Wednesday, September 11, 2013

The Creepy Crawlies

We have had some unusual nature siting around here lately. All of these have been creepy crawlies. First there was the unknown deceased caterpillar, then the white-lined sphinx caterpillar with parasites.

Last week, we saw several several wheel bugs. We see them every Fall. They like to hang out on our front porch a lot but I also found one on my car windshield when I got in one day.

This one was walking back and forth on the front porch bench. These guys are not to be trifled with since Wikipedia said that their bite is very painful and takes months to heal and might even leave a small scar. If you don't want to be grossed out I suggest skipping the Wikipedia article.




Then yesterday, we looked out our kitchen window to see a large spider on her web. I went outside with the camera and snapped several photos. It took me a while to figure out what kind of spider it was but came to the conclusion that it is a barn spider.




While I was out there, she was eating her prey. You can see the prey a little in the first picture but it's more clear in the second picture.




“Grass is hard and lumpy and damp, and full of dreadful black insects.” 
 ― Oscar Wilde

4 comments:

Kristin said...

I'm a little bothered by all the creepies that are showing up in September. Where have they been all summer? I saw a snake this morning. UGH! I haven't seen one all year so I was unprepared for it. I thought we were welcoming fall! :-)

Stephanie said...

Great photos! Although I am not a fan of bugs and creeping things :) Have a great Thursday! Hugs

Vee said...

Oh I am going to read about that wheel bug...looks like a pie crust crimper.

Angela said...

I have never heard of that wheel bug! This summer I caught an unusual looking caterpillar -- it was green and looked like it was covered in ferns. I put it in a jar covered with plastic up on the kitchen counter for observation. The next morning my daughter screamed from the laundry room -- she had stepped on the caterpillar (who had escaped its jar and crawled to another room in the house) and it stung her!! It ended up being a lo-moth caterpillar with a very painful sting. I think I'm going to be more careful with the creepy-crawlies....