# What is this creature crawling on my utility meter at 5:00 this morning? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 5, 2023, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100 "2023-08-05T12:30:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/1 "2023-08-05T12:30:41Z")
Captured on my WYZE camera, which is positioned at the side of my house. Unfortunately it’s B&W footage. If it’s a bug, it’s a BIG one. 😮 [VIDEO](https://i.imgur.com/wfaJmkr.mp4) ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/2 "2023-08-05T12:36:31Z")
Gaa!!! Kill it with fire lol ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/3 "2023-08-05T13:15:38Z")
I think that’s what we in Fl would call a potato bug or a Jerusalem cricket. Ain’t never seen one in Michigan. > **[Jerusalem cricket](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_cricket)** > > Jerusalem crickets (or potato bugs) are a group of large, flightless insects in the genera Ammopelmatus and Stenopelmatus, together comprising the tribe Stenopelmatini. The former genus is native to the western United States and parts of Mexico, while the latter genus is from Central America. > Despite their common names, these insects are neither true crickets (which belong to the family Gryllidae) nor true bugs (which belong to the order Hemiptera), nor are they native to Jerusalem. These noct... ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/4 "2023-08-05T13:42:35Z")
On first glance thought [mole cricket](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_cricket), but the two species do look a lot alike. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/5 "2023-08-05T14:01:06Z")
The creature looks so _flat_ – not like a rounded bug with a shell. And the head (or at least the front end) is as wide as the rest of the body. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/6 "2023-08-05T14:01:28Z")
Fear the Gryllotalpidae! ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/7 "2023-08-05T14:08:43Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > If it’s a bug, it’s a BIG one. Do you mind sharing the location? Just the state (and maybe region if it’s someplace big like TX) would help. If that’s already been posted, I apologize. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/8 "2023-08-05T14:12:36Z")
If you click on her username, you can see if she has listed it in her profile. She is showing South Texas ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/9 "2023-08-05T14:46:28Z")
I don’t know what it is, but it doesn’t look like any kind of cricket; even a potato bug. A cricket’s back “knees” would protrude well above it’s body. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/10 "2023-08-05T14:53:11Z")
Maybe Ted Cruz out taking a morning unconstitutional. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/11 "2023-08-05T14:57:41Z")
It is not a Jerusalem Cricket. That’s all I know. Might it be a Kissing Bug, which I’ve never seen in real life but comes up on a google search ‘large flat bugs Texas’? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/12 "2023-08-05T15:07:16Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Do you mind sharing the location? Just the state (and maybe region if it’s someplace big like TX) would help. As @What_Exit said, I’m in South Texas. This is a very old inner city neighborhood with homes built (on my street anyway) in the 1920s. > [@Ulfreida](#): > > Might it be a Kissing Bug, which I’ve never seen in real life… I’ve seen a lot of kissing bugs, but none this big (thank God). They’re usually less than an inch long. [Also from this picture (WARNING\_ BIG BUG PIC!)](https://i0.wp.com/cdn-prod.medicalnewstoday.com/content/images/articles/327/327250/a-kissing-bug-on-some-skin-image-credit-glenn-seplak-2007.jpg?w=1155&h=1444) the kissing bug tapers up toward its head. It DOES resemble the kissing bug, however. Geez, I hope it never comes in the house! ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/13 "2023-08-05T18:40:42Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > [Also from this picture (WARNING\_ BIG BUG PIC!)](https://i0.wp.com/cdn-prod.medicalnewstoday.com/content/images/articles/327/327250/a-kissing-bug-on-some-skin-image-credit-glenn-seplak-2007.jpg?w=1155&h=1444) Sweet Jeebus, is that on someone’s _skin_? Tripler In this order: 1) Flick it off, 2) _Then_ photograph. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/14 "2023-08-05T23:02:29Z")
Looks like what we called a “sowbug” or “pillbug” in my Southern California days. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/15 "2023-08-05T23:21:37Z")
We have those here, too. See picture on this page (not gross). But when curled up, they are about the size of a pea. > **[Pill Bugs & Sow Bugs](https://fairfaxgardening.org/pill-bugs-sow-bugs/)** > > Sow Bugs and Pill Bugs > By Helen Hollingsworth, Fairfax Master Gardener > The common sow bug has many regional names in the United States, including armadillo bug, hog-louse, pill bug, potato bug, roll-up bug and the all-time favorite, roly-poly. They... ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/16 "2023-08-05T23:39:35Z")
I think that is a cockroach. Probably an immature one. It looks weird because of the IR lighting. [![](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQdgEI3m4LLBBBrsKTlbFlHS93ebxlJ3YiVOw&usqp=CAU) ](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQdgEI3m4LLBBBrsKTlbFlHS93ebxlJ3YiVOw&usqp=CAU) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/17 "2023-08-06T00:13:47Z")
Nope. It’s an alien pod. 👽 I suggest moving. Tonight. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/18 "2023-08-06T01:25:34Z")
🤣 👍🏽 ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/19 "2023-08-06T03:42:36Z")
It looks like some unholy cross between a slug and an earwig. Squishy, but with antennae. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100/20 "2023-08-06T03:54:18Z")
I thought that creature looked like Plankton (from “Spongebob Squarepants”) when the green square flashed, and that’s close enough. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-creature-crawling-on-my-utility-meter-at-5-00-this-morning/988100.md?page=2)