# What kind of bug is this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 11, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153 "2010-03-11T20:32:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mazinger\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@mazinger\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazinger_z)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153/1 "2010-03-11T20:32:36Z")
i got totally freaked out this morning by seeing this 1/2 inch long bug on my kitchen counter. It looked like a mini-lobster with its rear pair of legs being the longest. It was also lobster colored (pre-boiled). It also has like a red W or red triangles in a W shape on the back. Does this sound like anything to anybody? ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153/2 "2010-03-11T20:49:38Z")
Was it shiny? Did it have noticeable antennae? Would you say it was a beetle? Did it move? Was its back/body flat and parallel to the table? Looked like a lobster in what way? Pincers? Same color as a lobster in what way? Green? Brown? A little help might go a long way here. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153/3 "2010-03-11T20:49:56Z")
[Box elder bug?](http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=box+elder+bug&btnG=Search&start=0) ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153/4 "2010-03-11T20:51:55Z")
Was it a [silverfish](http://www.forumgarden.com/forums/attachments/general-chit-chat/13375d1172174410-orrible-tiny-bugs-im-my-house-silverfish.jpg)? What about a [centipede](http://www.beaumontpc.net/images/pests/centipede/centipede.jpg)? Though I don’t know if they come in half inch varieties. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153/5 "2010-03-11T20:58:14Z")
Young [mole cricket](http://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.asp?identification=Northern-Mole-Cricket)? ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153/6 "2010-03-11T21:02:24Z")
Probably not the bug you were accosted by, but was it a [jerusalem cricket](http://www.imnotdrunk.com/images/jerusalem-cricket.jpg). I mostly wanted to link to a picture of said crickets because they get fucking huge and I am pretty sure they are not of this planet. ---
**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:** [March 11, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153/7 "2010-03-11T21:47:37Z")
Some pics of Jerusalem crickets make them look like children’s toys: big, shiny dark eyes, a head that looks like it was made out of lacquered wood … Other pics, not so cute. I thought the OP was talking about a centipede or a silverfish, too, except for the red triangle part. I have no idea what that would indicate. ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153/8 "2010-03-11T23:46:08Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Some pics of Jerusalem crickets make them look like children’s toys: big, shiny dark eyes, a head that looks like it was made out of lacquered wood … > > Other pics, not so cute. > > I thought the OP was talking about a centipede or a silverfish, too, except for the red triangle part. I have no idea what that would indicate. They used to call those “baby heads”. I wonder where the OP is located? That could help narrow it down. I initially thought of a “vinegaroon”, but they said it was 1/2 inch–so a vinegaroon would be much bigger (unless it was a baby). ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153/9 "2010-03-11T23:54:10Z")
We’re getting little to go on, here. I propose that in the absence of any legitimate information, we make up some shit. In my estimation, the “bug” you observed was probably an _Eliglaphoreisis hemeronesis_. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153/10 "2010-03-11T23:58:44Z")
> [@CC](#): > > We’re getting little to go on, here. I propose that in the absence of any legitimate information, we make up some shit. In my estimation, the “bug” you observed was probably an _Eliglaphoreisis hemeronesis_. But I never saw an _Eliglaphoreisis hemeronesis_ with a “red W” on its back. “Red M” would be more accurate. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153/11 "2010-03-12T00:03:59Z")
[Giant beetle](http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1930000/images/_1933375_beetle1_300.jpg), a.k.a. “holy shit bug”? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153/12 "2010-03-12T00:52:20Z")
I’m guessing it’s a [pseudo-scorpion](http://bit.ly/aUy9QF). ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153/13 "2010-03-12T01:15:29Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I’m guessing it’s a [pseudo-scorpion](http://bit.ly/aUy9QF). “red W or red triangles in a W shape”? “rear pair of legs being the longest”? Nah. Doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153/14 "2010-03-12T01:15:32Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I’m guessing it’s a [pseudo-scorpion](http://bit.ly/aUy9QF). Jesus christ! Oh wait, look how [small](http://climate.uvic.ca/people/ewiebe/photos/pseudoscorpion.lrg.jpeg) it is. Awwww. 🙂 I still maintain that [jerusalem](http://www.angelfire.com/oh3/elytraandantenna/USInsects/images/Sfuscus.jpg) [crickets](http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/images/big-yellowblack-striped-body-red-head-6-legs-los-angeles-ca-21115099.jpg) are extraterrestial beings. I mean we all know [this thing’s](http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1930000/images/_1933375_beetle1_300.jpg) horn is for defense and engaging in combat with other beetles. Now look at the JCricket, no visible means of defense against huge enemies like humans. Only those large innocent-looking spring powered rear legs. You know what those are for right? [**JUMPING AT YOUR FACE!!!**](http://www.stanford.edu/~siegelr/dish/potatobug11-23-06.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153/15 "2010-03-12T15:19:01Z")
[Earwig](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earwig)? ---
**Author:** ![mazinger\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@mazinger\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazinger_z)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153/16 "2010-03-12T19:31:43Z")
My question has been answered in the **Qadop’s** bug thread. Special thanks to **mozchron** and **Palooka**. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153/17 "2010-03-12T19:45:34Z")
For those of us who were mildly curious, maybe you could provide a link? And do you mean **Qadgop the Mercotan**? He’s our local faith healer. What did he have to say about your little friend? Where’s his thread? ---
**Author:** ![mazinger\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@mazinger\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazinger_z)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153/18 "2010-03-12T20:02:18Z")
Sorry, it’s post 16 in this [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=555547) that I was referring to. Thanks everyone, and you too. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bug-is-this/532153/19 "2010-03-12T23:36:19Z")
That’s weird. I answered Qadgop’s question in this thread, and they answered your question in his thread. Wacky.