Great Grig

Wow! what a cricket I found today. He was HUGE and it's definitely a he, as the she crickets have no wings. Very little info on this guy that I can find, except that they are uncommon.

comments (6)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Hump-winged...what does that mean exactly. A beautiful find, quite a funny one as well! Posted 10 years ago
1. morpheme
  
  Lion
  
  I've found a little bit more about this fascinating cricket - it is a very small family consisting of only 5 species known species, 3 of which are here in the Pacific NW. It has been called a living fossil and has changed little since the time that dinosaurs roamed the earth. There is a second species called Buckell's Grig (same guy as the grasshoppers) that is very similar, but Mt. Rainier does not appear to fall into the area where their ranges overlap, so I should be able to be sure that this particular grig is a Great Grig. The wings, I believe, are vestigial and only the males have them… until they mate… then the female chews them off! Posted 10 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    Chewing wings off, the cricket equivalent of marriage? Posted 10 years ago
  2. 1. WildFlower
      
      Lion
      
      You should read the info I have entered for the species, it is described in details... Posted 10 years ago
    2. 1. Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        That's really interesting: " making the male an active and invested participant in parenthood."
        
        So it indeed looks like some kind of attachment mechanism, which I jokingly called marriage, yet as a counter measure, the males have found a way to still lure new females and lock them, even once their wings are gone. Posted 10 years ago

morpheme

Lion

Awesome - I love this. last week if you'd asked me if I knew what a Great Grig was I'd have guessed maybe a Scottish Chieftan? Now I know about a crazy cricket that's been wandering around since pre-history that has a weird name and even weirder mating habits and I may not have ever been inspired to research the critter if not for posting here. Many thanks for making this resource possible. Posted 10 years ago