Grylloblatta chirurgica

Description:

Description: English: Grylloblatta chirurgica Gurney, 1961 (also called Mt. St. Helens Grylloblatid). (non-positive ID, based on found location (Ape Cave) and general appearance). Other very similar looking sub-species is Grylloblatta siskiyouensis (documented in caves in Oregon). Grylloblatids (sometimes described as cockroach-cricket and also known as Ice-walkers or Rock-crawlers), spend most of their time in caves, or other dark cool places. In Mt. St. Helen's Ape Cave (lava tube), one of their food sources are fungus fly larvae. The larvae eat the cave slime (algae-bacteria on the walls) and the grylloblatids eat the larvae. The grylloblatids are also known to come out of the caves in winter and early spring to feed on insects numbed by the cold. (volcano.oregonstate.edu/oldroot/volcanoes/msh/ov/ovb/ovba.. ). Date: 29 September 2016, 12:36:40. Source: Flickr: IMGP3117-srgb. Author: Guy Courtemanche.