My boss got bit by one recently "on assignment" -- "over there."

We presented him with a cake when we returned ... the cake had the brown and and yellow texture of the camel spider and and image of a camel spider as well.

No green frosting though.

My boss was bit. Story goes ... told not to have food outside the food area. Someone did. The mice came and ate on the crumbs near his "location." That brought a camel spider. It does not attack humans, but this one did, crawling up to his stomach. It bit him in his stomach and the infected area was the size of a baseball. It popped a few days later with some green kind of ooze.

And he told us all this while we were eating cake. Mmmmmm.

green ooze edit
[This message was edited Fri Apr 30 13:07:32 2004 by a2grafix]

It looks human..


[This message was edited Fri Apr 30 13:06:23 2004 by Lleena]

applekisses said:

I tend to agree! Man, that looks like one mean fish!!

a2grafix said:

Dude, that's one rocking story! I hope Icenine is reading right now! He's probably curled up in a ball, crying like a little girl at this story!!

Lleena said:

That looks like something from the mind of Clive Barker! Seriously, that thing would be right at home with the Cenobites from Hellraiser, or the Nightbreed

JediMaster said:

It's the pout that I find a bit disturbing.

scariest fish

a2grafix said:

Yeah...and we retold the story at Easter dinner...
Do you still have the pic of the cake? You should post it

Imagine if one of those fish and one of those spiders had babies!

JediMaster said:

actually it's a very corny movie about the environment. but the effects are GREAT.

there's no camel spiders.

thank god.

but there's a CARNAVAL FESTIVAL !

seriously DE EFTELING might be Europe's best parc.

Okay, so camel spiders eat rats. So do snakehead fish.

Camel spiders (supposedly) aren't lethally venomous. Snakehead fish supposedly aren't venomous at all.

HOWEVER:

Snakehead fish can run around on land using their fins as legs.

Can camel spiders swim or dive?

SO

I think snakehead fish are in the advantage here, and could kick a camel spider's ass.

And if this fight were filmed, it would outgross Alien vs. Predator.

Anxiety said:

and the REALLY good news is those camel spiders are likely already here in the states. in the same way the snakehead came to us from asia so will/has the camel spider. it's inevitable. think of their diet of rats/mice, think of US cargo planes unloading in iraq. .. think of the return trip .. . oooo. it WOULD be a scary movie.

man, i hope they don't eat birds

anyone here seen the movie 'dagon'? it's an interesting h.p.lovecraft story watch that movie then look a snakehead fish in the eye

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

well no, not precisely. i was using it like an expression of speech as in the sense 'laughed so hard milk came outa my nose" only in this case i was startled instead of amused and eating a sub so ..

speaking of weird creatures, watch out for the seventeen year cycle of cicadas coming above ground this year. an article i read said be careful not to let your dogs/cats/ eat too many cicadas, and compared a yard full of cicadas to a yard full of 'chicken nuggets' to cats and dogs

from: http://www.msj.edu/cicada...ml#harmful
Do both male and female cicadas sing?
Only the male cicadas sing. They have sound-producing structures called tymbals on either side of the abdomen.
How can you tell whether a cicada is male or female?
It is easy to tell male cicadas from female cicadas. To do so, turn the cicada over: the female will have a groove in which is found the ovipositor (an egg-laying structure); the male's abdomen will terminate with a square-shaped flap.

How many species of periodical cicada are there?
There are three different species of 17-year periodical cicada that will emerge in 2004: Magicicada septendecim, M. cassini, and M. septendecula. There are also four species of 13-year cicadas: Magicicada tredecim, M. tredecassini, M. tredecula, and M. neotredecim, but these species will not be found during the 2004 emergence.

What do adult cicadas eat?
Adult cicadas do not eat solid food, but they probably do drink fluids to avoid dehydration.

Are cicadas harmful or dangerous?
Cicadas do not sting or bite humans, and they do not carry diseases, but they can harm young trees when female cicadas lay their eggs in the tree's new growth.

How can I protect my trees?
It is not recommended that you spray to kill the cicadas, because adults will fly in from neighboring areas to lay their eggs and spraying will not stop these incoming cicadas. For the same reason, wrapping tree trunks with tape or aluminum foil is totally ineffective. If you have a young tree, you can loosely wrap the branches with cheesecloth to keep out female cicadas and thus prevent damage.

What good are cicadas, anyway?
Periodical cicada years are quite beneficial to the ecology of the region. Their egg-laying in trees serves as a natural "pruning" that results in increased fruit yields in the succeeding years. Their emergence from the ground turns over large amounts of soil, and after they die, their decaying bodies contribute a massive amount of nitrogen to the soil.

When will the cicadas emerge?
Cicadas emerge when the soil temperature exceeds 64º F, which usually happens in late May.

Do cicadas always emerge 17 years apart?
Not all cicadas count the years correctly. In 2000, based on collections of larger-than-normal nymphs, Dr. Gene Kritsky predicted that thousands of cicadas would emerge four years early. On May 12, 2000, hundreds of cicadas emerged early on the campus of Mount St. Joseph, and thousands more emerged over greater Cincinnati. This acceleration happened again in Chicago in 2003, when more cicadas emerged four years ahead of their next scheduled emergence.

What is a "brood"?
Groups of cicadas that share the same emergence years are called broods. Charles Marlatt, a bureaucrat working for the Department of Agriculture, designated all the cicadas that emerged in 1893 and at 17-year intervals thereafter as Brood I. The cicadas that emerged in 1894 were called Brood II, and so on. The cicadas that will appear in 2004 belong to Brood X, which is the largest of the 17-year broods.

Are cicadas "locusts"?
Periodical cicadas are often incorrectly called locusts. Locusts are grasshoppers, while cicadas are most closely related to aphids. The term "locust" began to be used to describe cicadas around 1715 in the English colonies, when settlers tried to make sense of the cicada emergences by equating them with the biblical plagues. Because the cicadas appeared in great numbers and were eaten by the Native Americans, just as biblical locusts appeared in great numbers and were eaten by John the Baptist, "locust" seemed a logical name for them.

What do they taste like?
Periodical cicadas are best eaten when they are still white (teneral), and they taste like cold canned asparagus. Like all insects, cicadas have a good balance of vitamins, are low in fat, and the females are especially high in protein. They are also Atkins friendly!

I'm afraid cicadas will ruin my wedding!
Dr. Gene Kritsky has already helped 42 couples plan their Spring 2004 weddings to avoid interference from the cicada emergence. "Many want to avoid the cicadas, so I have been helping with picking the dates and the locations for their weddings," he explains. "However, I would like to point out that a cicada wedding is very romantic. Nobody celebrates their 17th wedding anniversary much more meaningful. Of course, this also pertains to 34th and 51st wedding anniversaries." Who would have thought that entomologists could double as wedding consultants?
[This message was edited Fri Apr 30 16:09:26 2004 by XxAxX]

I don't know why I keep clicking on this thread!!! I'm crawling back inside of my skin here. I have the deepest spider phobia and now I'm imaging a camel spider crawling down from my ceiling while a snakefish flies up and bites through my window screen!!!!!


meanie!

CarrieMpls said:

Now, now...don't be silly. Camel spiders don't crawl down at you from the ceiling.







....after all, everyone knows camel spiders crawl under bathroom stalls to attack you while you're on the toilet.

They're kinda pretty when they're just chillin....

i thought this was a private conversation?

sosgemini said:

It's a matter of national security, it cannot be privatized.

Anxiety said:

Yeah, but he looks like he'd beat you up for your lunch money!

THEY'RE ATTACKING!!!!

Anxiety said:

I like your thinking analysis here. In depth thinking... and you make sense too.


[This message was edited Sat May 1 10:29:39 2004 by Freespirit]

Anxiety said:

OH MY GOD!!! FISH AND SNAKES BOTH FREAK ME OUT!!! THIS IS MY WORST NIGHTMARE!!!

that fish just stays in the water but that damn camel spider can crawl around the damn place.


EEEK!!!!!

Milty said:

Can't you see, man? That fish can WALK!

theVelvetRoper said:

wow that is scary as hell.....!!!

Milty said:

Muddy Mudskipper, those fish are not.

Anxiety said:

I'd just like to state publicly that this isn't my long lost brother.

What are you looking at...

AlfofMelmak said:

Aw look, it's got dimples.