Stonetribe

Since this is the insect thread, I was wondering if anyone has idea on what insect I encountered a few minutes ago. It could jump really high, but its jumps did not cover much horizontal distance. It was a tad smaller than a cricket, and apparently it has a very tough exoskeleton (yeah, I'm another one of those guys ). Any info on these thingies will be appreciated.

Sorry, but your going to have to provide a better explanation than that for me to have any chance of identifying it.

(OOC: "Her coolnest is over 9000!" Do we get it? Do we get what is quite possibly the most common, overused, and most importantly tasteless meme on the internet? Really? Go sit in a corner and think about what you just did Mustang, for shame)

Buzz gave a nod to brew as he excused himself, and then lifted his head when Pinkie Pie screamed "KAAAAARRRRAAAAAAOOOOOOKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Buzz thought for a second. He has taken a couple of choir classes in middle and high school. On a whim, he decided to give it a go. "Hey!" He said. "I'll take a shot at karaoke" He walked onstage and after a bit of searching through their selection, found his favorite album and popped it in and began to sing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kpq652SsTK8

"Don't worry" Buzz said. "Arachniphobia is the most common fear in the entire world" He takes another drink. "Actually, yes, I have heard of mantis style" Buzz laughed "I don't think I'm one to say if I'd be good at it, but if I did learn a form of martial arts, it would definitely be one based on an insect"

(OOC: Sorry about the lack of colored dialog, I'll be mostly posting on an iPad for the weekend.)

Buzz smiled. "Thanks" He said. "I won't lie, being able to interact with arthropods the way I can has proven immensely helpful on many occasions" He took a swig of punch. "It's not without it's downs though, namely when I'm conversing with people who can't stand bugs"

Buzz turns to the new camper and nods. "Hi Cloud, my name's Buzz"

"I'm glad the staff is so nice."

Buzz nodded again in agreement.

"So... did your parents make you come too?"

"No, I live with my aunt and uncle and I was more than happy to get out of Trottingham for the summer."

"Yeah" Buzz said. "My parents suggested a come here so I could spend more time with the bugs I love so much" Buzz laughed softly. "Techincally, it is true that I can interact with them more here then back home, but the real reason they wanted me to go was so they could have a break from me attracting insects and spiders in the house. I'm like a magnet to them" Two mothes then landed on Buzz's shoulder, almost as if they wanted to prove his statement.

Buzz nods and walks over to Brew. "Hey Brew, how goes it? You enjoying the party? I know it just started, but I already feel sure that tonight's gonna be a blast"

Campfire > Main Hall

After Buzz's ear's stopped ringing, he opened his eyes to see the rest of the campers making their way into the main hall for the party. He stood and stretched before walking in himself. He went over to the punch and poured himself a cup.

With not much else to do, Buzz sat by the campfire and started handing out his self made bug bait, to the various insects and spiders that came near.

You do know that a female spider can mate and hold on to the male's seed until she's ready to lay eggs, right? Those eggs might very well have spiderlings in them.

Good catch Rosewind. As I have mentioned before, I found her in my shed. I'm not sure about the exact life span of her species, but judgeing by how much she's grown between then and now, I'd say she came into my care at relatively age. I'll be sure to keep an eye on it though.

(OOC: Getting back on topic...)

Buzz shrugged slightly and smiled at Pepperjack's comment. "What can I say" He said quietly. "I aim to please"

Buzz frowned. Fluttershy seemed more shy and nervous then anyone else here. Then an idea struck him. Silently, he beckoned five or six Red Lacewing Butterflies to him and instructed them to fly over and land Fluttershy, all without saying a word. The Butterflies complied, two of them landing on each of her shoulders, and one on her nose. Butterflies were always good for cheering people up, something Buzz has learned from using this trick many times before.

(OOC: Be sure to check the link this time guys. )

"I see..." Buzz said, getting the picture. "Well, I'm sure whoever did it didn't mean to or did it out of spite" Buzz allowed a wasp to land on his finger. "You know, I could help you find the berries you need to remake the spilled paint. I can ask the local insects and spiders to help by telling us where we need to go to find berries. If they're not sure, they'll be happy to help us look. With their help, we'd be done in no time" The wasp nodded in confirmation and after letting Buzz pet her a little, flew off.

"Oh my no sir, the carriage belong's to the company I work with; It's purely for rental use, as are my services. The Trailer behind me though belong's to that fellow over there."

Crash was intrigued. Being a drifter, he rarely worked the same job for anymore then a week. Still, he did wonder what it would be like to settle down in a house from time to time. A job working with automation machinery was especially appealing to him.

"Well, I better finish up, and head on back to Canterlot, I've got a few more customer's this week."

"Need some help? I'm always up for some volunteer manual labor"

"I wish they all paid as well as he does though!"

Crash smiled. He knew the joy of an unexpectedly high pay all too well.

Woah, I didn't know they'ed die if they didn't lay the eggs... :!:

Anyways, lets get back on the topic of Jumping Spiders. Anymore comments on this eight legged cuties?

Buzz smiled and nodded at Pepperjack before turning to Cloud. "Were your paint cans firmly secured? If they can be spilled just from the bag being moved around, then I would think it would be more your fault for not keeping them in something a little more stable like say, a box, or at least not labeling your bag as having fragile contents than someone for just moving what would appear to him or her as another ordinary bag..." He said before adding "But that's just an estimate, can you elaborate for us?"

Thanks Rosewind, you've always been a loyal follower of this thread.

I'd also like to announce that just the other day, my pet spider Rosey (not to be confused with the forumer Rosewind above) has laid an egg sac! I was awfully confused and a little worried when I realized what it was, but after a little research, I found that it's actually pretty common for female spiders to lay unfertilized eggs should they not find a mate. Good thing too. I would have to let her back into the wild if there were spider-lings on the way.

You really do learn something everyday.

Ooh! I want one so badly! They'd be perfect for pest control, and they'd be so adorable! Plus, I wouldn't mind playing a few pranks on my sister with it.

Just be careful when handling them. Not because their dangerous, no, but they do tend to be small. You wouldn't want them getting hurt or lost!

is it bad to say that i hate all bugs and i will kill a spider on sight. and those jumping spiders freak me out .

Not at all, we're all entitled to our own opinions, and fears can't be helped. However, I would you like it if you could keep talk of how you hate spiders out of this thread. The main point of this thread is to learn and share positive interest about arthropods. If you are afraid of bugs though, may I recommend you read some of my previous highlights? Fears are very often derived from a lack of knowledge on a subject. By learning more about something one is afraid of, they often find out that what they fear is actually much less dangerous then they thought. I can proudly say I have helped some of the now regular's of my thread feel much more comfortable around insects and spiders. I've even landed someone a job at their local pet store! This is just a suggestion though, you are not expected to read about your fear because of me.

Regulars? Care to back me up?

I just did a quick search on jumping spider lifespan, and to my surprise, I found that they can live for 2 to 3 years. Keeping that in mind, I'd say yes! I think I'll look into it some more later.

"I'm Buzz, nice to meet you" He replied. Brew seemed like he wanted to pay attention the the counselors rather then talk, Buzz thought best to follow suit. However something was nagging at the back of his mind. He could of swore he heard what he thought was Cloud's voice yell off in the distance just a moment ago. Cloud was always so quiet though, so he wouldn't be able to recognize him yelling or not.

After much procrastination, I'm finally doing the Jumping Spider highlight!

Out of all the kinds of spiders known on this earth, Jumping Spiders make up the majority, about 13% of all species. Jumping Spiders live in a wide array of habitats including Tropical and Temperate forests, scrub lands and deserts, and mountainous regions. They can range dramatically in terms of color, but all Jumping Spiders can be identified as such by one particular feature, their eyes. All Jumping Spiders have a recurring pattern in the front row of their eyes with the inner two always being more prominent then the outer two.

As the name implies, Jumping Spiders posses efficient leaping capability's. Surprisingly, a Jumping spiders ability to leap has little to do with it's legs. Rather, Jumping Spider's bounds, which is very often multiple times it's own body length, is made possible thanks to their well developed book lungs, a respiratory organ found in arachnids, and internal hydraulic system.

While they do use their jumping prowess for navigation purposes in varying frequency, it comes into play much more crucially when on the look out for it's next meal. Jumping Spiders are active hunters, patrolling around when looking for prey. Jumping Spiders have excellent eyesight as far as arachnids are concerned, aiding them greatly when looking for prey as well as pouncing on it. When they do jump, they always do it prepared. Whenever a Jumping Spider jumps, it always attaches a line of silk to wherever their jumping from. That way, should the jump miss, they prey shakes them off, or anything else that might go wrong does, they can use their "safety harness" to climb back to where they jumped from.

Jumping Spiders can be found to exhibit surprising intelligence and be very adaptive when hunting. The many various species are observed employing numerous different hunting strategies for different kinds of prey. Some species are specialists, using a certain tried and true method for catching a predetermined kind of prey. Other's are shown to alter their strategy's for different targets making it possible for them to nab pray much, much, bigger and more dangerous than themselves, as show here.

Buzz smiled and took her hand to shake. He gestured over to Black Licorice and Brew Highkick. "This Black Licorice and..." He paused for a bit as he looked at Brew. ​"Actually, I don't think I've quite made your acquaintance yet. Brew? Was it?"

Cloud must of not noticed Pepperjack as he excused himself to take a walk. She was now hovering, and looked nervous and unsure of what to say next. Buzz felt obligated to help her feel more comfortable. "Hey, you can sit with us" He said to her. "Cloud seems to space out a lot, so he probably didn't notice you. My name's Buzz, what did you say your name was, Pepperjack?"

Name: Knight

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Race: Unicorn

Current Place of Residence: Canterlot

Have You Attended Camp Whitetail Before?: Yes. Attended one year ago.

Hair Color: Red, but black tipped.

Eye Color: Orange.

Cutie Mark: Two, interlocking swords, one made of wood, the other of steel. It is located on his shoulder.

Physical Description:

Personality: Knight is known to have three seperate personalities, depending on who he talks to. If to a male colleague, he's rough, competitive, and playful. Around female colleagues, he get's show-offy, speaks poetically, and, at times, pervertedly. To figures of authority, he is rebellious, acts like he listens, and known to cause more trouble afterwards. Overall, he's confident, sporty, and rather unintelligent. He can be fashion consious, mostly because he believes girls will like him more if he is.

Likes: Kendo, women, sports, fooling around, pranks, messing with his younger brother, competition.

Dislikes: Authority, school, reading, rules, tests, shirts.

Character Bio: Yo dudes, it's me again. I had an awesome time last year, and though I'd come back again. It's WAAAAY better than being locked up in a mansion all summer, and being forced into tending the garden every time I get in trouble. Besides, if I didn't come, I'd be forced into studying with my brother, and trust me, nothing's worse than that!

Activities You're Interested In: Nature walks\hikes, drawing\painting, creative writing, swimming, rock climbing, magic duels, bonfire games, running races (team AJ).

Final Notes: In case it wasn't noticed in his bio, he's from a rich family. And I'll keep any pervertedness to a minimum. Oh, and pretend in the picture he has all the equine things (horn, tail, etc), his cutie mark on his right shoulder, and that he's more muscular. And when I say he dislikes shirts, he doesn't like wearing them, he only wears them because his parents force him. So... Yay!

This one sounds fun, be sure to go to cabin 1! He's just what we need.

Crash had just woken up from last night's sleep under a nearby tree. Crash was a wanderer, living wherever he felt like until moving somewhere else. He had stopped in ponyville on more then one occasion and knew the town well enough. He would usually stay in a hotel at night, but was very tired the day before and couldn't muster the will to go through the trouble. It wasn't like he was used to it, he'd slept outside under the stars plenty of times before. As he was rubbing the sand out of his eyes, he spotted a rather well maintained, if not a little strange looking carriage a few meters directly in front of him. "Huh, I'm pretty sure that wasn't there last night..." He said to himself. Crash had always held a fascination with wheeled transportation of all kinds, and he could see that the locals were taking interest as well. Never one to not comment on somepony else's ride, he got up, stretched a little and walked up to the pony waiting by the carriage whom he presumed to be the owner. "Hey" He said as he neared "Nice ride, is it yours?"