Jerusalem cricket

5861   My is Kaisa and we found this insect in Pendleton, Oregon. My students and I found this very interesting insect in a park near the end of October. The climate here is high desert, it’s very dry with low temperatures at night and in the 60s during the day, although we have been having a wet fall this year.  We found the insect by the side of the road near a rocky hillside and it was dead when we found it. I believe it is some sort of cricket but couldn’t find an exact match.  Kaisa,  6th Grade Teacher.

This is a relative of grasshoppers and crickets known as a Jerusalem cricket (Orthoptera: Stenopelmatidae). See http://tinyurl.com/cjs9zgv for more detailed information. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.