Bug: looks like a cross between a cockroach and a shrimp. What is it?! (no pic)

[bertha katzenengel]

I tried to search on whatsthatbug.com, but the site is so vast, and i have no idea where to start.

This thing is dead. It's mottled brown. It's curled up like a pill bug, but not all the way. Its exoskeleton is in sections like an armadillo. And it's got long legs, and very long thin antennae, and spikes coming out of its backside.

Anyone know what it might be?

[NV Whino]

1. Earwig?

[bertha katzenengel]

6. ew - nope, I know what those look like

:hi:

[Kali]

2. House centipede?

they are shorter than regular centipedes and have quite long legs. They are kind of delicate and I think not poisonous to speak of like the big orange and black ones we see around the desert.
edit: I just googled house centipede and there were three images right at the top - try that.

[bertha katzenengel]

7. I took a look -- that's not it

but thanks, kali :hi:

[Gold Metal Flake]

3. That's just Herb.

I'll miss his stories and his French onion soup.

[brook]

4. Hmmm....

Could be the loathsome Potato Bug!

[graywarrior]

5. The creepy crawly, fucking stupid Cockageorge.

[lizziegrace]

8. Bertha

are the bodies rather flat and they look prehistoric?

(and after you kill them, the legs that come off keep moving...)

[bertha katzenengel]

11. I've only seen one and it was dead - but it wasn't flat

thanks :hi:

[Pool Hall Ace]

9. a silverfish?

[bertha katzenengel]

12. nah... the legs aren't long enough, and it's not silver, and it's not flat

but thanks :hi:

[Pool Hall Ace]

18. After I posted, I took a look at brook's potato bug.

Check brook's link. :hi:

[caty]

10. Sounds like an

earwig:

[bertha katzenengel]

13. nope, definitely not

:yoiks: I HATE those things! Scary!

I know the description I gave sounds like one of those, but I know it's not. Thanks :hi:

[brook]

16. did you check out the potato bug? n/t

[bertha katzenengel]

22. I know without looking that it is not a potato bug.

I don't need to look at that thing. After nearly stepping on one - barefoot - 25 years ago, I'll never forget what it looks like.

But thanks for playing.

[Kali]

14. did you figure it out?

what is the body length? There is another animal like a silverfish called a firebrat that is darker and kind of hunchbacked but otherwise a similar "build". (I'm so curious as to what you have found, any way to take a picture?)

[bertha katzenengel]

24. No, but atommom did! See her post, #17

:woohoo:

[Kali]

25. aha! - a bit bigger than a silverfish or a firebrat.

a cricket.

[Richardo]

15. Oscar?

:shrug:

[atommom]

17. Cave cricket? They're showing up around here.

http://insects.tamu.edu.nyud.net:8090/images/insects/common/images/cd-45-a/Img0018.jpg

ETA that the color can vary, and the antennae are really long.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_cricket

[uppityperson]

20. cool picture

Imagine these in a cheap scifi movie after the atomic bomb "night of the Cave Cricket!"

[bertha katzenengel]

23. THAT'S IT! THAT'S IT! THAT'S IT!

:woohoo:

atommom, you win the prize! An all-expenses-paid round trip to Cucamonga, CA! ;)

Thank you! Dang... you rock!

[atommom]

27. My pleasure! I've always had a fascination for insects.

But mostly, all I do with my bug knowledge is ID the critters my children catch. I used to sneak all kinds of animals into my room ... I'm trying to keep the lines of communication open with my own kids so I'm not caught unaware if one of their specimens escapes. ;)

[ashling]

19. Republican?

just a guess

[deucemagnet]

21. Where do you find all of these interesting creatures?

I'm still amazed by the wheel bug thread. :)

[bertha katzenengel]

26. Charles County, in Southern Maryland.

We're in a small subdivision in a semi-rural part of the county. We're bordered on two sides by thickets of trees (of course, the whole area used to be a forest, no doubt home to native Americans, and until recently herds of deer).

So far the wheel bug has been the weirdest. I was bitten by a deer fly my first summer here. I danced and flailed and I don't think Mrs. V. has stopped laughing.

My favorite are the praying mantises - only because they're fascinating. I was shooting one once and it leapt onto my cheek. I screamed and flailed, and I don't think Mrs. V. has stopped laughing from that one either.