Thursday, April 15, 2010

Corralitas Drive: ALIEN!

Photo: Diane Edwardson, April 3, 2010. Jerusalem Crickets are truly the stuff of nightmares. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Jerusalem Crickets rarely venture out in the sun, preferring to live underground as well as under logs and rocks. They move surprisingly quickly and eat bugs, roots, potatoes and decaying vegetation.

During the rainy season, you'll often find flattened Jerusalem Crickets in the street. This one was walking in circles, mid-morning, at the intersection of Rosebud Ave. and Corralitas Drive. I think he was clipped by a car. He was small, compared to some I've seen in the neighborhood.
Photo: Diane Edwardson, April 3, 2010. Despite his injury, the alien was making eye contact and kept making threats toward me. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

UPDATE: Read more about battling garden pests in Jeff Spurrier's story in the LA Times.