Thursday night I used the kitchen table as a work area while finishing up the Balron_40h release to the Monome community.

One of the cats I live with, the intrepid bug hunter Snobe, kept stealthing into the pantry a few feet to my left.

Stalking another dustball, I would think, leaning into the pantry to find him staring at the air. Being a recovering feral, Snobe would quickly scoot out, temporarily fearing for his life.

On the fourth or fifth recurrence there was the sound of a tussle as Snobe was obviously trying to get at something in the closet. Stepping in, Snobe jumping out to hang behind me and peer around my legs, I was rewarded with the sight of the biggest, most interesting cricket-like creature I've ever seen:

Snobe had obviously met his match: that's a US quarter dollar in the pic for size comparison. This not-so-wee beastie measured over 6 centimeters (2.5 inches) including leg span.

I think this Jerusalem Cricket rode into the food shelves with a sack of organic potatoes. We hung out for about an hour while I got a feel for the behaviors of a creature I'd not met before. Native to the Pacific Coast, I'd like to know how it acquired the Jerusalem in its name. While I like the Spanish moniker of niño de la tierra - child of the earth, my favorite of its common names is the old bald-headed man.

After journeying with potatoes, repeatedly fighting off a pocket lion, being rescued then imprisoned by a strange-looking primate, I imagine it was quite relieved to be released into the shrubbery at the edge of the house.

The University of Nevada has an interesting PDF Factsheet on the Jerusalem Cricket available, and there's a great Science Now page on the California Academy of Sciences site.