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I've talked for pages (almost?) about how I recently moved to a new apartment which happens to look out over a beautiful undeveloped basin. The place is teeming with wildlife, including rabbits, quail, squirrels, various birds, and a wealth of native bugs. Because we live on the first floor, I was passingly concerned about bugs squirming their way into the apartment though itsy bitsy cracks around the doors. In the two weeks since we've been living there, we haven't seen any bugs inside.
UNTIL YESTERDAY.
I'm traumatized. I went home for lunch to let Ferguson outside for his mid-day business. The entryway to the apartment is tiled - about three feet wide and five feet long. There was nothing in the floor when I got home. I took Ferguson out, and when we returned it was sitting in the middle of the tiled entryway.
What was it? A gigantor bug with the biggest eyeballs I've ever seen on an insect. I squealed, danced around a bit, then went to get a tissue to pick it up and throw it away because I thought it was dead. It was not dead and, when I tried to pick it up, proceeded to scramble away. Holy crap, it's alive. So, I told Ferguson to keep an eye on it (like a dog knows how to monitor a bug) while I went to get a container suitable for catch and release. I ended up trapping the monster in a bowl and taking it outside, many many yards away from my door. I released it into the grass beneath a shade tree, and it burrowed down into the ground.
Gross.
Then I proceeded to call Jason and explain that I may or may not have found a queen ant in our apartment, and that I certainly hoped this wasn't an indication of other ants that might be traipsing into our place. He assured me that I'd lost my mind and that, from my description, I'd encountered a Child of the Earth.
( You want to see? )
Glad I put that behind a cut, aren't you?
So, when I got back to work, I looked up Child of the Earth on the internet and discovered that they are actually called Jerusalem Crickets. They aren't dangerous, but can bite. They live underground and are not considered to be pests like ants or other colony insects. I still have no effin' idea how the damn thing got into the apartment. It was at least two inches long and half an inch tall. There is no way it could have squeezed through a crack. I can only guess it followed me in when I got home. Which freaks me out to no end. Uninvited visitors are following me in the door!
I am glad I did not kill it, though. Apparently, there is a scientist in California who has spent years studying these guys. He wants you to ship them to him if they show up around your house. I did not know this until after I released my little (big) friend. I asked Mr. Jerusalem Cricket not to return to my abode, and I haven't seen him since. Maybe he took my request to heart.
UNTIL YESTERDAY.
I'm traumatized. I went home for lunch to let Ferguson outside for his mid-day business. The entryway to the apartment is tiled - about three feet wide and five feet long. There was nothing in the floor when I got home. I took Ferguson out, and when we returned it was sitting in the middle of the tiled entryway.
What was it? A gigantor bug with the biggest eyeballs I've ever seen on an insect. I squealed, danced around a bit, then went to get a tissue to pick it up and throw it away because I thought it was dead. It was not dead and, when I tried to pick it up, proceeded to scramble away. Holy crap, it's alive. So, I told Ferguson to keep an eye on it (like a dog knows how to monitor a bug) while I went to get a container suitable for catch and release. I ended up trapping the monster in a bowl and taking it outside, many many yards away from my door. I released it into the grass beneath a shade tree, and it burrowed down into the ground.
Gross.
Then I proceeded to call Jason and explain that I may or may not have found a queen ant in our apartment, and that I certainly hoped this wasn't an indication of other ants that might be traipsing into our place. He assured me that I'd lost my mind and that, from my description, I'd encountered a Child of the Earth.
( You want to see? )
Glad I put that behind a cut, aren't you?
So, when I got back to work, I looked up Child of the Earth on the internet and discovered that they are actually called Jerusalem Crickets. They aren't dangerous, but can bite. They live underground and are not considered to be pests like ants or other colony insects. I still have no effin' idea how the damn thing got into the apartment. It was at least two inches long and half an inch tall. There is no way it could have squeezed through a crack. I can only guess it followed me in when I got home. Which freaks me out to no end. Uninvited visitors are following me in the door!
I am glad I did not kill it, though. Apparently, there is a scientist in California who has spent years studying these guys. He wants you to ship them to him if they show up around your house. I did not know this until after I released my little (big) friend. I asked Mr. Jerusalem Cricket not to return to my abode, and I haven't seen him since. Maybe he took my request to heart.
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