F E E L I N G . B U G G Y
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L U B B E R . G R A S S H O P P E RThis Lubber Grasshopper was about 3-1/4 inches long. It lives in rocky or gravelly soil with sparse vegetation. I photographed it on the same building wall as the Horse Lubber Grasshopper below. |
H O R S E . L U B B E R . G R A S S H O P P E RThis Horse Lubber Grasshopper was about 2-3/4 inches long, but many I saw looked to be over three inches. They live in grasslands and woods with live oak, from Texas to Arizona and into Mexico. We had a very wet monsoon season in southern Arizona this year (1999) and these grasshoppers appeared in droves during the last days of August and into September. They dotted the roads wherever I drove, the vast majority of them crossing from west to east. The species suffered a high death toll on the highways. A few would fly across the road, using bright red wings, but most walked or hopped. Only the males have wings large enough to permit flight. |
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T U M B L E B U GThe bug at left is a tumblebug (a.k.a. dung beetle), rolling along a little piece of dung. It is about 3/4-inch long. She pushes the dung with her back legs while walking backwards on her front legs. After she rolls it for some distance, she will dig a vertical tunnel in the ground and tumble the dung inside. Then one egg will be deposited on the dung ball, then covered with dirt. This one could be male or female, as both help with tumbling the dung. |
G I A N T . W A L K I N G S T I C KThe body of this Giant Walkingstick was easily 5 inches long. This is the largest North American walkingstick. They live in woods, forests, and grasslands in the midwest, south to Texas. What this one was doing in southeastern Arizona, I don't know. Our wet monsoon season this year must have coaxed them westward. I photographed this one on the outside of a restaurant window. The railing, parked cars, and blue sky is a reflection of what is behind me. |
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All photos taken on 4 September 1999 at Pearce-Sunsites, Arizona
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