UPDATE, see below.
I was out in the desert the past two days hunting crystals and opals. While picking up a large opal infused rock I came across this weird looking bug under it. Not that all bugs aren't weird looking, but this one was in a league of it's own.
The disc on it's back, or head, was like something I had never seen before. To me it seemed almost as a warning to leave it alone.
I think it belongs to the grasshopper species because of it's large, hind legs. I don't know much about bugs though so I really have no idea.
UPDATE: Thanks to @stortebeker I looked into crickets. This is a Mormon cricket, which isn't really a cricket. >Despite its name, the Mormon cricket is actually a shieldbacked katydid, not a cricket. > source - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_cricket
I'm wishing now I would have taken some better pictures of it, but I was hot on the opal trail and couldn't deviate from my hunt. You can see some opal in the top, left in the photo below.
Does anyone know what this bug is?
Opal hunting went great if you were wondering. I found some amazing pieces.
Thanks for reading!