What is this bug?

2 years ago by lunarul to c/whatsthisbug

Found on a trail in California, SF Bay Area. About an inch long.

Audrey0nne 35 points 2 years ago

Jerusalem Cricket (Potato Bug)

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lunarul 10 points 2 years ago

Thank you!

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Ephera 6 points 2 years ago

Interesting. It looks like it has the head and legs of a grasshopper, body of an ant and butt of a bee.

It's probably just because grasshoppers usually having wings, so you don't see their body sections. Like, this looks more like a 'normal' grasshopper to me and it still has similar body structure and coloring underneath its wings:

Having said that, I'm just looking at the grasshopper wikipedia and the variety is wild to begin with: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grasshopper#

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Audrey0nne 5 points 2 years ago

Never liked grasshoppers always made my skin crawl. Only know about these guys because my parents get them in their home, never actually seen them though… just their legs, guess my parent’s cats find them pretty tasty

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AFKBRBChocolate 3 points 2 years ago

We used to find them all the time in my area, but I haven't seen one in decades.

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Audrey0nne 8 points 2 years ago

Yeah I don’t see nearly as many of the critters I saw as a kid, though I spend far less time sifting through dirt as an adult

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AFKBRBChocolate 4 points 2 years ago

Good point. Also, we played in empty lots a bunch as a kid, but there aren't many anymore, which is probably part of the problem too.

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Ephera 3 points 2 years ago

I mean, it's good to recognize potential biases, but we're genuinely losing massive amounts of insects, see for example: https://www.boell.de/en/insect-deaths

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Audrey0nne 2 points 2 years ago

It’s tragic but also highlights how dire it is to preserve our environment.

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TheControlled 11 points 2 years ago

Potato Bug, my mother's worst nightmare. When I was a kid and digging in the sandy soil backyard of Pismo Beach/Five-Cities area, I'd find them an inch or 3 under the surface all the time. Needless to say my mom didn't do much gardening.

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ephrin 7 points 2 years ago

It’s an absolute alien horror, is what it is.

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thejoker954 5 points 2 years ago

The glossyness is what icks me out the most.

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HappycamperNZ 3 points 2 years ago

You should look up our Giant weta.

You could nearly put a leash on one and take it for a walk. Completely harmless though

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Thcdenton 2 points 2 years ago

That sounds like something a weta would say.

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HappycamperNZ 2 points 2 years ago

Well thats your fault for looking like a carrot

carrot

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stephen01king 1 point 2 years ago

Giant Weta actually looks cute, though. This one, not so much.

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Jimmycrackcrack 3 points 2 years ago

It looks like an ant, a grasshopper and a cockroach had a really greasy baby somehow.

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Nounka 3 points 2 years ago

Mole cricket i would guess. Was looking online for the difference between a mole and jeruzalem cricket.

This ; Jerusalem crickets have huge heads and big pincers. and mole crickets have a lower profile and stay closer to the ground, like moles...

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lunarul 3 points 2 years ago

Looking at pictures of both, this one is definitely a Jerusalem cricket. But mole crickets are fascinating. A bug with little mole paws looks more like a pokemon than a real life insect.

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