This is a female. The pointed appendage at the rear is stuck in the ground to lay eggs, which may take decades to hatch. Under the right environmental conditions, literally millions of the crickets can hatch and begin their march devouring everything in their path-- including each other. Anyway, the lady had lived in and around Mountain City all her life and remembered the last time the crickets had marched in these numbers in 1934. Deciding to leave and continue down the road, the lady followed us out with a broom. "Enjoy the rest of your trip," she said sincerely as she swept the front porch of the visitor center.
Lest I say more about Mormon Crickets, you might be interested in an article I found online from the Las Vegas Sun...
Nevada: Mormon Crickets 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 || Lovelock
Montana | Idaho | Washington | Oregon | Nevada | California
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