Subject: GIANT ANT?
Location: San Diego, CA
January 14, 2016 8:05 pm
Scattered acroos my sidewalk as I open my door. Roughly 2.5 to 3 inches long. Tried to hide as soon a sit saw me. Looked like a giant naked ant. I HATE ANTS!!!
Signature: Justin

Potato Bug

Hi Justin,
Perhaps you are relatively new to Southern California.  Meet the Potato Bug, a true Southern California icon.  Potato Bugs are subterranean dwellers that are rarely seen during the hot summer months.  Winter rains bring them to the surface and most of our sightings occur shortly after the first significant rains.  Potato Bugs are not dangerous, but they do have very powerful mandibles and they will deliver a painful bite if carelessly handled.

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Subject: Hellish Grasshopper
Location: East Coast NSW, Australia
September 17, 2015 6:21 am
Dearest Mr Bugman,
I am sending you these images of a peculiar insect I discovered in my bathroom tonight. It was just smaller than my palm, and very active. As someone with limited knowledge of insects, I have decided it is a grasshopper/wasp/Satan hybrid.
We caught it in the cup pictured and released it into our backyard. Not sure how it accessed the bathroom as all of our windows and doors are closed. Perhaps he snuck up the drain?
Myself and my father are extremely curious about what this little fella is! Perhaps a locust? Please help us, Bugman!
Signature: Pharaoh

Raspy Cricket

Dear Pharaoh,
This is a Long Horned Orthopteran in the suborder Ensifera, a distinctly different group from the Grasshoppers which are also Orthopterans.  We suspect this might be a female Weta, a group distinct to Australia and New Zealand, though there are relatives in South Africa and California.  Her forward curving ovipositor is very distinctive, and you probably mistook it for a stinger.  We will contact Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki in the hope that he can provide a more conclusive identification.

Raspy Cricket

Thank you so much, Daniel! That’s fascinating – I’ve never heard of them before.  I would be intrigued to find out more about this particular one. It certainly gave me a bit of a fright in the bathroom!
Kind regards

Identification Courtesy of Piotr Naskrecki
Hi Daniel,
This is a nymph of Hadrogryllacris sp. (Gryllacrididae), not a weta (there are no true wetas in Australia) but a raspy cricket. The ovipositor is curved over the body in nymphs of raspy crickets to help them move backwards in shelters that they make of rolled up leaves. After the final molt the ovipositor becomes straight.
Cheers,
Piotr

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Subject: Please identify
Location: Orange County, Ca
March 13, 2015 7:01 pm
I live in Orange County, CA and I found this insect in my back yard. It looks like a termite but it is big, about the size of my thumb 2.5″ to 3 ” inches. Can you identify it?
Signature: Chris A.

Potato Bug

Dear Chris,
The Potato Bug or Jerusalem Cricket is a common southern California insect that spends its time underground.  Potato Bugs tend to emerge from their subterranean burrows with the rains, and that is the time they are most frequently encountered by humans.

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Subject: Ant like bug
Location: South Africa. Limpopo
December 30, 2014 3:27 pm
It is a very big bug.Is it poisonous?I took the photo myself.It was at around 11 pm and it is summer with warm weather but it rained yesterday.
Signature: the bug man

Sand Cricket or Sandkrieke

Dear bug man,
This is a Sand Cricket or Sandkrieke in the family Stenopelmatidae which includes the Potato Bugs or Jerusalem Crickets from North America, and their only living relatives are in Australia and South Africa.  We located matching images on iSpot here and here.  Though they are not poisonous, they do have powerful mandibles that could deliver a painful bite, possibly even drawing blood.

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