J Cricket

Last night, Andrew and I took a lovely drive (seriously, the canyon is gorgeous!) up to Midway to hang out with some friends. When we got to their house, no one was home so we decided to walk to the clubhouse to find them. On our stroll home Andrew said "watch your step!" and I looked down to see this fascinating surprise:

At first, I thought it was a huge, fake bug. I had never seen any insect of that size in Utah before. It was the length of my pinky! Andrew said he saw it move, so we spent the next couple of minutes throwing small chunks of wood at it and alas, the head twitched. I am intrigued by bugs. If we were at home, I would have found a jar to keep it in. Wouldn't that be a fun class pet?

I did a little research and found that this bug really does exist, we hadn't made a discovery. It is called the Jerusalem Cricket. Fun fact: The J Cricket's mating song sounds like a drum; the insect beats its abdomen against the ground to make the sound.

You can hear that sound, and read more about the Jerusalem Cricket by going here.

*Although these insects can inflict painful bites, they are not venomous, and therefore, you will not die.