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Stenopelmatus nieti
A huge, all black and shiny Jerusalem Cricket, 5 cm in length, probably a female (see 2nd picture). The antennae, palpi and tarsi are all an orange-red color. These are burrowing insects, with all the tibiae having long spines for digging. They feed on roots, tubers, dead organic material and possibly other insects. Family Stenopelmatidae.
This one came down from the forest onto the beginning of a paved street at night. Semi-rural residential area, San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico 2,200 meters.
They are not crickets and not from Jerusalem. All are flightless. The Stenopelmatidae are found in the New World, especially North America and Mexico. There are very few observations of Stenopelmatus nieti, one from Jalisco, one from Coahuila, another from Puebla and one from Tamaulipas Mexico. A similar but different black one has been reported from Guatemala. http://bdi.conabio.gob.mx/fotoweb/archiv... http://bdi.conabio.gob.mx/fotoweb/archiv... http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/128... https://www.reddit.com/r/whatsthisbug/co... (without the reddish antennae and tarsi) https://www.biolib.cz/en/image/id76083/ (from Guatemala).
Spotted on Oct 31, 2018
Submitted on Nov 2, 2018
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