Giant Red Cricket!

[DnKslr]

I've seen quite a few of these guys running around in the summer. They're huge!
What the heck is it? And can I feed it to my Ts? (I'm sure the larger girls would love it!)

 

[DnKslr]

Finally got the pics resized right!

 

[David_F]

Maybe Mormon crickets. Not an expert but the body structure looks about the same. I haven't seen any pics of them being red but I know katydids have different colors due to their diet.

 

[JPost]

I get those crickets alot during Summer. I fed them to my spiders and nothing went wrong. I have no clue what kind they are or anything! Good treat though

Wow, 3 Kansans!

 

[Diao]

6

(Botar, Diane S, JPost, Diao, Mechanical-Mind, & dirtyduck)

 

[Mechanical-Mind]

It looked like a Jerusalem cricket at first glance- My guess would be that it's a Camel cricket, though.

-Matt

 

[David_F]

It looked like a Jerusalem cricket at first glance- My guess would be that it's a Camel cricket, though.

-Matt

Better guess than mine. Where the hell did all the Kansans come from all of a sudden? Are we having an infestation of them now? Where's everybody from? I think we need to get a T party going. Or some kind of party.

 

[The Juice]

I found some that looked just like that last year, but it was brown. I fed it to my rosie and nothin happened. I have never seen a red one though?

 

[Malkavian]

Jerusalem crickets supposedly pack a mean bite....i might be careful giving one of those to a T

 

[rknralf]

I agree on the Jeresulem crickets. I have read they do have a pretty good bite and can overpower smaller inverts. May not be an issue with larger T's, but not sure if I would try it.

By the way, definately not a camel cricket. We've got a bunch under the house. They almost look like spiders with their long legs.

Ralph

 

[Zombie]

Hey Diane.
I would stay away from feeding your T's "wild caught" insects.
The concern being you don't know what it has been eating, i.e; grasses and other smaller insects that may have been treated with pesticides.
Chances are it would be ok, but not worth the risk a 10 cent cricket from your local pet store doesn't carry with it.

Eric
www.e-spiderworld.com

 

[MysticKigh]

Better guess than mine. Where the hell did all the Kansans come from all of a sudden? Are we having an infestation of them now? Where's everybody from? I think we need to get a T party going. Or some kind of party.

Jerusalem crickets aka Children of the Earth..so called for a variety of reason... one being that they have 'baby faces', so check the face.. if it looks like a plain old cricket.. it's not a Jerusalem. Everyone is correct in that they can pinch the hell out of you, but tend to be rather docile unless frightened. I'm always hesitant to feed my Ts anything wild caught for fear of pesticide problems.. just a thought

 

[DnKslr]

The concern being you don't know what it has been eating, i.e; grasses and other smaller insects that may have been treated with pesticides.

I'm not too concerned about the pesticides issue. I don't spray my lawn and neither do my neighbors. I don't even use any fertilizer on my grass since I have to worry about my dogs. As it goes right now, my garden is being invaded by insects. I try to use safer methods like red pepper powder or chalklines.