camel/cave cricket photo
Hi there Bugman!
My husband and I are in the process of moving into a new home, which brings the joy of finding all kinds of new bugs! We’ve got Box Elder bugs hoping to move in for the winter, as well as forming aggregations on our mail box, trees, and just hanging out. We’ve got what I believe are some kind of seed or leaf footed bug also hoping to move in for the winter. If I can find another one, I’ll send a photo in, I’m having trouble identifying the particular kind I’ve got (despite using your site and googling) Anyway. I’ve always had a fondness for crickets, and really loved looking at the cricket section of WTB. Before we started moving in to our new house, we brought a friend by to see the place, and we found this little lady hanging out in what is about to be our library. I just thought I’d pass on a photo, in case you felt like sharing it with your other readers! Love the site!
Prairie
Hi Prairie,
Thank you for your wonderful letter and great photo of a Camel Cricket. We get so many letters from people who are horrified when they find Camel Crickets in the basement.
I forgot to mention (probably because I didn’t need any identification help), that we live in Northern Alabama. The first time I saw this type of cricket, I did the same thing most people do, I accidentally mistook it for a spider, jumped, shreiked, and begged for someone to move it away. I just want to add that it seems Alabama natives love this response out of newcomers. We’re transplants from Washington state, and I’d never seen a cave/camel cricket before. (I’m more familiar with Mormon crickets and house/field crickets) I’ve seen so many sick smiles out of Alabamians when they see someone who’s meeting a cave cricket for the first time. And I have to admit, it’s starting to rub off on me. Just thought I’d share a little fun after the photo.
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Posted 19 October 2006
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what kind of bug is this?
Could you please tell me what kind of bug this is. I found this one in my garage and I never seen one like this ever in my life .Please let me know.
Thank
Chuck Gilliland
Hi Chuck,
This is a Camel Cricket or Cave Cricket. They are often found in damp, dark basements and similar habitats.
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Posted 11 October 2006
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Insect ID
I would appreciate it if you could help me Identify this Insect. It was found on Oct 1, 2006 in the grass near a saline pond in the Columbia Valley near Invermere British Columbia. It made a noise with its wings spread.
Larry Halverson
Hi Larry,
The Snowy Tree Cricket is sometimes called the Thermometer Cricket because one can tell the temperature based on the speed of its chirps.
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Posted 02 October 2006
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Better tree cricket pic
First of all, love the site! A beautiful bug hopped up on me during lunch today (I go to Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT) and I didn’t even have to navigate past the front page to find out it was a tree cricket. However I noticed that the picture was extremely blurry and pixelated, so I thought I’d send you one that I took today. Check out those antennae!
Xue Sun
Hi Xue Sun,
We don’t want to be put in a position to choose favorites in the Tree Cricket photo arena. We can say that your specimen looks like a Snowy Tree Cricket, the Thermometer Cricket, because, according to Charles Hogue, you can determine “the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit if one counts the number of chirps in 13 seconds and adds 40.”
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Posted 08 September 2006
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A bug for you
Hi there,
In the past week I have noticed quite a few of these little bugs running around. They remind me of a grasshopper so at first I was a little affraid that they are going to eat some of my plants, but then I noticed they just kind of ran around the leaves, reminded me of lady bugs so then I thought that maybe they would be great for me to keep around for aphids in my greenhouse. Know any information on them? Or atleast what it is?
James Gillis
Hi James,
This is a Tree Cricket in the genus Oecanthus. Immature Tree Crickets will nibble leaves and young shoots, but adults are important predators. They eat Aphids and Caterpillars. The added benefit is that they “sing”.
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Posted 06 September 2006
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Mysterious Bugs
My husband and I recently moved into our newly-built home, north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Our nearly acre and a half used to be forest and there is still dense forest around our home. I’ve seen quite a few bugs that I have never seen before! Through your website, I was available to identify two of the pictures as a nursery web spider and a stink bug. I wasn’t able to find anything on your site that matched the other bug I saw. It had VERY long antennae, looked like a cross between a cricket and a cockroach and was very shiny and red. I’m attaching one close up and one that fits its antennae in the shot. Thank you!
This is a Carolina Leaf Roller, Camptonotus carolinensis, the only know North American species in the genus. It is one of the Raspy Crickets in the family Gryllacrididae. According to BugGuide, the Carolina Leaf Roller: “Bites through leaf in order to form flap. Flap is folded over, edge is pulled down with legs, and then edges are glued together with silk from gland on mouth. Sometimes uses empty Bladdernut (Staphylea) pods in which to hide instead of leaves. ” As your second photo shows, the antennae can be five times the length of the body. Thank you for sending a new species to our site.
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Posted 26 August 2006
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Please identify this bug!
Bugman,
Hi, I love your site and I appreciate all the effort you go to to help your fans. I think I’ve checked every page on your site but I can’t find this bug anywhere. I live in New York about one hour north of NYC, I have a large pond on my property. This is the smallest one of these creatures I have found, the largest one was about the length of a cell phone! All told, I have come across 6 or 7 of these. Any information on what it is and wether or not it can be harmful to children or pets would greatly be apprciated. Thanks! Regards,
Nelson
Hi Nelson,
Mole Crickets are subterranean burrowers that can also fly. We get images of Mole Crickets from all over the world, including many from the Middle East that are sent in by are armed forces.
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Posted 11 August 2006
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this is a large one…
These are all in my shed. I live in wanaque, NJ. They are HUGE and UGLY. What are they? Crickets?? I hope you can figure this one out. I’ve never encountered them until about 2 years ago.Hope you can tell what this is. Thanks!!!
Jolanta
Hi Jolanta,
We haven’t posted any recent images of Camel Crickets, but there have been several recent questions. Thankfully you have supplied a new and interesting photo. Camel Crickets like damp dark places and are often encountered in basements.
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Posted 08 July 2006
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what on earth is this?
Hello Bugman!
I found this while on holiday in Corfu, Greece. It was about 3 inches long! It was running about on the grass near the pool at our hotel. When I caught it and put it in this empty glass ashtray to study, it made vigorous attempts to climb out using its front ‘legs’. After photographing I released it below a hedge where I thought it might find some food – however, a small lizard shot out and grabbed it, carrying it off under a slab there. Later I saw the lizard, still with some of this creature sticking out of its mouth – a far larger prey than I would have thought a 7 inch lizard would take. Could it be a Mantid? Thanks for your help,
regards Philip.
Hi Philip,
We have a vague foggy memory of reading this letter several days ago but possibly not being able to open the images. Thanks for resending. This is a Mole Cricket. They burrow underground.
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Posted 20 June 2006
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Found this in our pool
Hi,
Here’s another one for you. But first let me say that I found one of those wonderful giant waterbugs, Toe-Biters, swimming in our pool also. My girls jumped in and from under the rung on the ladder came swimming a dark shadow, I swore it was going after my eldest. I finally got it out but couldn’t find it after, That probably had to do with the fact that I flung the skimmer as far as I could, girls and me screaming the whole time. What a sight. LOL! These little critters here, about an inch long, have been swimming around in my pool also but I don’t think they are meant to only because I find them dead in there also. Any help with what they might be would be great. Not as scary as the giant waterbug but boy is it ugly.
Denise (Texas)
Hi Denise,
Mole Crickets oftne unwittingly stumble into pools.
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Posted 10 May 2006
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Need Help Identifying This Bug
Need some help identifying this interesting bug. I am in Iraq serving with the US Army and found this bug on the flight line. Unfortunately it was already deceased.
Thanks
TB
Hi there TB,
This is a Mole Cricket, and judging by the fact that we have gotten three or four prior requests from Iraq, they must be common there. These relatives of Crickets live underground but many species are capable of flight. Your photo is pretty great.
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Posted 09 April 2006
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Grasshopper
Hi,
I don’t know whether you can identify Australian species of bugs. Other people have told me it could be a grasshopper, a cricket or a locust. It was photographed in the south west corner of Australia and he was about 2 inches long, with very long horns; possibly about 6 inches long.
Thank you
Eve Parry
Hi Eve,
Our web search turned up no matches for this interesting insect. This is definitely an Orthopteran, the Insect Order that contains grasshoppers and crickets. The length of the antennae suggests a member of the Family Tettigoniidae, the Long-Horned Grasshoppers and Katydids, but the head most resembles the True Crickets in the Family Gryllidae. We will try to get an opinion from Eric Eaton. We actually did a bit more searching and came up with a very close match in the Family Gryllacrididae, Striped Raspy Cricket. The markings seem slightly off, but otherwise a good match. They are known as Tree Crickets. Our search lead us to a second site with several Australian species but only two images, neither of which is an exact match.
Thank you so much for your prompt reply and your the work you did to try to find an answer for me. On googling Striped Raspy Cricket and seeing a photo, I tend to agree with you. I’ve been advised to send the picture to the West Australian Museum, so they may be able to confirm that. Thank you once again
Eve Parry.
Hi Daniel,
This is the reply I got back from the West Australian Museum. I have left your email on the bottom to help jog your memory. It’s about the identification of and Australian cricket.Eve
“Hi EveYour cricket is a tree cricket, family Gryllacrididae, a close relative of the true crickets. These insects are relatively common, and are generally active at night, on the ground or on bushes. During the day they are usually hiding in a burrow or in some other enclosed space. Most of the species are pale brown, some are wingless even as adults. The females have an ovipositor, a long sword-like process on the end of the abdomen, that is used to inject eggs into the soil. They feed on vegetation, such as grass, or possibly other insects. Their jaws are powerful enough to leave a mark if you put your finger too close to them!Our collection of these insects is not yet properly sorted to species, so I cannot give you any specific name – sorry…Cheers
Brian”
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