Who knew?
I did. My good friend Dr. David Weissman of the California Academy of Sciences is the foremost authority on the Jerusalem Cricket. He’s not in this article, but I just thought I’d name drop. 🙂
These bugs have fascinated me since I was a little kid.
Despite their name, Jerusalem crickets aren’t native to Jerusalem, and they are in fact mainly found in the western half of the United States. (Incidentally, they aren’t true crickets either.) They can be found throughout Arizona, New Mexico, and all along the Pacific coast of the country, being found all the way from British Columbia down to Baja California and many other parts of Mexico. Habitat wise the Jerusalem cricket mainly lives in underground burrows, but they can be found above ground in warm damp places. The Jerusalem cricket is pretty harmless to humans, as much as its large size tends to unnerve people. The insect isn’t poisonous, although it can leave a painful welt with its bite.
