Saturday 1 October 2016

Insect Mini-Series - ARMOURED GROUND CRICKET

It had been an exceptionally busy night, spent in the company of a virgin.

He had gone in search of a mate the previous evening, working hard to attract female attention by rubbing his wings together – or stridulating if you want to get technical.

He rejected several plump females who responded to his calls, for the wily Armoured Ground Cricket knew that virgin crickets were slender little beauties. 

Morocco
Why a preference for a virgin? Because a first timer will mate once and lay her eggs, whereas the old pros mate and lay their eggs randomly. By sticking to the svelte virgins, he knew that a higher proportion of her offspring would be his.

When a slim young thing eventually turned up, he stridulated ardently and offered her his nuptial gift of a food sack together with his sperm pouch. She proved receptive and he carefully attached the spermatophore close to her genital opening. Job done.

However, having lost around 20% of his body weight, he needed to replenish his energy levels. It was sunrise. He staggered off in search of a meal. His appetite was eclectic, but he was partial to bird nestlings and headed across the desert scrub towards some likely looking shrubs.

In his weakened state, progress was slow, making him vulnerable. At almost 3 inches long, detection by predators was difficult to avoid. 

Gecko, Morocco
When the gecko attacked and grabbed him, the cricket mobilised his defences and autohaemorrhaged, squirting pale green, acrid smelling blood into the gecko’s face. The predator immediately dropped him and scurried off in disgust.

The cricket climbed wearily onto a black rubber car tyre, perhaps in a bid to camouflage itself.

Armoured Ground Cricket, Morocco


When the humans began to show an interest in him, he watched and waited. He didn’t have it in him to autohaemorrhage again, but if that finger moved any closer he would unleash his final defence mechanism and vomit up his last meal all over it.




I hope you enjoyed this latest offering - do leave a comment me. See you in a couple of weeks.



22 comments:

  1. And they say romance is dead?

    Has Stephen King seen this?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He he - King would probably have wanted me to concentrate on their cannibalistic habits! :)

      Delete
  2. And they say romance is dead?

    Has Stephen King seen this?

    ReplyDelete
  3. A three-inch cricket? Sounds a bit large. No wonder the gecko spotted him.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes, they're big fellas - that's why I persuaded my husband to place his finger nearby... for perspective. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am so enamoured with his tale... puking and violating virgins... how charming! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What can I say? That's the insect world for you, AJ. :)

      Delete
  6. Goodness! be still my heart--what a romantic hero.

    ReplyDelete
  7. His strategy is working well - I have no desire to give him a prod.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, nor did I, Patsy - and I have to say, my husband wasn't impressed with my idea of him putting his finger close to the beastie!

      Delete
  8. Talk about some off putting defense strategies! Love the way you share so much information in this story telling format.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks, Sue. I didn't know I'd have so much fun with all my random insect photos! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I can't wait for chapter two! If only my school text books were written in your style - informative and entertaining.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Keith. It's always much more fun to include facts in story form! :)

      Delete
  11. Autohaemorrhaging? Now there's a unique way to discourage unwanted attention. I wonder if it works tax collectors and door-to-door salespeople.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Well, you shouldn't have an issue with accidentally stepping on him! Although I (think?) I prefer a three inch cricket over a three inch spider!

    ReplyDelete
  13. No, he'd be a hard one to miss, Tracy - and I absolutely agree with you - I'd much prefer bumping into him over that Huntsman Spider I blogged about! :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Just like a man...screw, look for food and want to sleep. Surprised he doesn't carry a cigarette to smoke:)

    ReplyDelete

Many thanks for commenting. I appreciate your feedback.