#king cricket

[onenicebugperday]

African king cricket, Nasidius pulchriventris, Anostostomatidae

Photographed in Zambia by jakob

[randomanimaloftheday]

Day 161#: Parktown Prawn

Today’s animal of the day is the Parktown Prawn (Libanasidus vittatus)!

Photo credit: Kobie du Preez

Contrary to what its name might lead you to believe, the Parktown prawn isn’t actually a type of crustacean and is actually a species of insect in the order Orthoptera, which includes crickets, locusts, and other similar insects. While they are also known as the African king cricket, they also aren’t technically a type of cricket. Instead, they belong to the family Anostostomatidae, while true crickets are in the Gryllidae family. Their closest relative are the tree wētās of New Zealand, though the Parktown prawn is endemic to South Africa. Its name comes from a suburb in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, named Parktown. This is because these insects seem to thrive in this urban environment, and their population quickly rose as the city of Johannesburg began rapidly expanding in the 1960s.

Photo credit: Pavel Shukov

They are quite large, with the biggest individuals growing up to 2.8 inches in length, and have an orangish-brown coloration with black stripes on their abdomens. Males have a pair of tusk-like protrusions on their faces, which they may use to fight over mating rights, but their exact purpose is not currently known. Females can be identified by their long ovipositor, which may look like a stinger, but is actually used to insert their eggs into the damp topsoil during the mating season.

Photo credit: Paul Venter

These fascinating insects are often considered pests by some people, especially tourists visiting Johannesburg who have given them the nickname “crickets from hell”. Despite this, they are completely harmless to humans. When threatened, their main defense mechanism is to hop away, and if that fails, to squirt a foul-tasting but harmless black liquid at their would-be predators. Many native South African gardeners actually really like them since they prey on slugs, snails, and cutworms, which can be annoying garden pests. However, they’ve also been known to occasionally steal some pet food and chew on wooden furniture, which is also annoying.

Photo credit: Do-yoon Kim

While they thrive in urban environments, their natural habitat is the shady northeastern forests of South Africa. They are most active at night or after a rainstorm, when it’s much cooler out and there’s no risk of them being cooked by the hot sun. Their natural predators include birds such as the fiscal shrike, hadada ibis, and helmeted guineafowl. However, there seems to be a lack of these predators in urban environments, which combined with an abundance of food, likely explains why they are so numerous in Johannesburg.

[onenicebugperday]

For some reason I can't get tumblr to open your submission box, so it's going here instead--I went to Aotearoa New Zealand and saw a tree weta! I was so excited to see one, I was really hoping I would. This one has its back legs up in a defensive posture because one of my classmates startled it. They're such a neat example of island gigantism! I also saw a red admiral butterfly, but those pics are on my dslr so I'll have to upload them later.

Pictures taken in Waimangu Volcanic Valley.

Great find! And what scary legs she has! If I were a predator I'd flee so quickly. I don't think I've posted many weta in the past, maybe I'll find a nice one to share soon.

[drhoz]

#3543 - Leponosandrus sp.

Presumably Leponosandrus lepismoides, since that's the only species I can find in the genus. If so, a species of King Cricket endemic to the SW.

Anostostomatids are nocturnal can be quite large - the Parktown Prawn of Southern Africa can exceed 6 cm, and tree weta in Aotearosa can exceed 8. Most lack wings, and males in some genera have modified heads for fighting rival males.

The king crickets of Australia include scavengers, specialised fungus feeders, and predators of other invertebrates. One Australian king cricket was observed preying on a deadly funnel-web spider.

Dryandra Woodlands NP

[vintagewildlife]

King cricket By: Stan & Kay Breeden From: The Fascinating Secrets of Oceans & Islands 1972

[frostseeker-draws]

ok

so

if someone(a weirdo) were to call Cricket "Queen" she would give them a pissed look

then say; "If you must refer to me like that, then please use King or Monarch."

she likes to be called King

[ricardothelionheart]

Google search the Jerusalem and King Crickets and try not to have nightmares

[drhoz]

#4 - Pachysaga Katydid

Found her among rubbish on a building site in Secret Harbour

Harmless, omnivorous and very formidable-looking orthoptera. There's a photo here of one overpowering and eating a Funnelweb Spider, which is pretty damn impressive

EDIT: Not a King Cricket - She is, in fact, a flightless Katydid! There's a handful of species of Pachysaga katydids here in South-western Australia's coastal plains. Unfortunately, my cameraphone at the time was so crappy there's no way to telling which species she is.