too many words by laura lemay

I am beset by incredibly creepy insects

I was digging up the spinach bed in the garden the other day when this bug turned up and wiggled away. This horrible alien creature is a Jerusalem cricket. Its about three inches long: a small one. It darted off angrily when I uprooted it but I still managed to chase it long enough to get a couple good pictures (the other one is on flickr).

I’ve heard it said that the reason these critters are called Jerusalem crickets is because the first time people saw them they tended to shout “Holy Jerusalem!” This is not the expletive I used the first time I turned one up in my garden but I did have to run into the house and get Eric to come see it because DAMN that’s one ugly bug.

Despite the alien appearance they are harmless but they do eat your potatoes.

(imported from flickr)