Subject: Grasshopper or Cricket?
Geographic location of the bug: Vantage (WA), Ginkgo Petrified Forest
Date: 10/26/2019
Time: 12:46 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Do you have any idea what it is? It looks like a cricket, but I could not found it with Google.Best regards, Nils
How you want your letter signed: Nils B.
Dear Nils,
Though it is commonly called a Mormon Cricket, Anabrus simplex is actually a Shield-Backed Katydid. Though they are flightless, in some years they are quite common and they form swarms along the ground in search of food. Here is a BugGuide image for comparison. Your individual is also a female as evidenced by her ovipositor.