Sunday, September 02, 2007

A recent visitor


On our way out one morning we found this visitor on the floor inside the garage.

First to give an idea of scale, the body of this small gent is about 50mm (2 inches) long. Despite the fairly fearsome appearance - the manibles are visible and can give a fairly painful nip if he gets really annoyed. The earwig style "nippers" on the the rear have only one use and it is not defensive.

Say "Hi" to an ancient member of the cricket family. Native to NZ; feeds mainly on fungus and rotting wood; makes a very quiet chirrup; and smells of cinnamon during the breeding season.

Tena koe, weta.

1 comment:

T. F. Stern said...

Neat looking critter you captured with your camera. We have a strange looking fly, for lack of a better word, that's I'll try to catch with my camera. It is rather small, about the size of a common house fly; but it has extended legs with hooks that make it look more ominous.