June 26, 200917 yr Here's one of our locals. The Giant Weta. Their body can grow up to 4 inches long. Fully grown adults can weigh more than sparrows. They can survive being frozen in ice. They have been known to bite humans when angry, but generally tend to be fairly placid in nature. There's said to be none left on the mainland, but some of the islands around the country still have small populations of them.
June 26, 200917 yr how big are these centipedes we talkin bout? They were about 6 to 7 inches. They were big too me. I'm sure others have seen bigger, but being that they were in the house, they freaked me out. One actually fell from the ceiling when I was in the shower. I was like WTF and got out of there. After I regrouped from the shock, I gave it the
June 26, 200917 yr Good thing you ran across a wimpy male with those long but useless faux-mandibles. The female woulda bit your ass just for looking at her too long. Kinda like being in a nightclub.
June 28, 200916 yr Yahtze! Details of the Dobsonfly They are not poisonous, but possess an irritating, foul-smelling anal spray as a last-ditch defense.
June 28, 200916 yr Not only ugly, but this: "They are not poisonous, but possess an irritating, foul-smelling anal spray as a last-ditch defense." Thank goodness we've only snakes, alligators, and palmetto bugs around here....oh....and ants. Lots and lots of freaking ants. A 5 inch bug that farts. Holy shit!
June 29, 200916 yr After you spend some time chasing a 9 inch tarantula around your house (I was on a research base in Indonesia) other bugs sort of lose their intimidation factor. I wish I remembered to get my camera... The worst bug we have around in NJ is not one of the biggest, but certainly one of the most unpleasant - the brown recluse spider (Loxosceles reclusa). I would take a bite from any tarantula species, even the ones in the Poecilotheria genus which pack the most painful bite out of all tarantulas, over a brown recluse bite. The problem with the brown recluse is that it packs a necrotic venom (as opposed to a neurotoxic venom in most spiders) which locally but indiscriminantly attacks all tissues sometimes resulting in 2-3 inch wide necrotic lesions which cause permanent tissues damage, require skin grafts and can lead to major gangrene (though only a few bites turn out this way, most bites result in nothing but moderate pain). We also have wolf spiders which can get big but they're mostly harmless and are actually quite beneficial if you have them in your gardens. There are also black widows and ticks carrying Lyme disease but they're extremely rare. For the most part though this area is very safe as far as bugs go... look up human botflies sometime (Dermatobia hominis), and then be thankful that they aren't around. I am thinking of getting a few tarantulas though, they make pretty cool pets and aren't hard to keep though they don't have much in the way of personality. They're mostly harmless to humans and are often docile enough to be handled though of course it's up to the individual animal's temperament. Some are also absolutely gorgeous and are basically living jewelry.
July 1, 200916 yr We just returned from Tucson last night visiting Mom and Dad/Grandpa and Grandma and found this outside the room door Sunday evening. Kind of resembles Naaman's bug Edited July 1, 200916 yr by Augsburger
July 5, 200916 yr I feel even safer to live in Canada after reading thisJesus H. Tittyfucking Christ! SECONDED!!
July 5, 200916 yr Am I the only one who thinks all of the bug pictures posted here are awesome? I had a black widow set up a nest on my bike after I left it in the shed for a few months. Felt kinda sorry when it got squished
July 5, 200916 yr If you have ever been bitten by a Black Widow, you will never, ever feel sorry for squishing one - nor all. Some right painful shit.
July 13, 200916 yr Giant bugs are the worst. This thread gives me the willies. That's how the rest of us feel about lawyers
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