Insect and Spider Identification: CLOSED: Odd cricket/walking stick like insect, 1 by Weyard

Weyard wrote:
I found this insect on my porch this morning and was wondering if someone could identify it. I am pretty knowledgeable of the insects in my area, but I have never saw anything that looked like this.

Here are a few more pictures of it. I couldn't get much closer without spooking it, so the pictures are are taken from about 1 ft away.

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/5814/hni0019u.jpg
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/3598/hni0015j.jpg
http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/500/hni0016d.jpg
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/6878/hni0017y.jpg
http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/4760/hni0018.jpg
http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/8794/hni0021d.jpg
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/4819/hni0020.jpg

At first I thought it might have been a walking stick/leaf insect nymph, but after looking at some pictures online, it doesn't really seem to look like any of those.

It is about an inch long.

It's head looks really similarly to a roach-type head. The antennae sprout from the back of the head. One is laying across it's back, while the other is pointed out over it's head. It is constantly drumming this antenna in place.

I can't tell if those are large wings on it's back, or if it's abdomen is just smooth like that. There doesn't appear to be any crease where the wings would overlap. But there is a black spike sticking out under the body, possibly an ovipositor or something.

It's rear legs aren't formed for jumping, so I don't think it is related to crickets/grasshoppers and the like. They look more like the legs of Mantids.

Thanks for any replies.



This message was edited Oct 18, 2011 5:09 PM