Oops, they are toxic...

I did a little more info gathering on my six-legged sky prawns. Turns out

they are Southeastern Lubber Grasshoppers (Romalea microptera).

 

"large, lethargic grasshopper that cannot fly, it has powerful legs armed

with short spines. Aposematically colored due to it's toxicity (enough to

make a raccoon sick) they feed on many different herbaceous plants. Their

prefered habitat is pinewoods, weedy fields and the tangled vegetation

along roadsides but they often invade gardens and yards. They can be found

from central North Carolina to Florida and west through Georgia, Alabama,

southern Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas. These

grasshoppers occur throughout the year in Florida. In the cooler parts of

their range they have one generation per year, with eggs beginning to

hatch in late February, and populations increasing in March. There are

five instars, each lasting seven to ten days (after these five stages the

nymph is considered an adult). Nymphs are dark brown and in the melanistic

southern form, the adults are as well. The highest number of adults can be

observed in July and August during which time many eggs are laid in soft

soil. Adults are active until winter."

 

Apparently I shouldn't have eaten them. Oh well. Sometimes being an

adventurer means eating the wrong thing...

Done