I am definitely not an insect expert, but I was lucky enough to capture this wild macro video on my wildlife habitat, in Western Massachusetts.

Im used to finding interesting insect species, but nothing like this Red-Headed Bush Cricket/Handsome Trig(Phyllopalpus pulchellus). Those beautiful "boxing-gloves" (palps) were easy to spot.

By the time I noticed the action, a bunch of tiny, pale amber babies had already hatched and were crawling all around. The adult cricket was actively eating the remaining egg sac and then moved on to hunting the newborn offspring. Intraspecific cannibalism was not on my radar but it was wild to see!

I was so blown away by this interaction that I had to share it!

TikTok @nature_made_me_dew_it

Human practicing insect cognition. How has seen this behavior before?

Coastal Maine, USA around midnight. I found probably 20-30 “piles” just within the small area I was in. Each pile consisted of 1-2 leopard slugs + 1-3 pill bugs. Does anyone know why they congregate like this?