It's time for our fourth annual May Monster Madness, hosted by the infamous author Annie Walls .
This year we are going with an insect type theme so I figured I would post some of the creepier things that have crawled on me in my great home state of Virginia!
To start things off, I want to show you one of my most feared and hated creepy crawly. I am talking about none other than the dreaded HELLGRAMMITE!
This is actually the larval stage of the Dobson Fly, It is the bane of fresh water waders, usually fishing for trout. I have been bitten on the ankles more times than I ever want to remember.
These guys have a terrible bite and they tend flail about when they do sink in.
They are strong enough to pick up rock the same size of themselves. I hope you never encounter one in the wild.
The rest is just a quick rogues gallery of some of the things I see on a daily basis in my back yard....enjoy!
American Pelecinid Wasp
Arrow Shaped Micrathena Spider
Banded Woolly Bear Caterpillar
Black and Yellow Garden Spider
The Black Widow (not an Avenger)
Bold Jumping Spider (it earns it's name!0
Bollweevil
Earwig (yes...EAR wig)
Common Ground Spider
Hag Moth Caterpillar (one of the worst stings in the animal kingdom)
Halloween Pennant (Favorite Dragonfly)
House Centipede (Yes, it gets it's name from wanting to dwell in your HOUSE!)
Orange Millipede
Pseudoscorpion (No stinger in tail, but it has venom in it's pincers)
Saddleback Caterpillar (another bad stinger)
Spined Micrathena Spider
Banded Garden Spider (These are all over the back yard)
The Tick!
Wolf Spider (Large and Aggressive, just like a wolf)
Yellow and Black Centipede (the forest floor is littered with these in summer/fall)
Ked, thanks for hosting May Monster Madness again this year! We use to see those Banded Woolly Bear Caterpillar all the time here in Illinois but not so much anymore. I will admit it your post gave me the chills.
ReplyDeleteDearest Ked, you've collected some beautiful crawlers here (even if their bite can suck the joy out of someone's day). Am I terrible for thinking that the American Pelecinid Wasp is simply gorgeous?
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting!
You should never be put in charge of advertising for Vacations in Virginia! Oh hell to the no. Altho I don't mind the woolly banded caterpillar - we have those in Michigan. And earwigs.. They're just a**holes.
ReplyDeleteNice post... Cool images too...
ReplyDeleteThe last one that you listed is called a "Tiger Worm"... and has a "nasty" bite (Necrotic venom)
And we have at least 1/2 a dozen types of "stinging caterpillars" that are common to this area....
As a kid did not know how dangerous many of the little critters were Luckily , never badly bitten as a child.... and would often hunt for signs of their webbing and catch black widows .. there was little to do around here ....
And the Mocking Birds eat all of my garden spiders as soon as the show up....
we know a lot about "Bugs"....
And my town has an annual "Boil Weevil Festival".....
Wait...wait!..*scrolls back up*...Ok...I am NEVER coming to live in Virginia!!! HOUSE CENTIPEDE!!!! FFS!!! It can have the house...I'm not sharing with that thing!!!! :D XXX
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of disturbing that this year's MMM theme doesn't rely on having to trawl supernatural legends for material. The little monsters are are right under our noses... everywhere!!!
ReplyDeleteWe found a small scorpion in our house the other day. Yikes! I had never seen one in the flesh before.
and the "House Centipede" is a venomous little thing....
ReplyDelete(also Necrotic Venom)... bites can result in amputation of part of finger....
Not something to hold in your hand...!!!!
so take care good Sir wicKED... many of these "bugs" are rather Dangerous....
other than the jumping spider and the earwig are both very aggressive... Never seen a live Helgrimite ... only about a 4 inch one in a jar in Biology class....
and a potent toxin can be made from Monarch Butterflies....
ReplyDeleteand many moths carry rabies....(that is how bats become infected....)
So many of these made me shudder, but that Halloween Pennant dragonfly is utterly gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWow! I love these. I always liked boll weevils, with those funny noses (yes, I know it's not really a nose...) and the big yellow spiders get protected around this house because they're also called 'writing spiders'. That has to be lucky, right? Ticks are disgusting, though.
ReplyDeleteI always use to play with wooly bears when I was little and now I still play will them. They so cute! And cause no harm to u what do ever.
ReplyDelete