[boop]

In New Mexico I’ve heard they have giant bugs called “children of the Earth”. I don’t know if they are legendary, or real.

[stormer]

Jerusalem cricket - some people call them potato bugs, but they don't look like any potato bug I've ever seen. They've got them in Eastern Washington where I grew up - I HATE those things.

[TigersEye]

The Jerusalem Cricket is not the real Child of the Earth. The real thing is an arachnid. They are reputed to make a noise that sounds like a crying baby but this website makes no mention of that. Some people in NM are deathly afraid of them. One of my neighbors, when I lived in SW NM, picked up a cinder block and there were two of them living under it in the dirt. He freaked out completely. I didn't hear them make any noise though.

Child of the Earth

[Redcitizen]

They are real here in NM. Also called jerusalem crickets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_cricket