I’ve been getting phone calls and e-mails recently reminding me this is the time of the year when unsuspecting humans meet up with our colorful and common—but sometimes alarming—Jerusalem Cricket.
Of all the insects that live in, under, over and on Central Oregon, none can catch a person’s eye and generate more fear, questions, admiration, revulsion and other human emotions like that of Stenopelmatus fuscus, the Jerusalem Cricket, AKA:
· Earth baby· cara de niño (Spanish for “child’s face”)
· wó see ts’inii (Navajo for “skull insect”)
· old bald-headed man
· potato bugs
· skull bug
· What in the $#%# is that!?
They are large (total body length of up to three-inches in length) colorful, flightless insects native to the western United States, and south into Mexico. They come equipped with six large, brightly colored legs, black-and-white striped abdomen, reddish-orange thorax and a reddish head that looks like a human skull.
Early entomologists who were eagerly naming insects wondered where to put them in the zoological order of things. Many of these early bug people thought they looked like king crickets of Australia and the weta of New Zealand, so the name “cricket” stuck. Despite their name(s), however, Jerusalem crickets (Why “Jerusalem?” I haven’t the foggiest… ) are neither true crickets nor true bugs and, contrary to one of their names, they do not eat potatoes – whether growing, deep-fried, rotten or frozen.
Incidentally, the New Zealand Maori name for the Giant Weta is “weta punga,” a term that is sometimes rendered in English as “god of ugly things.” Now, if you can figure out how and why insects normally endemic to Australia are enjoying a happy home here in this part of the North American continent, or visa-versa, you are a better man than I, Gunga Din. Which opens the “what came first, the chicken or the egg?” business. Where did the first of the Stenopelmatus show up in the fossil record, here or there?
The scientific literature says they are “active only at night.” (It’s dangerous to say “only,” as I have seen them out in broad daylight on several occasions). They use their strong mandibles to feed primarily on dead organic material but also eat other insects, dead or alive. Their highly adaptable feet are used for burrowing beneath the soil to feed on decaying roots, plants and dead grasshoppers or gophers someone killed.
Similar to true crickets, each species of Jerusalem cricket produces a different song during mating, but this “song” takes the form of a characteristic drumming in which the insect beats its abdomen against the ground. (This behavior could be similar to that of a frustrated Homo sapian male who beats his fists on the ground, “Not tonight, dear, I have a headache…”) Jerusalem crickets apparently rely exclusively on substrate vibrations, which are felt rather than heard.
I received a phone call just the other day from a woman near Sisters who was all excited about a “giant ant” she found under her flagstone walk. I went out to look at it, as I thought it may have been the large and colorful velvet ant, dasymutilla magnifica of Arizona. (Why here? Climate change and all that, you never know…) One look was all I needed to see it was an unfortunate Jerusalem cricket the woman pickled in vodka.
Like some of the Maori, who think of their wetas as “god of ugly things,” she too said it was “ugly” and “repulsive.” That may account for the number of inaccurate and misleading folk tales regarding Jerusalem crickets.
First and foremost, they are not venomous. They can, however, if handled impolitely, emit a foul smell, and are capable of inflicting a painful bite – but neither is lethal. In spite of their Spanish name, nina de la Tierra, they do not cry like children.
Hoary and Big Brown bats, summertime residents of Central Oregon, prey on Jerusalem Crickets like there’s no tomorrow. I’m sure it isn’t a mere coincidence that the bats show up just about the time all those sexually inspired crickets head out at night for their annual nighttime escapades.
Most males with sex on their mind aren’t the brightest of bulbs, and probably aren’t thinking – if capable of thinking at all – they are easy prey for bats. In any event, if you step out to your front porch some morning on the way to work and find a pile of Jerusalem cricket heads and little black piles of bat guano under the roof overhang, you can be sure your home is also a bat’s weta restaurant.
Now if some bright science student looking for a free ride to college after reading this takes on some serious studies of the relationships of our Jerusalem crickets and the wetas of New Zealand – that would make my day.
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This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2009.
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I saw my first Jerusalem cricket this morning. I was outside my barn in New Mexico, in the horse paddock. Unfortunately, we did kill it, not knowing what it was. I now know they are rare and nearing extinction. I regret killing it. Glad to know more about it.
We’ve seen the occasional “potato bug” in our yard, but this year when some of our vegetable plants were inexplicably dying and I dug them up, there were numerous ugly slimy potato bug larvae in the dirt. I’m wondering if there’s any way to kill them short of poison, or digging up the entire yard and picking them out.
They seem to be everywhere in the yard.
omg ive known these creatures of el nino de la tierra they are so scarey looking for me it really creeps me out but but just the other night i seen one actually this is like the 6,7,8 nino de la tierra that i have seen and i live in california and it seems like they come out from the ground alot they are so scarey looking !!
I found a Child of the Earth when I was 10 yrs. in Cloudcroft,New Mexico. I was more yellow, nd pinkisin color, a looked very much like a baby, I was told that they are very poisonous.
eeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I saw one of these in my front yard in san diego and was scared for my child and my dogs not knowing what it was. I though my dog had dug it up still not sure but got my dog awaqy real fast from it . The eyes looked like a unborn baby like and the head so big I dont remeber any stipes at all but all the noise I made about it, my neighbor came out and told me they were called baby tierra’s and seen in mexico that they are hard to kill and cry like a baby when hit which really made me uncomfortable scared enough as I was not knowing if posionous or what? and looking like a alien of sort. I had to kill it for the fear and child and my pups, Well I didnt kill it my nieghbor did it for me with my shovel and it was awful! It would not die it had a hard head the sound of it seeeing him trying to kill it took time and it did not cry as he told me he heard of them doing, but still scared of the unknown and not much like for spiders reptiles etc..safe than sorry right? but I have been bothered by this for so long looking it up trying to find photos or some kind of information and nothing till now! quit a few years later. I do wonder in my front yard late at night when its quiet and peaceful I could hear a sound beneath the dirt not like a cricketing sound but a tapping like sound could that be a sign of more? or what? Its a tapping sound and my dogs too hear it like I do its weird sometimes durring day if quiet I can hear it also. All in all thanks for having the picture and information now i know more about what had been found in my yard.
I too had first seen this little one many, many years ago and not knowing what it was, I had kept it in a Terrarium and tried to keep it fed but after a few weeks I could see that it was not thriving so my heart told me to let it go.
It both scared and facinated me, with its head like a human I would just sit and look at it and I swear that it would look back at me, almost like there was some kind of intelligence in its eyes.
Years later someone told me that it was a Child of the Earth, which name I found very fitting considering my feelings of this little creature.
My fiance and I have done a lot more research lately as we have just moved to a border town and purchased a home here. Somehow our home has become a birthing ground for these little ones and my fiance and I are constantly finding them everywhere. Last night alone we had seen 6-7 of them, we think they are still in the baby stage as there are so many of them right now in our house.
We have found out that they are not spiders, they are not scorpions and they really are not an insect at all….but something in its own class. While they can be very aggressive when threatened and pack a heck of a bite, they are actually quite good to have around. They kill centipedes, venomous spiders, scorpions, and other harmful insects.
I am not sure why we have so many in the house all of a sudden but instead of killing them, as was my first instinct, we now try to catch them and just toss them outside.
Now however we still have the problem of trying to find an organic and relatively harmless solution to keeping them out of our home, along with all of the other insects.
So next time you see one of these little mysterious creatures, dont kill it; just catch it and let it live in it’s own enviroment. You will be glad you did 😀
Fox and Deby,
You are both wonderful people; unfortunately, most people have the ‘if you don’t know what it is-kill it’ mentality. If people would just educate themselves and treat others like they themselves would like to be treated, the world would be a much better, safer place to live in…for everyone.
Unfortunately, ignorance breeds ignorance…how sad.
We were in and out of our house all day and decided to cook dinner and relax, thats our normal sunday evening, We just finished dinner and we were watching Paranormal Activity and my husband grabbed a blanket that was folded next to the couch and he was startled by this bug, I knew what it was cause I grew up in Arizona, It was a Child of the Earth well thats how I know them and I was always told that they were harmful to pregnant women and babies and Im both so we killed it well my husband did and after reading this I fell really terrible and I will never kil one ever again. It was really weird to see one in Iowa though.
Great info! I’ve always seen these bugs while growing up in Southern Colorado and have developed a great interest in them as of late. I’m a Wildlife Biology major and considering an in depth study of this fascinating creature.
Last night, just after dinner, my wife stepped out to the balcony just to take a look at the breathtaking view of the canyon in the back of our apartment. Suddenly, she screamed, “Jaime! Jaime! Come here quickly! Oh My God… You Gotta See This!”
So I stepped out and there was this big, ugly, scary-looking bug on the wall. It was huge! Our first instinct was to kill in case it was dangerous. But we then agreed to try and catch it so we could get a good close look at it.
We successfully caught it and placed it in a jar. As it moved around the jar trying to find a way out, it suddenly stopped and just looked at us.
Here’s the funny thing… both my wife and I suddenly felt a deep sense of tenderness and pity for it. It was mainly because it really didn’t look agressive or fierce. Or maybe because when you look at that face, it reminds you of a baby… and how can anyone hurt a baby? 🙂
So we went out to the plants and released it.
Today, I’m so happy we didn’t hurt it.
Jaime and Trinity
San Diego, CA
While at work me and my coworker jerry found this amazing creature. We didnt know if it was venomous or not but theres something about it thats intriguing. It looks like a cricket/ant cross and one of the workers at the school we work at said hes an earth baby. We found it a strange coincidence that its also called a jerusalem bug and that we work at a catholic private university in san diego.
This morning my husband was getting ready to go to work and he saw a “nino de la tierra” going towards him, he said he was walking backwards as if this thing was going at him, he then snapped out of it and smashed it. We have two little girls and to find it in our room we thought it could have bitten them. He flushed it just in case. Now that I read these stories I am like wow, really.
I THINK THE THEY ARE VERY UGLY AND WAS TOLD THAT THEY BITE THAT YOU CAN DIE.
I love the poetry of “ninos del terra.” Ever since I got a new screen door with not a long enough sweep 2 years ago, these little buggers just walk right in this time of year. Woke up in bed with one last year!
Sometimes I notice them because of their footsteps! You know the bug is too big when you can hear it walkin’ around! Just put another one out tonight. Just grab it gently with kleenex and walk far enough from the house so I hope it can’t find its way back. None has ever bitten or stunk me up. Read somewhere else they come around because they’re horny. “Not tonight, dear, you are the wrong species – and a half!.”
They are way easier to deal with than the damned ants, and kind of a wonder of the world, I think 🙂
they ninos de la terra are not from here more study has to be done
They are ugly and repulsive. I feed them to my chickens.
For some reason I thought of dipping them in chocolate.
Im sure they would add a great addition to the exotic edible insect delicatessen.
I dont think they are going instict, since you can probably find one just by going outside and digging around rocks and plants almost anywhere in San Diego.
I have seen at least 6 of them i catch them and research about them they r fascinating creaters
If you find any, capture a few, and send email to bugbob@mac.com – he’s an entomologist researching them and he will write back to you telling you how and where to send them.
From Wikipedia: . . . origin of the term “Jerusalem cricket”.[8] John Stoffolano hypothesizes that the term originated from a mixing of Navajo and Christian terminology. He suggests that Franciscan priests had a strong connection with the Navajos, particularly in the development of the Navajo dictionary and vocabulary. These priests, Stoffolano contends, heard the Navajos speak of a “skull insect” and took this to be a reference to Skull Hill, the cliff outside Jerusalem near the place where Jesus was said to be crucified.
the first time i found a child of the earth spider i caught it in a cup then my brother in law told me not to let it bite me or i will die. its a poisenios bug. i had to drowned it and wash it down the drane>
i also seen around 10 of them in south gate california
I saw a earth baby at my work I was so scare but I would like to know if they bite and if there poisones and if they kill
me 2 they tryed jummin at me lol
We live in western NM.Heard all the myths about the venomous child of the earth insect for which there is no antidote for the bite, etc.Kept seeing these giant cricket-like insects over the years and finally looked it up. Was turning the compost yesterday and found one.Ignorance tends to fear what it does not know. Good info – thanks.
The little girl next door found one of these a few days ago and took it to her science teacher to identify as my husband and I had no idea what it was, although it really freaked me out! We live in Wyoming but are from the east coast and had never seen anything like it in either place. Today she told me it was an “Earth Baby” so I looked it up and sure enough, there was a picture of one. Learn something new every day!
I live in Bell Gardens (near Los Angeles) and have seen many of these. I’ve known them my whole life as “ninos de la tierra” and been told that they jump at you, scream and run away/to you rather quickly. Also that if one bites you, the venom will kill you. I am deeply terrified of these, just the thought of them and I get chills. We found one inside my kitchen one time, at night, right by the back door and my mom and an aunt killed it asap. Then my mom threw out the broom. Ugh, but after researching them, I am still not convinced. =[
We Just Saw One In Our School (Bell High School) On Our Way To The Library. It Was Really Big & Very Disgusting Making A Weird Noise & Walking Really Fast. I Almost Stepped On it & i Looked Down & I Saw It Was a Weird Looking Insect So Alex Got a Trash Can & Squished it & Weird looking Liquid Came Out!!! So We Looked it Up & Now We Know Wat it Was. Thank You
Love Lucy & Alex! 😀
Omqq Last Night Me And My Boyfriend Saw One And We Couldnt Find It I Was Panicked ! They Are Horrible And Creepyy…But After A While We Found It By The Shoes.
THANK GOD HE KILLED IT.
We live in Pico Rivera, CA as in a matter of 2 nights we’ve seen and killed 3! We haven’t been doing anything unusual in the yard… Are they coming out to look for food??
the other night my husband call me to the garage in our house in La Crescenta, CA and he told look at that bug what is that? “it looks like and Alien my husband said… i saw it and i was horrified… my husband said it look at him… he told me “kill it” I was on socks so I could not killed with my feet… they I saw the “home defense” and I spray it… it did not move so i thought i could go inside the house an get my boots and smashed (since my husband did not wanted to do it) went i came back the creature was gone… I could not sleep thinking about such a horrible thing… so i ask my brother and he told it a “Nino” i google the word and nothing come back… so i told my co-worked and she told me that they are “Ninos de la Tierra” so now I know… I still disgusted about how they look… maybe next time i will not be so scare i just let it out…
my boyfriend found one outside while cleaning the front yard. i put it in a container i still have it. my boyfriend found it around april of this year. i was wondering what it was.
I grew up knowing about “Ninos De La Tierra,” and how they are poisonous, dart at you, jump at you, look like they have little baby faces, have the worst/ most painful bite, yadda yadda yadda… Although I’m still creep’d out by them when I come across them and a sudden jolt of panic’d fear hits me not knowing any better to where the little fellas don’t have much of a chance staying alive after that… Thank You for the info provided by the author & everyone else sharing your own stories, but I still don’t know what to believe just yet…:o) i think I’ll just leave them alone… If I can. Reason I was looking at this is tonight about an hour ago, here in Santa Ana CA, my wife was just outside when she began screaming bloody murder (She doesn’t like any bugs) this had to be the biggest one i’ve ever seen… Well I reacted and quickly grabbed the can of Roach & Killer & sprayed copious amounts of it on the Nino DLT to what he decided to charge inside our house towards me…lol my wife through me a sandal and I slapped him out of the house… she just came in and told me that it is no longer laying where we thought it was dying from the poison I shot at it! HAHAHA… So, bbb I believe you!
I have heard the Niños de la tierra in America are not the same color as the 1’s in Mexico!!! I live in California and I have step on 1 and they sound like a baby crying!!! I heard they are not the same kind that you can find in Mexico!!!
My niece moved to Lake Arrowhead last week and sent me a picture of this bug that our nephew caught. Growing up we saw these after moving to Huntington Park from
Canada. We called them potato bugs. The one they found
had stripes but the ones we saw had none. But right away I
Told my husband it was a potato bug. There’s no mistakeing
That face. Yuck!! Glad to hear they aren’t poisonous,as she has
2 young boys!
OMG!!! Those bugs are so uglY!!!! I came out of the shower & I noticed something crawling by my front door. I looked at it & I freaked out. That thing looked like a see-through insect, ike it just came out of the womb. It looks gross, I grabbed a broom & i was like smack it! smack the son of a @#$%^!!! Well they say it crys when its killed, I didn’t hear it cry, it was just disgusting!!I hope i never come across those things again!! This is in Norwalk California
Well Im doing “re-search.”and I can’t believe wut I hear so they are harmless. But NASTY LOOKIN!!! My husband & I KILLED ONE a few weeks and him and I both have heard so many bad storys about this bug that I freaked out when my 4yr Son found it while he was playing in the yard he was digging..and it was a bby..so we burned it!! And call me crazy but since that day my son has bin sick.! House IS CLEAN!! I MAKE SURE HIS HANDS R ALWAYS CLEAN I TRY..Doc appt blood samples and Bm r perfect and hes still sick..and I got sick as well my husband is still sick as well. And I can’t shake it off..and Latin-American stories iv bin told..as a lil girl apart of me wants to believe and anotheris like HELLOooo Read And Listen..O_o wut to do??
I was just planting my tomatos in a big pot of soil I had from last year and dug up.about 20 larvae. Boy are they ugly but my.son loved them. We picked them all out and my husband’s going to use them for bait when he goes fishing. Never seen an adult but the larvae are pretty darn ugly. Hope I never see Momma or Poppa JC crawling around my place.
Happened to find one of these this morning. Felt something crawling around my knee and it happened to be in my sweat pants! I screamed bloody murder and about hyperventilated. My husband put it outside and I was mad he didn’t kill it. Glad to know they eat other spiders but still not at all comfortable knowing it actually got up my pants!!! =/
These bugs are not the real ninos de la tierra… the true one is actually part of the arachinid family and is VERY VERY poisionous these Jerusalem Crickets look very similiar except for the size… The arachinid is about 1 to 2 inches max and looks very evil… I think the mix up in the names came from the stripes on its abdomen… The arachinids are very territorial and will kill any others in the same room (meaning only about 5-6 will only ever be found in your household) they dont really ever come out… The only reason I know this is because one has been living under my bed for awhile and it was crawling on me when I was pulling out my weights foor the first time in about 6 months… They also love the hotter months and get their name because they dig themselves into any thickness of sand to escape the heat… These bigs are (once more) Extremely poisoinous… And one last fact if you ever ask a mexican (i asked my dad) about them they will tell you stories of children being dragged off lol
crazy stuff i found one the other day
They tell me that this is not the ninos de la tierra they said that they are like a head and little hands
Live in sd.have alot of these bugs.these are way bigger ,dont have strips,look a little difFRENt.want to get rid of them.
These creatures are scary looking and perhaps the scariest looking thing I’ve seen. I saw one in my room and totally panicked. They are very fast because as soon as I looked back it was gone. I put on some gloves and started moving some stuff around. I was able to find it and my sister killed. We were both so scared but at least she was able to kill it because I couldn’t dare. She did have trouble killing it. She had to hit it with a hammer a couple of times. We put it in a container with alcohol to make sure it wouldn’t come back to live. I hope I never see one again. They look just like a baby. As soon as I saw black and yellow I figured they are danger.
today my uncle found the bug at the patterson lake.
he kept it in a bottel thinking that it was some kind
of ratiated bug??
lol i took a picture and post it on facebook.
one of my friends told me its called a nina de tierra.
as my family and i did some quick research on the internet we realized that this bug means no harm n is about to be instinked.
so my uncle is going to return the bug to the lake were he came from. thank god we didnt feel it to our turtel 😀
Believe it or not when i was real small staying with grandma i found one in my bed scared the crap out of me , they amase me to this day im 50 now
One invaded our school in NW New Mexico this morning. Not being native to the West, I had no idea what it was. Once I got my fifth graders away from it, I scooted it out the door. Then another teacher got it into a cup since another grade is studying insects in Science. My response? “I’m so glad we aren’t doing insects this year!”
Yet another teacher told me that Children of the Earth make a horrible sound if you step on them. I pray I never find one in my house!
nice story
my sister & I were chilling on our front porch & I noticed one crawling up to her leg. & I pulled her away & we both yelled, “oh shit!” I heard they are quite poisoness! we didn’t kill it tho, she wanted me to. San Diego
I thought it was an alien the 1st time I saw one….put it in a jar and you could see it’s breath on the glass!!! Scared the crap out of me.
I grew up in New Mexico, and as a youngster spent a week or two some summers at Ghost Ranch, then an educational facility of the Board of Christian Education of the Presbyterian Church. The children of the earth would come out at night to do their thing, and sometimes in the morning there would be one in a sink in one of the men’s common restrooms – shower rooms – all guests used them, at the Corral Block – formerly the bunkhouse of the hired hands when it was a working ranch.
When one was found in a sink, one of the adults would use a paper towel to pick it up, and take it outside, and let it go on about its business. I was told that the reason it was in the sink was that it was being attacked by a parasite which caused dehydration, and therefore was seeking open water, otherwise it would stay away from human habitations, and the only time we saw one in the sink was when it was near death – and at that soon the abdomen would rupture, and the developing parasites would be released. The long, slender (about the thickness of Mom’s sewing thread) translucent very pale things that came out of the abdomen writhed and squirmed on the ground until I got bored and walked away. One of the Ranch staff, Jim Shibly, said that if they were not dying, they would stay out in the countryside, and we’d never know they were there.
I thought it was too bad that the only times I saw them were times that they were going to die – they were very pale, very shiny, and quite pretty, about the size of the tarantulas I would see from time to time around Alamogordo.
If u step on them they do sound like a baby crying is almost the same sound that a cat makes when mating
as a kid in san diego I found one in my bed one night pretty scary
Jerusalem Crickets are harmless, and are only creepy because people don’t know what they are or have heard wrong things about them. They are NOT poisonous, although they can bite if they feel threatened. I find them more interesting than scary or creepy or disturbing. I work at a hands on science museum aimed at kids, and we’ve had a couple of them in our exhibits. They just live underground, mind their own business, and eat apple slices and the occasional cricket.
Went for a walk tonight. It looked like a scorpion. Our dog gravitated towards it. I yanked his collar, because I fear set in, and I suddenly felt it was a Nino de la tierra. As I looked back, I was correct. My husband’s from Germany, he went into this curious and fearless attack mode. Looked at me funny. And like a hero in a horror flick, and after I urging him to get away in a panic, he took our police grade maglight and wacked it three times. It made a strange sound when he hit it initialy, maybe he pissed it off? I got really weired out by the entire encounter. I looked like a beligerent fool yelling, “It’s highly poisonous! Stay AWAY-! NO!!!” I grew up hearing it had a deadly bite. Someone once said, that one in Mexico killed a woman after it landed on her after it fell off the cielling. He swore he believed the guy telling him the story. But people like to prank each other down there. I always heard it was a bad omen of sorts to encounter one of those nasty things. I’m Mexican American, and I’m now feeling a bit better about seeing one. I think the only bad omen was me pointing it out, and my husband bashing it’s brains in… 🙂 WE WIN! Hee hee hee!
While living in San Diego several years ago I woke up to find one on my bed-sheet just inches from my face. As I screamed, I flipped my bedding up and the bug hurdled across the room hitting the opposite wall. As it did it made a sickening sound, sort of like a sick cry as it hit the closet door. I couldn’t find it afterward, and I slept in the living room for the next week until my landlord fumigated the place. I’ve never seen one before or since then.
I live outside of Redmond Oregon and have found them all of the time. I currently have taken one up as a pet and she stays in the bedroom with us in her own safe private world and loves to eat just about anything. She loves roast beef and watermelon and I also feed her lettuce,apples,dry oatmeal and tomatoe slices. I have been thinking of finding her a mate but cant seem to find another one yet. Very interesting to watch and learn about too.
does anyone know if they are poisonous to dogs??
I live in Lakeside ca and I have seen these bugs under my apt stairs in the wet grass what I would like to know is why people have been saying they find them in their beds in their houses?
I remember these scary looking creatures from when I was a child living in Southern California..one time there was an odd scratching sound coming from an old shoe box in my closet…to my dismay when I opened the box there was a potato bug gnawing and scratching its way out of the box…it was so ugly…I was terrified…I now live in Washington and of course have never seen one here. They always reminded me of the ‘eyes’ or roots that grow on potatoes when they start to rot
You wont believe how man people refuse to believe this creature really does exist. I do! I found one in a little adobe I rented in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It freaked me out! I read another sad story where a young boy had moved from the southwest to back east somewhere and he wrote school assignment that discussed this creature. The teacher ridiculed him, failed him on his paper and required him to do another one. Think how that child would be affected psychologically after an experience like that.
IN my small house in Northern California they seem to come out of the baseboard corners. They make a loud scratchy noise when they come out, or try to hide. I’ve seen at least 5 already this summer, always inside. Last one was in my bed, I still don’t understand how he got there since they seem quite slow and I would have not imagined they can climb. I haven’t slept much since then. We catch them with a glass and a card and throu them out. How can I permanently get rid of them?
@Gra You don’t need to get rid of them. They won’t hurt you. Just put them outside if you find them.
@Mish Bowman Jerusalem crickets don’t have larvae.
@Daniel Munoz
Nino de la Tierra refers to Jerusalem crickets and SOLPUGIDS were the ones that got mixed up with them. Solpugids (aka camel spiders) are not venomous OR poisonous and are not dangerous. Please stop spreading misinformation.
@yolanda garcia
You should never burn any animal. That’s pointlessly cruel, and if you do so, I almost wonder if you’re a sociopath.
We do have velvet ants here (which are actually wingless wasps with a heckuva sting) but they are only about half inch long.
The parasites that these guys carry are called horsehair worms. The worms lay their eggs on plants at the bank of a stream, the potato bug comes along and ingests the eggs along with the leaves. When the worm has grown up in the abdomen of the bug, it signals it to go to water. When the bug reaches water, the worm bursts out of the bug and slithers into the water. Horsehair worms are filter feeders. They root themselves in the mud and filter stuff out of the water to eat. I have seem them a foot long. I did an autopsy on one potato bug and found a worm a foot long all wound up inside the abdomen. Unfortunately, it was dead as well.
as a kid in san diego I found one in my bed one night pretty scary
They do sound like they are crying when you burn them. That’s probably where they got the name.