Cock Hoppers

Flores lies across the Wallace Line, meaning that the island’s topography, flora and fauna is more similar to Australia than the rest of Asia. However there are no kangaroos here, no large mammals at all in fact. In some of the lower lying areas there are monkeys, but up here in chilly old Ruteng the most exotic mammal you see is the odd stray dog (but someone’ll catch it & eat it soon!).

Technically then I guess the scary killer bugs of Australia should also be present in Flores, but I think (hope) that the altitude of Ruteng means that it is too cold for anything too nasty, I certainly haven’t been warned about any particular insects. However, I must admit that regardless of how dangerous they are, if they’ve got more than four legs I am not keen. On the whole I am coping well (& the spiders can be mighty big!) but my least favourite is an insect that Zoe and I have named ourselves. They look like a cross between a grasshopper & a cockroach, therefore if you come to Flores beware of the giant cockhoppers!

cockroach

grasshopper

cockhopper!