Devil Horse, Southeastern Lubber (Romalea guttata)

Order: Orthoptera (or-THOP-ter-a) (Info) Family: Romaleidae Genus: Romalea Species: guttata Profile: No positives 3 neutrals 6 negatives Regional... This bug has been reportedly found in the following regions: Verbena, Alabama Alford, Florida Anthony, Florida Atlantic Beach, Florida Cape Coral, Florida Fort Pierce, Florida Jacksonville, Florida (2 reports) Jupiter, Florida Lutz, Florida Ocala, Florida Oldsmar, Florida Plant City, Florida Titusville, Florida Belle Chasse, Louisiana Holden, Louisiana Mandeville, Louisiana Prairieville, Louisiana Thibodaux, Louisiana Magnolia, Mississippi Waynesboro, Mississippi Sardis, Tennessee Member Notes: Rating Author Comment Neutral justmeLisa On Jul 30, 2006, justmeLisa from Brewers, KY (Zone 6b) wrote: These grasshoppers will travel in huge swarms in the swamps. However, by the time they make it to your gardens they are usually traveling in very small numbers. They can be eaisly removed due to their size. The females can be up to 6 inches long. The males are much smaller. They produce an unpleasant smell by opening up their wings and make hissing noises when disturbed. One must remove them with care! Negative NematanthusNut On Aug 2, 2006, NematanthusNut from Mandeville, LA (Zone 9a) wrote: These things appear every year about this time and will absolutely eat your whole garden in no time. I killed three on my front porch this morning. When confronted they rare up and stand their ground rather than flee. Creepy, scarey, destructive monster bug! Negative DonnaA2Z On Aug 2, 2006, DonnaA2Z from Jacksonville, FL (Zone 9a) wrote: I hate these things.... ever since I was a kid they have scared me to death. "The Giant Grasshopper" is what my brother and I use to call them. This is one critter I make my husband chase down and kill. Negative jlm8109 On Aug 10, 2006, jlm8109 from Ocala, FL wrote: The Lubber nymphs hatch around May here. Rid them while they are small. The adult can wipe out the leaves of a crinum lily over night and are extremely hard to kill. Insecticides don't seem to touch these giants. I have had to resort to a large stick! Neutral Two_and_a_cat On May 18, 2007, Two_and_a_cat from Titusville, FL wrote: We live in a peaceful co-existance with these guys. We have a superabundance of anoles (many species) and they eat the young ones. Even though in April/May we see lots of the small ones, we never see more than a handful of the big uns in summer. I guess the anoles are pretty effective! Neutral Windy On Sep 30, 2008, Windy from Belleville , IL (Zone 6b) wrote: Cats also help keep the population in check. When I had cats living outdoors these were one of their favorites. Negative chubbydoll On Oct 26, 2008, chubbydoll from Jacksonville, FL wrote: The only thing that will kill these suckers is BLUNT FORCE TRAMA....REPEATEDLY!! They are demon spawn!! Negative herb_lady On Apr 5, 2009, herb_lady from Jacksonville, FL wrote: Yes, these are agressive & ravenous creatures. They return every year in early April & spread through my garden. The local nursery attendant said that they actually release a pheromone if you kill them when they're older that attracts more of them. If anyone knows of an organic method of control (aside from stomping on them while cursing at them when they're small), I would be happy to hear of it! Negative themoonhowl On Jul 3, 2009, themoonhowl from Prairieville, LA (Zone 9a) wrote: These critters will not only devour crinums, but also do damage to agapanthus and daylillies. When ever we find a hatching, we use wasp and hornet spray on them. Since their breathing aparatus is in their rear end, for the large ones you have to spray from behind them. A trivia note: at one time these critters were collected and their chiton was used to make cough syrup.

By justmeLisa By NematanthusNut By NematanthusNut By DonnaA2Z By Floridian By GSkinner By Two_and_a_cat There are a total of 13 photos. Click here to view them all!