Crickets of Carlsbad Cavern

I am sharing here the first post I made for the official Carlsbad Caverns National Park Facebook page:

Of three species of cave crickets found in Carlsbad Cavern, Ceuthophilus longipes is the most adapted to cave life. It has pale coloration, long slender legs and body, and long antennae. A second species, Ceuthophilus carlsbadensis, shows fewer adaptations, and spends more time in areas close to the Underground Lunchroom, where crumbs are abundant. The crickets also eat natural foods such as bat guano and plant debris washed in by floods. The Ceuthophilus carlsbadensis also likes to eat Ceuthophilus longipes! Ceuthophilus conicadus, the third species of cricket, is in between the other two in its level of cave adaptation. It is less common in Carlsbad Cavern, but abundant in the nearby Spider Cave.

NPS/Ross Studlar

#CarlsbadCaverns #NationalPark #FindYourPark #EncuentraTuParque #NPS101



I wrote and drew this specific post about cave crickets on work time for the U.S. government (mostly), therefore it is in the public domain.

Caves and Waterfalls

Back in October, I finished my seasonal ranger job at Yellowstone and began a permanent ranger job at Carlsbad Caverns. The caves and deserts have their wonders, but I am a forest dweller at heart. I hope to return to the Blue Ridge Mountains when possible.

In my civilian identity, I continue to work on drawing the comics story about Komodo dragons (written by Bissette) for Awesome 'Possum 4. It has been a long and grueling quest, but the end is in sight.

I'll share a picture from Yellowstone (2015), taken by a multi-talented friend. Her friend suggested that I use this as my author's portrait for some book that I will write. It seems like a good idea.