Round Top/Sisters, September 11, 2024
I was joined by stunt dog/model/tour guide Zooey to begin my 251st consecutive month skiing.
Zooey showing her tour guide skills, model looks, and an arrastra
Zooey on Method Man Patch, our ski destination for the day
Zooey with Lake Tahoe in the background
Zooey and Stev on our first run of the day
Zooey and Stev on our second run of the day
Zooey and Stev on our third run of the day
Zooey
I saw a rather large insect on our hike out. I slid my shoe into the frame to give a size reference in this photo.
this rather large insect looked close to the size of my thumb. Can any entomologists out there confirm if this is a Mormon Cricket, Alpine Cricket, and/or a Shield-Backed Katydid?
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Stev
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Per my girlfriend Margot, an entomologist: “My guess is that’s it’s a Mormon cricket, won’t be able to accurately tell unless you look at the underside, antennae, ovipositor, and tarsuses to actually distinguish between the three species. All are in the family Tettigoniidae, which means that distinguishing between them requires very specific info like above. Based off of general geography of where these three species are found, it’s probably anabrus simplex which are native to North America and found in the sierras. Alpine crickets and sheiks backed katydids are not. The former is found in Europe primarily the alps at higher altitudes then the sierras and the latter is found on the east coast primarily.”
My analysis is that’s a darn big bug and must be a tasty snack for a lucky bird!
I just started my quest for consecutive ski months and skied under the Matterhorn yesterday. This blog and your streak has been an inspiration for me to start my own, would love to ski with you someday!
Thank you!
Way to keep at it, Stev and Zooey! I got to #360 on Thursday, and it was actually decent skiing.
Thank you!
Nice!