Subject: Huge insect outside my door
Geographic location of the bug: SF Bay Area, California
Date: 04/12/2018
Time: 12:35 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Two weeks ago (early April), I found a huge bug outside my door at night. It was about an inch long. It did not move at all while we observed it with the light on, and we haven’t seen anything like it before or since. What is it??
How you want your letter signed: Curious California
Dear Curious California,
This is a Jerusalem Cricket or Potato Bug, one of our most frequently requested identification queries from California. Furthermore, we would say it is a Mahogany Jerusalem Cricket which BugGuide claims: “Can be distinguished from other Stenopalmatus species by its lack of striping on the abdomen.”