Hello! My husband and sons found this fairly large and disturbing bug in our yard, and it is driving us crazy trying to figure out what it could be! If any of you fine folks could help us out, we'd appreciate it! I do have several other photos if this one isn't enough. He is about the size of a wine cork. Thanks,
Angie
This is a relative of grasshoppers and crickets, most frequently called a ‘Jerusalem cricket’ (Orthoptera: Stenopelmatidae). They basically are harmless, but they have powerful jaws that can give a painful bite if you mishandle one. See http://www.sdnhm.org/fieldguide/inverts/sten-fus.html for a fact sheet that includes images.
bonezmama,
We did not have the Jerusalem Cricket recorded in BugFiles, so I have created an entry for it here: http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/go/5261/
It would be good if you could add your image to that page,
Kennedy
I'm looking for a picture of one of these (I personally met a 3 incher once) with somebody's hand or something in it for scale. Anybody brave enough to go pick one up? I am NOT!
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mahogany_Jerusalem_cricket.jpg for one next to a US quarter; one on a human hand can be seen at http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3274/2739182527_ef797963a0.jpg?v=0 and http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3023/2740021032_fc68ba9113.jpg?v=0
Eeeew!
:)
Thanks!
