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What type bug freaks you out? Most painful?

Freebfrost:

Wow, I don't blame you in the least. Where (as in the geographic location) were you bitten?

Handling inverts is like eating mushrooms- if you don't know what it is, just shoo it away. And even if you do know what it is, don't always expect it to act normally. Those bitten by the Asian ladybird (ladybug) learned that lesson well.
 

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Pielorinho said:
Wasps. They just seem mean to me. And I know they're not--insects aren't smart enough to be mean--but I think they are.

I had a yellow jacket sting me three times and it seems like she knew what she was doing- both legs and one arm. Took 45 minutes to walk it off.
 


Thanks for all the replies and pics!

I think I've seen a velvet ant before; I didn't know what it was at the time. It was kind of furry and the same color as in the pic. I encountered it a Boy Scout camp while storing supplies in a wooden shed. There was a box full of bug spray in the shed, and being fearful (and a little curious, I suppose), I sprayed the ant.

To my surprize, it started making a rather strange noise that was pretty loud for something that small. It looked like it was trying to sting itself. I felt bad at that point and left it alone.

It was the first time I ever felt sorry for killing an ant.
 

Strangely enough one fo the cave cricket sites says they are harmless. What we caleld cave crickets bite like demons. :)

Personal anectdote- Volunteering at a summer camp for Po' kids one summer we needed volunteer speakers. A coworker of my wife is a salamander specialist, 2 degrees in biology specializign in the local salamander population (fascinating in itself, but that is another story..).

He came and spoke, right to their level. He brought cool visual aids and let them all see some large slamanders that were rare or from other continents. Then came "The fun".

We knew form experience that the creek that ran through the park was infested with salamanders. 3-4 cool species in/aroudn the creek.

We split into two groups and went towards the creek. I was speaking knowledgably (lol!) about the local wildlife and what to watch for with 30 children follwing me in single file. Then the 8th kid back started crying and fell to the ground.

Then the 7th. The 9th and 10 started beating themselves furiously and screaming at the top fo their lungs. It spread like a wildfire.

All my help or possible aid was 100 yards away and I was stuck near a terribly mean patch of hornets who had a nest in a nasty hole in the ground my "knowledgable" self had just missed.

The next half hour was oen fo the worst on my life. 18 kinds stung unumerable times and 3 of them were allergic.

It all came out well. The parents were all amazingly cool about it. One mom had a dozen shots available. Talk about thinking ahead!!

But the nightmare of that moment...every child reacting differently. Some collapsing, some screaming and running in circles. Little girls trying to run away from their backs or legs. One child just pointed at the hole and screamed and cried. I was like one of those war films where everything goes slow motion and the heros buddies all get shot or blown up.

I got the kids out with help towards the end. It took several minutes of caring for the kids uin various ways until a staffer asked me where I was stung. It was the first time I had really thought about it. I realized that I hadn't been stung a single time, despite carryign out crying kids getting stung several times.

The other group foudn a stash of some 300-400 marble salamanders in one hole. :(
 

caudor said:
Is there are a particular bug that freaks you out? What would you most dread to find crawling on you?

Any bug...from Texas!

I won't even try to top that, bug-wise, and can only say that we've got rats in the City of Chicago. ;)

I visited a buddy of mine down in Lubbock when he was in school down there and there is simply no comparison in size between waht passes for an insect up here and what passes for a Buu-uu-uuugggg down there...unless I can include compact cars.
 

alsih2o said:
... I got the kids out with help towards the end. It took several minutes of caring for the kids uin various ways until a staffer asked me where I was stung. It was the first time I had really thought about it. I realized that I hadn't been stung a single time, despite carryign out crying kids getting stung several times.

The other group foudn a stash of some 300-400 marble salamanders in one hole. :(

Wow, that was a terrible situation to be in. It is no wonder that you like D&D; I think you are a hero yourself. Despite the menace buzzing nearby--your concern was for the kids. Bravo. ;)
 

Meh, I don't think there are any insects that actually freak me out. There are a few I dislike and some that I am definately wary of, but for the most part I've found if you leave them alone they will do the same for you. I've spent plenty of time outside and you just learn how to avoid things like ground wasps and hornet nests (and where to find the RAID when you can't :D). I've made it a point to become familiar with all of the even remotely dangerous insects in the places I've lived, so I can avoid them or seek appropriate medical attention if needed (Luckily, living in MI means I only a few spiders and stinging insects to worry about).

Of course, I have been startled by insects a few times. About 2 years ago, I was lynig in my bed reading before going to sleep when I looked down and saw the biggest wolf spider I've ever coming across siting on my bedsheets about an inch from my toes. Man, I jumped about two feet in the air and swear I levitated straight off the bed. Thing had a body about 2 inches long and with the legs was probably 3 inches in diameter at least. Went and got a full sized drinking glass to catch him and toss him outside, and the bloody thing didn't fit into the bottom of it, his legs were put up on the sides of the glass.

Although there are a few insects I hope never to meat. Human botfly, Tumbu fly, Lund's fly, and New World screw fly all have the nasty habit of getting their larva into human flesh. the idea of having a larvae eating my flesh as it grows under my skin is something I'd rather avoid (although truthfuly, they aren't truly dangerous, just an annoyance).
 


The bugs that scare me the most are centipedes. Everything about them pushes the "creep out" buttons in my brain.

As for painful bites, I heard that some species of assassin bugs are nasty. They aggressively look for warm blooded prey, and inject a painful poison that is a super-meat tenderizer, meaning it goo-ifies your flesh.
 

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