Big black bugs crawling across road

wnjj wrote:

JimR 1 wrote:
It is Mormon Crickets

JimR

Yep. https://agri.nv.gov/News/2019/Mormon_cricket_populations_continue_to_rise/

Could be, especially since they singled out Austin as a hot spot. I googled the cricket and someone was holding a big black one in their hand which was about the right size. There weren't near as many on the road as in the link. They were all crawling, the crickets look like hoppers.

Yep. Migrating tarantulas. We were up in Ojai to attend a wedding when this happened. People pulled over in awe, wondering what they should do. I told my wife to cover her ears and started driving through. As they release their air, it sounds like they are screaming.

JimR 1 wrote:
It is Mormon Crickets

JimR

Yep. https://agri.nv.gov/News/2019/Mormon_cricket_populations_continue_to_rise/

It is Mormon Crickets

JimR

so much for camping in a tent or on the ground under a shade shelter even if it has a net.

I think you may be right about the tarantulas. Never figured they could be spiders. I checked youtube and they were happy to find just a few spiders on the tarantula migration. I'm talking about thousands for miles. They were all walking in the same direction, not random. I initially thought they might be dark Jerusalem Crickets but these were definitely black. I was going to check them out if there was a turnout. Good thing there wasn't, might have creeped us out!

OK... it begs the question:

Why did the tarantula cross the road?
(It was following the chicken...LOL)

Tarantula walkabout,males looking for mates? I have seen the same thing in Mew Mexico this time of year.