TortoiseShell Posted September 4, 2012 Report Share Posted September 4, 2012 Something funny happened this morning. I saw a spider trying to crawl up the wall in our bedroom but kept falling. Normally I would kill on sight, but I actually felt bad for him since he couldn't get a good grip so I just let him go. A few minutes later, a foster kitten was playing and running around and I saw the spider hitching a ride on his tail. Sorry dude - smooshed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonetribe Posted September 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2012 Firstly, I'll ask you if this thread influenced your decision to help the spider out of the house. Secondly, when you say "smooshed", did you mean that you killed the spider, or the kitten? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosewind Posted September 4, 2012 Report Share Posted September 4, 2012 Firstly, I'll ask you if this thread influenced your decision to help the spider out of the house. Secondly, when you say "smooshed", did you mean that you killed the spider, or the kitten?Bugmaster, remember this, and remember it well: never come between a crazy cat lady and her cats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TortoiseShell Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Bad choice of words - by "let him go" I just let him keep trying to climb the wall, I didn't actually touch or move him. But yes, it's because of this thread, I'm trying not to hate all bugs so much. I totally misread your question the first time. "Why would I smoosh my kitten because of a spider?!" I killed the spider, since 1 - no idea what ones can hurt a kitten, and 2 - trust me, a swift death was much more merciful than what the kitten would have done if he discovered it!House centipedes are still kill-on-sight, they just creep me out too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonetribe Posted September 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 I see... The fact that you are trying to change already makes me plenty happy enough. I think I can safely say that whatever spider you saw wasn't dangerous to the kitten in any way, but it probably is true that you squishing it is a better fate then the kitten catching glimpse of it trying to play with it by bating at it till it dies. I have 3 cats, I know how it goes down. You could of tried taking the spider away from the kitten, but I don't expect you to be that comfortable with them yet.Regardless, congratulations TortoiseShell. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TortoiseShell Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Are there any insects in a home that COULD hurt a cat if eaten? I have a couple who are amazing hunters and can catch flies out of midair. And eat them. And eat anything else they find and kill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosewind Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Speaking of pests, have you managed to get rid of that bum, Tortoise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonetribe Posted September 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Are there any insects in a home that COULD hurt a cat if eaten? I have a couple who are amazing hunters and can catch flies out of midair. And eat them. And eat anything else they find and kill.No. Rest assured there aren't any insects or spiders in a populated suburban area like New York that would be hazardous to your cat's health if ingested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TortoiseShell Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Speaking of pests, have you managed to get rid of that bum, Tortoise? No. Rest assured there aren't any insects or spiders in a populated suburban area like New York that would be hazardous to your cat's health if ingested.That makes me feel better, thanks! On a related note, the first time I saw an "American" cockroach, I spent the first 10 minutes insisting my hubby and his friend were wrong. Cockroaches should NOT be that big! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosewind Posted September 7, 2012 Report Share Posted September 7, 2012 Requesting spotlight on glass-wing butterflies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starswirlthebearded Posted September 7, 2012 Report Share Posted September 7, 2012 Requesting spotlight on glass-wing butterflies!DANG! Beat me to it! I was thinking the same XD 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonetribe Posted September 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2012 I can't turn down a request from this threads two most loyal followers. Consider it done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosewind Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Great minds think alike, Swirly. We're also Discord Apologists! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starswirlthebearded Posted September 17, 2012 Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Ok! So I have heard of spiders as pets... I have heard of keeping bees... But I have never heard of hand feeding wasps... until now... So is this your plan Bugmaster? Tame dangerous insects and take over the world? WELL MY FRIEND! YOU MUST BEAT ME TO IT WITH MY SCIENCE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TortoiseShell Posted September 17, 2012 Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Oh my god. That video gave me all sorts of willies.Random story for you: Our kitten room has to have the door kept shut, and there is was an air conditioner in the window. Flies kept getting in, and since the door is shut, they just stayed in that room. There are quite a few. We took the A/C out of the window today and found a giant spider egg sac in the window track. I guess they knew where the food was! I had my hubby get rid of the egg sac, as well as change out a sticky trap we had on the window for the flies. He said "You know, I'm getting rid of two things that get rid of flies, instead of just letting the spiders hatch." I didn't find it amusing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linkhopper Posted September 17, 2012 Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 They found these "Tree Lobsters" on an island. They thought they were extinct! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellosh Posted September 17, 2012 Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Saw a praying mantis for the first time today. I managed to snap a couple of pics; maybe I'll upload one of them in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonetribe Posted October 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 Hi guys, long time no see. I know I've been inactive on this forum for a good one or two months. The only excuse I can muster is, "mmorpg". So I'll try to make it up to you guys by posting not one, not two, but three insect highlights at once, starting with the promised and long overdue Glasswing Butterfly. Bear through with me on this, as I have a feeling that I might use Wikipedia a bit more then I'd usually like to.Glasswing Butterflies can be found in South America from Mexico through Panama and have a wingspan of around 6 cm. The most notorious feature of this species, in case you haven't caught on, is their translucent wings which, while definitely not uncommon for many winged insects, is on oddity for butterflies. This is due to, or rather because of a lacking of the scales which cover the wings of butterflies and give them their vast arrange of colors that we know them for. The reason behind this I found to be interesting. Most butterflies exhibit their bright and flashy colors in order to alert potential predators that they are poisonous and/or distasteful. The Glasswing Butterfly however, seems to do quite the opposite, and by having transparent wings makes them that much harder to be spotted by predators. This still seems to be something of a mystery to me though, as even without their warning colors, they are still unfavorable to eat thanks to the toxic plants they consume as caterpillars and alkaloids from the nectar they drink as adults.For my next insect highlight, please welcome the Peacock Spider.The Peacock Spider is a species of jumping spider found only in Queensland and New South Wales. As with most jumping spiders are relatively small, they only reach about 5 millimeters in body length. The males more then make up for this though, with their beautiful and stunning red, green, and blue colorings. And that's not even their most prominent feature. They are best known for their elaborate and captivating court ship dance which I think can be best explained through the video I first heard of them in. Is that not just about the most cutest thing you have ever seen? This guy has more amazing footage of this little wonder of nature, so if your further interested, check out some of his other videos. The Peacock Spider was also formally known as the flying and gliding spider, as it was thought that it could also use it's abdomen flaps to extend the lengths of it's jumps. This was proven false however, by the Australasian Arachnological Society.And for my third and final highlight, give it up for the Turtle Ant!Found in forested tropic and subtropic regions of the world, Turtle Ants are most well known for their very unusual caste, and an even more unusual body shape that goes with it. For those of you who aren't familiar, a caste is a particular role that certain kinds of ants fulfill. I suppose the most well known example of a caste are soldier and worker ants. Saying "worker ants" is actually kind of generalizing the term. Castes that could fit this could include food gatherers, young caretakers, colony diggers, or even ants that tend to the wounds of others. Anyways, getting back to Turtle Ants, they posses a very specific caste that make use of large soldiers who posses thick, disk like heads. It may sound absurd, but these ants will use their large heads to plug up the entrances of their colonies, keeping out intruders and allowing entrance only to other colony members. This is even more astounding considering the fact that Turtle Ants don't even dig their colonies but rather, borrow abandoned ones left by wood boring beetles.Alright folks, there you have it. I apologize if these aren't on par with my previous highlights, as I've probably gotten at least somewhat out of the swing of things. Still, let me know if you liked it or not and what you thought of it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have about...73 notifications!!! Dear lord I have some catching up to do. This might take a day or two... Well still, I'll check back here in my bug thread to see if you remember ol' Stonetribe or not. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winter Posted October 15, 2012 Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 I really like the highlight on the Turtle Ant! I never had any idea they existed! I didn't forget ol' Stonetribe, welcome back Bugmaster! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonetribe Posted October 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 I really like the highlight on the Turtle Ant! I never had any idea they existed! I didn't forget ol' Stonetribe, welcome back Bugmaster!Thanks Winter, glad you think so! I was actually a bit worried that the my Turtle Ant highlight was lacking compared to the other two. Thanks for the reassurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TortoiseShell Posted October 15, 2012 Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 Oh my goodness, the peacock spider is adorable and that footage was awesome. They're so tiny! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonetribe Posted October 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 Oh my goodness, the peacock spider is adorable and that footage was awesome. They're so tiny! Yeah, the footage quality of that video sure is top notch isn't it? If you really liked it, I recommend you check out some of his other videos. He takes the liberty of adding some music in the next few that really add to the atmosphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talex Posted October 15, 2012 Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 So the turtle ants job is pretty much a door man What kind of predators are they trying to keep out? and is there a reason they don't make their own nest?simple questions I could probably google. But I think it's more fun to ask ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonetribe Posted October 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 So the turtle ants job is pretty much a door man What kind of predators are they trying to keep out? and is there a reason they don't make their own nest?simple questions I could probably google. But I think it's more fun to ask ya.I'm Not sure if I can list any specific predators, but I would assume that ants from other colonies, spiders, and centipedes, among other things, would be creatures they'd want to keep away. Anything small enough and would think an ant colony would make for a convieniant place to grab a snack would apply really. As for why they borrow their colonies instead of digging their own, I don't think their is any particular reason, it's just how they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonetribe Posted October 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2012 Anymore discussion on these 3 arthropod wonders anyone? Or should I move onto a new bug? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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