Evil Beastie Come to Terrorize Me!
 

I don't know what it is, other than it is icky, and that it is a bug. And it is perched right next to my patio door. Above my head. Read to rain destruction upon all it surveys. Especially me.

Is the back end flat or bulbous?

It's one of these, I think.

You can catch it with cat food, IIRC

Looks like a mantis that's seen better days.

Oh ewwwwwww. Is it as big as it looks? I need scale. Put your hand or something next to it.

I was thinking of these bugs that were all over the outside of the dorm buildings my freshman year of college, never knew what they were...there were even comics of them in the college paper. After that first year, I never saw one again.

But that looks too "meaty."

shudder

Don't take any chances. Shoot it and ask questions later.

I was just frightened on the porch as well. It just turned out to be a children of the earth bug. But really it looked like a bee on steroids without wings, and was spider-like. Who wouldn't be scared of a bee spider? :)

Flat.

The image is fairly close to actual size, thus my horror at discovering it.

I would NOT get my hand close enough to it to show scale. What if it tried to eat me?

Definitely not a mantis. I like those guys.

It is no longer on my porch. I gently encouraged it to go elsewhere.

With a broom.

Flat!

Get OUT!

GET OUT NOW!

disGUSting!

Okay, so nowhere near as frightening as yours, wolf. But this thread did prompt me to investigate the larger than (English) average creature on my ceiling.

It's been making Diz chitter for the last two nights - he is far more absorbed by insects than birds - he loses interest in birds in seconds, but will fixate on a moth or spider for nearly an hour.

As I went hunting it with my camera I found it on the blinds. I still wasn't sure what it was, but zoom photography suggests it is some sort of cricket? I'm still unsure - I thought they were brown? It was about the length of two joints of my little finger.

Amyway, it was cute enough for me to capture and release outside. Good luck to it.

Yep - its a cricket
http://www.israelity.com/wp-content/...10/cricket.jpg

You know what I find fascinating?

Look at the cricket photos, and now imagine that that thing is black. Does that suddenly make it horrifying? It does for me. There's something deeply psychological about the color green that makes it not gross and scary.

I thought you said "imagine that that thing is on your back."

I did. Inside my shirt, down where I couldn't reach it from any angle.

Rubbing its antennae against my scapula.

Oh, black. That's not so bad.

Grasshopper... probably Buddhist.