When working in our garden my wife found a worm-like insect about 1-1/2" long and 1/4-1/2" wide, with a white translucent body and a pair of forward pinchers and bulging eyes. My mother-in-law says it is a "nino de la Tierra." Sorry no photos. Can you help?
Dear V.
Niño de la Tierra is a Spanish common name for the fearsome potato bug, or Jerusalem cricket. The navajo call them "wo wee ts’inii" which means skull insect or bone neck beetle. They fit your description. They belong to the genus Stenopelmatus. Take a look at potatobugs.com. It’s an entire website devoted to this good looking creature. We stole this photo from them.
