either limited to Africa or widespread throughout south and east Asia as well. The recent trend has been to limit G. africana to Africa, while assigning other species designations to the Asian varieties on the basis of song differences. It is considered a pest species, causing damage to a wide variety of root and cereal crops. Regards.
Karl
Link: http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/insects/orthoptera/gryllotalpidae
Update: Namibian Insect Website Wed, Mar 4, 2009 at 12:19 AM
Link to our site
Hello thought you would like to link to our Bug site in Namibia.
Regards Alan Hendry
http://gallery.me.com/imediadvd#100184
iMedia
Namibia
Dear Alan,
Thanks for your site link, but we are unable to view it as we do not have a modern enough operating system to support the browsers your site require. We had a spate of submissions from Namibia in the recent past, and we are posting your comment with a Mole Cricket letter from early February 2009.
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Posted 31 January 2009
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burrowing bug
Fri, Jan 23, 2009 at 12:21 PM
While laying a patio foundation with leveling sand, I found this bug burrowing in the sand. Photo 2 shows what I found the morning after compacting the sand. ( I had covered the sand with plastic overnight.)
Thank you for any information.
John
Miami, Florida
Mole Cricket
Hi John,
This is a Mole Cricket in the family Gryllotalpidae . We have received images of Mole Crickets from many parts of the world, including many from American troops fighting in Iraq.
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Posted 23 January 2009
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Cave cricket – Philippines
Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 12:16 PM
Hi there,
I love you site and take a look at least once a week to see what wonderful life people around the world have been finding. I hope you enjoy the attached pictures of a cricket we found in a cave in Sohoton National park, Samar in The Philippines.
He was 3-4 inches in length, but his antennae were almost double that. I’m amazed by the ‘toes’ on his back legs and it’s ‘tail’. Forgive me for not knowing the scientific names of it’s body parts.
Noel, UK
Philippines
Camel Cricket
Hi Noel,
Your Camel Cricket or Cave Cricket in the family Rhaphidophoridae is actually a female as evidenced by her ovipositor or “tail.” The Camel Cricket is a Bug of the Month for January 2009. While we don’t know the exact species of your specimen, nor do we know the common name in the Philippines, we are confident that the family Rhaphidophoridae is correct.
Cave Cricket
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Posted 23 January 2009
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Have seen these around my house in Los Angeles
Wed, Jan 7, 2009 at 6:43 PM
They hop like grasshoppers. Look a tad like bees but longer and narrower. Look a little like the picture in your left margin actually. We tented the house and there were a ton of these (if I recall correctly) found dead on the carpet next to the fireplace in the living room. Have seen a few since living. We just moved in a week ago. Tenting was 4 weeks ago. Love your website! Thanks.
Family of four with only one bug friendly member
Los Angeles
Immature House Cricket
Dear Family of Four,
This is an immature Cricket, probably a House Cricket, Acheta domesticus. According to Charles Hogue in his book Insects of the Los Angeles Basin: “The species was apparently introduced into the eastern United States from Europe, although its original home may have been Africa. It has since become widespread in southern California, where it is usually associated with human habitations. Lacking a dormancy period and hence being easy to raise, it is sold as fish bait and animal food in pet stores.” Perhaps the previous home owner raised or a nearby neighbor raises the crickets to feed to pets.
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Posted 08 January 2009
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6 legged spider/grasshopper
Thu, Jan 1, 2009 at 8:38 AM
Hi,
I walked into my basement one day and I found this creature on my wall. It looked like a spider had mated with a grasshopper and this odd bug was what came of it. This bug did not seem to be aggressive. It was January first and I live in Fairmont, WV. The bug had long antennas, 6 legs, the two back ones looked like grasshopper legs and the 4 front one like spider legs. I believe I might have seen this creature before while in TN. What is this mysterious bug inhabiting my basement?
Sarah
fairmont,wv
Camel Cricket
Hi Sarah,
Though your photo is blurry and the camera angle is not ideal for identifying your Camel Cricket, it is the time of the month for us to select the Bug of the Month for the New Year. Camel Crickets are also known as Cave Crickets and they are in the family Rhaphidophoridae. They frequent damp dark places. Basements are a perfect habitat for them. BugGuide indicates: “If these occur in a house the best treatment is to remove them and their breeding habitat – cool moist dark places such as piles of logs or boards in basements. A clean dry home will not be a welcoming place for these guys. Although they are scary-looking they are basically harmless to humans, except perhaps for minor damage to stored items, and are easily discouraged by eliminating the dark damp habitat they prefer.” Since your photo is not ideal for identification purposes, we will be including an older photo along with the Bug of the Month for January 2009 posting.
Shrimp-like Bug
Tue, Nov 25, 2008 at 11:59 PM
We have ’smooshed’ a couple of these at my house recently. I can’t recall ever seeing them before. they can jump grasshoppers, perhaps even better than the grass hoppers we see around here.
The fact that it’s an insect is obvious. What’s less obvious is when shrimp made the transition to land. ;D It’s a rather dejected looking bug don’t you think?
So, whats that bug?
+1 dollar to the site if you can help me out.
KILL IT WITH FIRE!
North Carolina, US
Camel Cricket
Dear KILL IT WITH FIRE,
Your insect is a Camel Cricket or Cave Cricket in the family Rhaphidophoridae. They are often found in basements and other dark, damp habitats. According to BugGuide: “Feed on leaf debris. In houses may chew on paper products, occasionally fabric.
Shrimp-like Bug
Tue, Nov 25, 2008 at 11:59 PM
We have ’smooshed’ a couple of these at my house recently. I can’t recall ever seeing them before. they can jump grasshoppers, perhaps even better than the grass hoppers we see around here.
The fact that it’s an insect is obvious. What’s less obvious is when shrimp made the transition to land. ;D It’s a rather dejected looking bug don’t you think?
So, whats that bug?
+1 dollar to the site if you can help me out.
KILL IT WITH FIRE!
North Carolina, US
Camel Cricket
Dear KILL IT WITH FIRE,
Your insect is a Camel Cricket or Cave Cricket in the family Rhaphidophoridae. They are often found in basements and other dark, damp habitats. According to BugGuide: “Feed on leaf debris. In houses may chew on paper products, occasionally fabric. Remarks If these occur in a house the best treatment is to remove them and their breeding habitat – cool moist dark places such as piles of logs or boards in basements. A clean dry home will not be a welcoming place for these guys. Although they are scary-looking they are basically harmless to humans, except perhaps for minor damage to stored items, and are easily discouraged by eliminating the dark damp habitat they prefer.”
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Posted 26 November 2008
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Eerie Cricket Thingy
Sat, Nov 8, 2008 at 11:07 AM
Yesterday a mysterious reddish-brown pill shaped object suddenly began emerging from the underside of one of our pet crickets. Looks like some sort of egg, but from what we can tell, cricket eggs don’t look like this. The cricket seemed healthy before this emerged, and was alive for a while when it first appeared, but now is dead. Could it be that some other insect such as a wasp laid its eggs inside the cricket as a host? I’ve heard of them doing this to caterpillars, but crickets? Or is it something else?
Paul and Stella
Los Angeles
Unknown Cricket Parasite: Tachinid Fly???
Hi Paul and Stella,
This is a new one for us and we will need to do some research. We will also try to contact Eric Eaton to see if he has an opinion. We, like you, suspect this is some type of internal parasite that has had its meal and is perhaps pupating outside the cricket’s body. It would be interesting to see what, if anything, eventually emerges. If we were betting, we would bet on a Tachinid Fly. Moments after we posted, we found an online article on a Tachinid Fly, Ormia ochracea, that parasitizes crickets.
Unknown Cricket Parasite: Tachinid Fly???
Hi, Daniel:
The object protruding from the deceased cricket is indeed a fly puparium (the rigid last larval ’skin’ enclosing a fly pupa). It could certainly be a tachinid fly, but there are also other flies that are parasitic on crickets, especially some members of the flesh fly family (Sarcophagidae). I’d personally be hard-pressed to identify even the adult fly once it emerges, though a dipterist (fly expert) could.
Eric
What is this bug? Can You help It jumps?
Fri, Nov 7, 2008 at 8:38 PM
Can you please help me identify this bug. It jumps and first I saw them in my basement but now they seem to be showing up all over my house. They are brownish and they jump pretty high and are quick. Any idea what they are and where do they come from. I appreciate any help you can give me.
Thank you,
Suzanne
long island, new york
Camel Cricket
Hi Suzanne,
This is a Camel Cricket or Cave Cricket in the family Rhaphidophoridae. Unlike other crickets, they do not chirp because they don’t have wings. Here is what BugGuide has to say about them: “If these occur in a house the best treatment is to remove them and their breeding habitat – cool moist dark places such as piles of logs or boards in basements. A clean dry home will not be a welcoming place for these guys. Although they are scary-looking they are basically harmless to humans, except perhaps for minor damage to stored items, and are easily discouraged by eliminating the dark damp habitat they prefer. “
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Posted 09 November 2008
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unknown insect?
Sat, Oct 25, 2008 at 10:15 PM
While preparing to move things in for the winter, I found these six bugs huddled together behind something for protection against the rain and cold. They are on the side of a tall, fake rock flower bed. I’ve had what I thought were crickets in my basement for the last two summers, but didn’t pay much attention, other then they never made any noises, which I found unusual. The ones in my basement may have looked like these I didn’t pay much attention, I just got them out of there. They don’t jump real well. They freaked my daughter out every time she went down there. What are the ones on the wall?? Please help me I’m stumped.
Jenny
Missouri
Camel Crickets
Hi Jenny,
We get numerous requests for the identification of Camel Crickets or Cave Crickets in the family Rhaphidophoridae, but rarely do we get an accompanying photo as awesome as yours. According to BugGuide: “If these occur in a house the best treatment is to remove them and their breeding habitat – cool moist dark places such as piles of logs or boards in basements. A clean dry home will not be a welcoming place for these guys. Although they are scary-looking they are basically harmless to humans, except perhaps for minor damage to stored items, and are easily discouraged by eliminating the dark damp habitat they prefer.” We are wondering if we will hear from David Gracer that they are edible.
Thank you for identifying these! Now that you have, I’ve done a little reading. That they eat their own limbs to avoid starving. Apparently the ones on the left ate their back right legs. I wondered why they were missing. We have had a few in the basement. But I found these outside. I have been collecting fossil rocks, I guess its time to put them in a plastic container and away inside.
Thanks so much for your help.
Camel Crickets
Hi again Jenny,
Thanks for the additional information. We also got a comment from a reader who discovered some eating canine feces and David Gracer wrote back that though they are theoretically edible, Camel Crickets probably don’t taste very good because of their diet. Many members in this order, Orthoptera, will cannibalize their own species if they can’t find food. Also, legs get lost for a variety of reasons, and may be eaten if they are severed.
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Posted 26 October 2008
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Mormon Cricket Eating A Grasshopper
Mon, Oct 13, 2008 at 4:37 PM
Here’s a photo of a Mormon Cricket eating grasshopper roadkill. It was on a dirt road in the mountains of Southern Idaho. It might work into Bug Carnage…
Also include a side shot of a Mormon Cricket on the same road.
Congrats on the site redesign!
Rush
Mountain Home, Idaho, USA
Mormon Cricket eats Grasshopper Roadkill
Hi Rush,
Your photos are both positively gorgeous. Mormon Crickets are omnivorous feeders. They are credited with destroying crops, but they will also cannibalize one another if there is no other food. That dead grasshopper was just too appealing to be passed by. Your profile shot shows the impressive swordlike ovipositor of the female Mormon Cricket. For clarification, our Unnecessary Carnage section is reserved for the deliberate killing of insects by people for no apparent reason. Thanks for the compliment on our new site design.
Female Mormon Cricket
some type of slender, green orthopteran?
Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 2:49 PM
The picture says it all – found near Portland, OR, at the edge of a wetland area. It was observed on a tarweed plant, as pictured. My hand is in the background for scale.
I know a few insect Orders from a class I took in college, but that’s as clever as I get with this stuff. This is your cup of tea, not mine. Can you tell me what this pretty lil’ guy is called?
Heather Arndt Anderson
Portland, OR
Tree Cricket
Hi Heather,
This is a Tree Cricket in the genus Oecanthus. We don’t feel confident enough to identify the species, but you may research the possibilities on BugGuide.
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Posted 11 October 2008
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