Monster of the Day #1174

Ah, there’s the Bert I. Gordon we all know and love.

  • Gamera977

    Not a big fan of the darker reimaging of Jiminy Cricket…

  • Flangepart

    “When you wish upon a scar, they’ll never know just who you are. When you’re left with out a head, my dreams-come-truuuue…”

  • Beckoning Chasm

    In the right hands, something like this could be really nightmarish. Something just “off” enough to make people uneasy about whether or not they were actually seeing something.

  • Eric Hinkle

    In the right hands, yes. Which I imagine means ‘another pair than Mister Gordon’s.’

  • Beckoning Chasm

    True, true. When I look at the picture, I keep thinking it could be a great still from some production of “The Whisperer in Darkness.”

  • Erocb

    The Dark Cricket Returns

  • Rock Baker

    I think this might be a mole cricket. Granted, I’m no entomologist!

  • Well. We found a movie that makes Beginning of the End look realistic.

  • Flangepart

    “One weekend a month my a$$!” Crow T. Robot.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    OT, but sad about Patrick Macnee. Of course, I thought he was already dead, so I’m one to talk…

  • Wade Harrell

    Close, I think it’s a Child of the Earth cricket, AKA Jerusalem Cricket, AKA “Potato Bug”. A much feared but largely harmless insect found in the southwest.

  • Rock Baker

    So that’s a Jerusalem Cricket. Adds a touch of irony to it’s somewhat menacing appearance, doesn’t it?

  • Wade Harrell

    Apparently the name Jerusalem comes from a misunderstanding of one of the Native American names for them by Spanish priests. Although not really dangerous they do have massive jaws and can give a painful bite.

  • Rock Baker

    Neat. I didn’t know that.

  • The Rev.

    I had not heard that, either. There’s my something new learned today!

    While not an entomologist, I am a huge science nerd. I’m quite sure this is a Jerusalem cricket. Mole crickets are similar in appearance; crucially, though, their front pair of legs are heavily modified for burrowing, and in fact resemble a mole’s claws. You’ll notice this insect’s limbs all look alike. Also, mole crickets have a pretty small head at the end of a rather long thorax (they almost look like they have a really long head with a face scrunched up at the end), while Jerusalem crickets have a larger head (in fact, it’s quite large proportionally to the rest of the body, compared to most insects), as you can see here.

  • Rock Baker

    Well, it was the ‘hands’ that had me thinking mole. As noted, I’m no expert. The crickets I have first-hand experience with are mostly field and cave crickets -both inside my house!