What’s this bug?
Location: Sydney, Australia
December 23, 2010 10:20 am
Hi there,
I live in Sydney, Australia. We’ve been getting these bugs under our sofa but have never seen a live one. Usually notice them on the tiles in the morning. They’re about 5-10mm in length.
Any ideas?
Signature: Laura
Hi Laura,
This is a Lawn Shrimp or House Hopper, a terrestrial Amphipod that often enters homes after a heavy rain. Your letter is of especial interest to us as Australia is the native habitat of the Lawn Shrimp. The species has been introduced to other regions including southern California and in the past week, because of the heavy rains in the area, we have been inundated with identification requests from California where the species is considered to be an introduced annoyance.