71 replies to this topic

[B Jenkins]

QuiteContrary, on 25 June 2012 - 03:32 AM, said:

My cousin brought home a centipede (dead in a jar) from Vietnam during the war. It sat in their dining room and I'd stare at it during meals. It was very very cool.
I keep trying to find bark scorpions here in southern Texas but haven't yet. Aren't they on trees? I'd like to collect a couple to study.
My husband got stung by a sting ray off the Atlantic US coast, on the palm of the hand. His hand was numb for  3 weeks.
Our yard is home to millions of fire ants.The fire ants seem to be the ones keeping our dog flea-free by eating the adults or larvae maybe?

Scolopendra subspinipes is a very common giant centipede in Southeast Asia with as many variations as it has locales. They are demons when it comes to aggression and have a very nasty bite.

However, this Peruvian Giant Centipede (Scolopendra gigantea) is as docile as puppy. They arent nearly the demons of Southeast Asia but deserve no less due to its venom and powerful bite.



Texas Bark Scorpions make great pets, first off they are communal but be careful, you will have second and third generations in no time. Also the Centruroides species has sexual diamorphism, as the males are smaller and their tails 1.5 times longer than their bodies. A good way to control this is keep them fairly segregated or keep a minimum of 1 female with the males.

MALE CENTRUROIDES VITTATUS (DARK MORPH):



FEMALE CENTRUROIDES FEMALE (LIGHT MORPH):


FEMALE CENTRUROIDES FEMALE (DARK MORPH, GRAVID):


They can be found under bark on trees, under rocks, and most often amongst wood litter. However, at night time they are very active and can be found  by blacklight. Oftentimes if they live around a person, one can find them crawling around outside their frontdoor or in the yard. But turning over rocks and wood litter can be dangerous for venomous snakes.

[AliveInDeath7]

Very interesting article. I would like to see the top ten most painful snake bites.

[The Unseen]

MacMathghamha, on 19 June 2012 - 01:38 AM, said:

I never heard of a Cicada Killer before, so I Googled it. My god what a beast, very scary and angry looking insect.

Actually they are among the most frendliest insect wasp there is,If you are carefull just before they crawl into there hole in the ground  and if you move slow enough you can pet them with your finger but mess with them the wrong way and zap! They are mostly found by rivers or creeks where the banks have soft sand and mud also like their name says:Cicada Killer they feed mostly on cicada's,they sting the cicada with their poison stinger and take them back to their holes they have dug and carry the cicada down into it and lay eggs on it,and when the eggs hatch they eat the cicada and when mature they morph into the Cicada Killer,Cicada's take anywhere from 7 to 14 years to hatch or come out of the ground ,funny how it takes them that long to develope and they only live one summer(FEW MONTHS) to mate and are blind or have poor eye site,they make a buzzing sound to attract mates.But in doing so they give their whereabouts and the Cicada killers find them,the circle goes on and on.

[QuiteContrary]

dside, very cool thanks
Was video from an Arachnocon (sp?).

I'm a bit of a very amateur arthropod freek. Love collecting and drawing and studying them. Then let them go.

[QuiteContrary]

The Unseen, on 25 June 2012 - 09:47 PM, said:

Actually they are among the most frendliest insect wasp there is,If you are carefull just before they crawl into there hole in the ground  and if you move slow enough you can pet them with your finger but mess with them the wrong way and zap! They are mostly found by rivers or creeks where the banks have soft sand and mud also like their name says:Cicada Killer they feed mostly on cicada's,they sting the cicada with their poison stinger and take them back to their holes they have dug and carry the cicada down into it and lay eggs on it,and when the eggs hatch they eat the cicada and when mature they morph into the Cicada Killer,Cicada's take anywhere from 7 to 14 years to hatch or come out of the ground ,funny how it takes them that long to develope and they only live one summer(FEW MONTHS) to mate and are blind or have poor eye site,they make a buzzing sound to attract mates.But in doing so they give their whereabouts and the Cicada killers find them,the circle goes on and on.

I got to watch one struggling on a picnic table one day to pick up its cicada. It kept dropping it. Bit heavier than she figured I guess. But she finally got airborne took a slight dip as she left the table and off she went. Love that kind of stuff.

[The Unseen]

If anyone wants too I can show you where they are,If you live anywhere in the Dallas area I will be more than happy to show anyone where and how to catch them.Just saying.

[The Unseen]

QuiteContrary, on 25 June 2012 - 09:55 PM, said:

I got to watch one struggling on a picnic table one day to pick up its cicada. It kept dropping it. Bit heavier than she figured I guess. But she finally got airborne took a slight dip as she left the table and off she went. Love that kind of stuff.

Incredable arnt they.Have you ever seen one on the hunt? Kinda gives me the willies and brings back memories of my service in the millitary: They are like an Apachey Heliocopter geting ready to fire hellfire missles on the enemy.they are big and you can hear them when they are on the hunt,YIKES.

Edited by The Unseen, 25 June 2012 - 10:07 PM.

[B Jenkins]

QuiteContrary, on 25 June 2012 - 09:50 PM, said:

dside, very cool thanks
Was video from an Arachnocon (sp?).

I'm a bit of a very amateur arthropod freek. Love collecting and drawing and studying them. Then let them go.

You're welcome, btw, do you see these scorpions any where in the vicinity where you live? They should be easy pickings at night.

The pregnant females are easy to identify for their swollen abdomens and if you look very closely at the pleural membrane with a gravid female one will be able to see the white oval shaped embryos through the transluscent pleural membrane.

Here is the pleural membrane of gravid scorpion (do you see the white embryos in the pic below):

[QuiteContrary]

The Unseen, on 25 June 2012 - 10:03 PM, said:

Incredable arnt they.Have you ever seen one on the hunt?

Not yet, but I keep my eyes open all the time!

[QuiteContrary]

dside,
yes! I see them. They are very common here (texas) but I've yet to find one, but I haven't looked at night with black light. Will do that for sure. I've seen birds here get some large arthropod out of our tree, it's good size and fast and the birds grab it and slam it down to kill it and eat it. Don't know if birds mess with scorpions or not.

[B Jenkins]

QuiteContrary, on 25 June 2012 - 10:11 PM, said:

dside,
yes! I see them. They are very common here (texas) but I've yet to find one, but I haven't looked at night with black light. Will do that for sure. I've seen birds here get some large arthropod out of our tree, it's good size and fast and the birds grab it and slam it down to kill it and eat it. Don't know if birds mess with scorpions or not.

Some birds do prey on scorpions. During the day, they will be in colonies under the bark or in holes.  They are communal and live in groups of varying number. They rarely cannabilize each other even smaller younger scorplings are relatively safe from cannibalism. But mostly they are found in wood litter and other debris. But they are very active at night, as are all species of scorpions. You might not necessarily encounter a bark scorpion but another species altogether.

[UFO_Monster]

I've been stung several times over the last few months by sweat bees. They aren't too bad. But I wouldn't want to taste the wrath of the other critters on this list.