Creepy Crawlies

In honor of Halloween, I'd like to introduce you to some of our local fauna. They're much scarier than goblins and ghouls, and we even have our very own monsters.

1. The tarantula
This one is pretty obvious. However, I was surprised to find out that they are not actually poisonous. Apparently their venom just hurts really bad (no big deal, right?) Interestingly, their venom activates the same pain sensors as hot chili peppers, so it literally feels just like putting ground up red pepper in an open wound. According to the scientists, the sensations would be indistinguishable. I'm not sure who signed up to test that hypothesis, but I'm not volunteering.

These are my students from last year holding Rosie, our guest.

Fortunately I have yet to find one in the house. Despite their non-poisonous-to-humans status, I still fully intend to shoot any that make their way indoors with the shotgun, security deposit be damned.

This is Terry the Tarantula hanging out in our driveway.

2. The tarantula hawk
The tarantula hawk is not actually a bird but a wasp. A really, really big wasp. Tarantula wasps' bodies can grow up to four-inches long. And did I mention that they sting? In fact, they are considered to have the most painful sting of any insect in the world. Which is fun because there is a whole tree full of them in our yard. (I'm assuming the same scientist who figured out the tarantula venom thing worked on this one, too.)

 http://tucsoncitizen.com/wryheat/tag/pepsis-wasp/

Here's the really gross part: they prey on tarantulas. First the momma wasp finds a tarantula and stings it. The venom the wasp injects paralyzes the tarantula, allowing the wasp to lay her eggs inside of its body. The wasp then drags the paralyzed, egg-laden tarantula (still alive) to a hole and buries it. When the eggs hatch, they will spend about a month eating the tarantula from the inside out. I'm sure if I were an 10-year old boy I would think that was pretty awesome, but I'm not, so I just think it is gross.

 

Ever try taking a picture of a bee in flight? It's not easy -- unless the bee is the size of a small airliner.

3. Gila Monster

The gila monster doesn't look scary at first glance, but you still have to watch out for these guys. Fortunately, they are quite slow, so as long as you're careful they are easy to avoid. If you are unlucky enough to get bitten, though, you are in trouble. Their saliva is poisonous to humans, but released slowly. In order to speed up the process, the gila monster will chew on its victim, but without ever fully releasing its grip. They are known to hang on for very long periods of time, and the only two known methods of getting them to let go are to fully submerge them in water (which is a bit of a challenge in the desert) and cutting off their heads. As a bonus, this last one will get you slapped with a hefty fine when you go to the ER since Gila Monsters are a protected species. 

Gila (hee-la) Monsters are one of only two poisonous lizards in the world. The other, the Mexican Beaded Lizard, is a bigger (up to 24 inches) and yellower relative. Gila's are exclusive to Arizona, while the Beadeds also extend south into Mexico and Guatemala. They also appear to prefer our yard.

I'm not 100% sure if this is a Gila or Beaded. I didn't want to take a much closer look, though.I think it's a Gila??  It was definitely yellower than the others we've seen, but only about 12-14 inches long.

 Definitely a Gila. He liked the shade in our front yard.

 We named him Gill. He visits a lot.

So what's a girl to do with all of these scary critters around? Why, call the Ninja Turtles!