Handsome Trig

Image: cotinis
Phyllopalpus pulchellus

Look at this handsome devil! Have you ever seen such colours? Such powerful, toned legs? Such a large, well-fashioned moustache?

I wonder if they wear one of those moustache guards when they sleep?

Image: Benny Mazur

Handsome Trigs get their name from two attributes. One: they're gorgeous to look at! Two: they're crickets who belong to a subfamily called Trigonidiinae.

They're also known as Red-headed Bush Crickets for exactly the same sort of reasons.

Image: Sara Eguren

Handsome Trigs are less than 1 centimetre (0.4 in) long but they still catch the eye with their fabulous colours. This is not your usual, drab cricket hidden in dark places and creeping in the night, heard but not seen.

Video: nyjastul696

Handsome Trigs are keen to show off their good looks. In many of the easterly states of the U.S. they can be seen scampering around among the foliage of trees and shrubs in broad daylight. They're looking for food, and I hope they have some good utensils to let them eat without getting their moustache dirty.

Image: oliver.dodd

But what is that moustache, really?

It's actually part of their mouthparts! Not biting, chewing mandibles, but hugely enlarged palps. Pretty much all insects have a couple pairs of palps next to their jaws. They're sensitive to touch, presumably to help them decide whether they really want to eat whatever it is that's near their mouth.

Image: cotinis

Very few insects have such gigantically enlarged palps as the Handsome Trig! As these crickets wander around, their long antennae and giant palps are constantly on the move. Up and down, up and down as they sniff out their surroundings. Some people suggest that it might serve as a disguise. Perhaps it makes them look like a spider, a bombardier beetle or some other more dangerous creature.

Females have these palps, too. In fact, males and females are almost identical. Almost.

Image: Hope Abrams

Males have specially modified wings which they use to sing.

Video: GeaugaParkDistrict

When they want to attract a female, they lift their wings right up and rub them against each other to create their high-pitched, rasping song. Or "din", depending on taste.

Image: cotinis

Females on the other hand are armed with what looks like a giant sting. It's actually what's known as an ovipositor and they use it to lay their eggs.

Image: Jim, the Photographer

When the eggs hatch, the nymphs are a bit underwhelming. They're pretty much black with pale legs. Where's the red head? At least they still have their moustache. You're never too young for a good moustache.