Mormon Cricket vs Rapa Nui Cricket

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Mormon Cricket Rapa Nui Cricket
Scientific Name Anabrus simplex Paratrigonidium rapanui
Order Orthoptera Orthoptera
Family Tettigoniidae Trigonidiidae
Size 30-50 mm 0.5-1 cm
Habitat Mountains Underground
Diet Carrion Feeders Detritivores
Regions North America Chile
Conservation Least Concern Critically Endangered

Mormon Cricket

A large, flightless shield-backed katydid native to western North America. Despite its name it is not a true cricket but rather a katydid.

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Did You Know?

In 1848 a massive Mormon cricket outbreak threatened settler crops in Utah until flocks of California gulls arrived and devoured them, an event celebrated as the Miracle of the Gulls.

Rapa Nui Cricket

A tiny ground cricket endemic to Easter Island (Rapa Nui). It lives in leaf litter and stone crevices on this remote Pacific island.

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Did You Know?

Easter Island has very few native insects, making each endemic species extremely significant for conservation.