Possibly moving to FL. How big are the bugs really?

@tsarstepan,

tsarstepan wrote:

dyslexia wrote:

new mexico vinegaroon;

That's an evil hybrid of an earwig and a scorpion. Put that in a monster movie and have everyone piss their collected pants!

while commonly called a vinegaroon, it's also known as a whip-tailed scorpion

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@dyslexia,

Still evil looking! Shocked

Unless they're pacifists like Quakers or such? Then I feel sad for them. They must be discriminated against in the insect world! Wink

Is that whip tail poisonous?

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@dyslexia,

the whipscorpions have no stinger and are completely harmless ...except to other arachnids. They use a vinegar spray for defense. Cool looking guys though

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@mm25075,

Jaysus! The palmetto bugs are big. Three years in the Keys and I never got used to them, but they’re not an every day encounter necessarily, though common as dirt. I stumbled on a scorpion, once, and some big ass banana spiders, too.

But the limes are heavenly!

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@panzade,

Quote:

the whipscorpions have no stinger and are completely harmless ...except to other arachnids. They use a vinegar spray for defense. Cool looking guys though

They sound like they might be handy if one's eating fish and chips but forget to bring the vinegar. Laughing

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There are only 2 bugs that cause me concern here. The fire ant and the black widow

http://www.premiumpestmanagement.com/images/stories/Ants/fireant.jpg

These ants are very aggressive. I have 2 or 3 nests constantly moving around in the yard. The only way to keep them away for a while is to spread fire ant poison over your whole yard.
Then they'll move to your neighbors yard and come back in a few months.

If you stand near a nest, 50 or 100 of them will immediately start attacking your feet and legs. The sting feels like somebody pricked you with a hot needle. In two days a pustule forms and it takes a couple weeks for the scab to heal.

http://www.spidy.goliathus.com/img/BlackWidowSpider.jpg

I have found these spiders in my garage many times. They don't like to live in an air-conditioned environment so you just have to be careful when you're moving junk in the garage.

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@tsarstepan,

Quote:

but forget to bring the vinegar

"Darling, could you pass me the whipscorpion?"

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@panzade,

Fire ants are MEAN SPIRITED B@STARDS!

Is that a black widow spider? I remember seeing one during a field exercise at Fort Hood and was immediately impressed by its web strung between two smallish sized trees, 3 and a half feet separated from each other.

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@panzade,

Quote:

If you stand near a nest, 50 or 100 of them will immediately start attacking your feet and legs. The sting feels like somebody pricked you with a hot needle. In two days a pustule forms and it takes a couple weeks for the scab to heal.

Im doing some work in the gold fields of S Carolina. I got nailed by some far ants this spring and I thought my leg would come off. Im more allergic to these little bastards and also to wasp stings (they are similar in venom).

We have a small amount of far ants in the downeast area of MAine. The state entomologist thinks that they came there by "hitching a ride" on some nice southerners RV. Theyve been trying to control the ants and it seems they are adapting to the winter quite nicely. In the coastal forests of downeast Maine they are a real problem .

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@tsarstepan,

amazing you saw one in the wild

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@farmerman,

Quote:

In the coastal forests of downeast Maine they are a real problem .

That's just plain scary FM

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@panzade,

Seriously, this is a rat? Which would normally live in a swamp? Are there lots of them? I take it that not all swamp rats are this friendly? Er .. what do they usually eat, to survive?

http://coast.webmaster.premiereradio.net:1111/timages/page/Nutria112707a.jpg

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@msolga,

FM calls it a rat because it's a rodent but it's a lot bigger. Back in the early 1900's people raised them for fur.As far as I know none have made the swim to Ozzie

Quote:

The coypu, or nutria (Myocastor coypus), is a large, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent and the only member of the family Myocastoridae. Originally native to temperate South America, it has since been introduced to North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, primarily by fur ranchers.[

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@panzade,

Quote:

FM calls it a rat because it's a rodent but it's a lot bigger. Back in the early 1900's people raised them for fur.As far as I know none have made the swim to Ozzie.

I'm incredibly relieved to hear that, panzade. Smile

Now if I was strolling by a Florida swamp one day & had a face to face encounter with a rodent this size <Shudder>, I'm certain I'd be seriously traumatized. Probably scarred for life! And I think I'd stay away from the swamp from then on. Wink

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@msolga,

Quote:

I'm certain I'd be seriously traumatized. Probably scarred for life! And I think I'd stay away from the swamp from then on.

Oh puhleeze...you ozzies have some of the most bizarre, deadly creatures in the world! Very Happy

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@panzade,

This is true.
But there's something about even the idea of giant rats ...... Shocked

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@msolga,

msolga wrote:

This is true.
But there's something about even the idea of giant rats ......

Australain Water Rat

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3286/3063688057_8315ff1b05.jpg

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@dadpad,

Quote:

Australain Water Rat

I guess one did

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@dadpad,

EEEEK!

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@panzade,

But it's not half as big as that Florida swamp monster! Laughing

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Possibly moving to FL. How big are the bugs really?

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