Any creepy bug stories?

[Debp]

I had a wierd experience about a month ago.  Had been on the patio at night watering plants.  I came back and was watching TV.  As I was talking to my mom, I suddenly saw this huge, really long beetle! It was on the top of her plush rocker, near her head.  I froze.... couldn't speak.  So I started to rise and point.... that's when the thing took off flying!

That made it even worse!  By that time I was squealing!  I tried to see where it had flown.  Flicked the light switch on in the dining area....then started to hear loud beating of wings!  It had landed inside of a shopping bag and was trying to get out.  I got creepy shivers and couldn't approach the bag.  My mom got the bag and I told her to dump it in the hallway by our apartment door.   She did, and the beetle flew out.   I shut the door fast.

When I water the plants I take a bag with me. I think the bug must have hitched a ride inside.   Now I check the bag after watering plants.

I'm really no good with bugs.

[Henry_iain]

I am not really afraid of bugs. And there are insects I love. Like ladybugs and butterflies.  

[Starise]

Oh that's not a surprise I would want either! Reminds me of the time I was shining my light under my studio desk which is lots of wires going every which way. While shining the light I seen a reflection. I thought to myself, that's odd. I looked a little closer and it was lots of small reflections. Spider eyes looking back at me. These eyes were attached to one of the largest spiders I have ever seen.

I slowly backed away and decided to go get my shop vacuum out of the basement. I snuck up on it with the vacuum hose and flipped the on switch. The spider was now in my vacuum cleaner. I hate to kill critters that are simply trying to live, so I tried to let it go out back but apparently the vacuum had killed it when it went in. It was HUGE. And close to where my legs were under the desk.

The occasional critter shows up. I won't bore you but I have had several other incidents with wasps and ants. Once I spied what looked like a stuffed squirrel peeking at me from behind the framework of my studio desk. I was laughing to myself that my wife was playing with me when it moved. Must have come in when we were loading from the garage and had left the garage door opened. If a squirrel gets you they can really bite. I managed to extricate it but won't go into the details lol. Let's just say it was comical for everyone except the person doing the extricating.

[teddyv]

I worked in the tropical forests of Ghana, so we were well surrounded by all sorts of insects. The dung and rhino beetles were pretty amazing. In the evening they sometimes got in the tent and flew around the light - but they are big and hard. Not very good flyers either. One morning I was on my way to our drill core shack and found a rhino beetle stuck in the mud by its horn with it's legs flailing about which looked rather humorous. We'd get mantises which were great fun to watch when they hunt. And one day, after a rain we had a termite bloom. That was pretty impressive.

The ants were the worst. Just everywhere, and they all bite. We had a small exploration pit dug earlier and when we came to do the sampling we found a trail of black ants were going down the side and all over the bottom of the pit. Our local helpers got some fine ash which was really effective in not allowing them to climb up or down. Then they burned them out. Ants do no like fire. Another time, I was just watching a trail of ants and did not realize the guard ants were roaming around the main trail. So when I walked up they were going up my boots and grabbing on. I picked on off and it bit me on the finger and almost drew blood.

The creepiest ant story was from another geologist who was working in the sub-Sahara of Mali. Some large ants were moving by and either just him walking, or perhaps he stomped nearby, but they all turned on him and made some sort of hissing sound. Needless to say, he moved on from there quickly.

 

[Debp]

14 hours ago, Starise said:

The occasional critter shows up. I won't bore you but I have had several other incidents with wasps and ants.

No, you won't bore me!   Tell any stories you want.   Better than the debating threads!

[Debp]

11 hours ago, teddyv said:

I worked in the tropical forests of Ghana, so we were well surrounded by all sorts of insects. The dung and rhino beetles were pretty amazing. In the evening they sometimes got in the tent and flew around the light - but they are big and hard. Not very good flyers either. One morning I was on my way to our drill core shack and found a rhino beetle stuck in the mud by its horn with it's legs flailing about which looked rather humorous. We'd get mantises which were great fun to watch when they hunt. And one day, after a rain we had a termite bloom. That was pretty impressive.

The ants were the worst. Just everywhere, and they all bite. We had a small exploration pit dug earlier and when we came to do the sampling we found a trail of black ants were going down the side and all over the bottom of the pit. Our local helpers got some fine ash which was really effective in not allowing them to climb up or down. Then they burned them out. Ants do no like fire. Another time, I was just watching a trail of ants and did not realize the guard ants were roaming around the main trail. So when I walked up they were going up my boots and grabbing on. I picked on off and it bit me on the finger and almost drew blood.

The creepiest ant story was from another geologist who was working in the sub-Sahara of Mali. Some large ants were moving by and either just him walking, or perhaps he stomped nearby, but they all turned on him and made some sort of hissing sound. Needless to say, he moved on from there quickly.

 

I wonder if any were the Army Ants?  There was an old movie (forgot the name) where a plantation was beseiged by the Army Ants.   They could overtake and kill people!

P.S.  Your career sounds interesting.   Tell any stories you want to.

[teddyv]

9 minutes ago, Debp said:

I wonder if any were the Army Ants?  There was an old movie (forgot the name) where a plantation was beseiged by the Army Ants.   They could overtake and kill people!

P.S.  Your career sounds interesting.   Tell any stories you want to.

I think you are thinking of "Leningen and the Ants".

As for other stories, I've got few but not on-topic. 

Edited November 10, 2020 by teddyv
Added thought

[Debp]

18 minutes ago, teddyv said:

I think you are thinking of "Leningen and the Ants".

As for other stories, I've got few but not on-topic. 

I found the movie, it was called The Naked Jungle....1954.   Btw, maybe @BeauJangles and @Henry_iain would like this thread.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naked_Jungle

[Debp]

Oh, I see Henry was already here!

[Marathoner]

16 hours ago, Debp said:

I had a wierd experience about a month ago.  Had been on the patio at night watering plants.  I came back and was watching TV.  As I was talking to my mom, I suddenly saw this huge, really long beetle! It was on the top of her plush rocker, near her head.  I froze.... couldn't speak.  So I started to rise and point.... that's when the thing took off flying!

That made it even worse!  By that time I was squealing!  I tried to see where it had flown.  Flicked the light switch on in the dining area....then started to hear loud beating of wings!  It had landed inside of a shopping bag and was trying to get out.  I got creepy shivers and couldn't approach the bag.  My mom got the bag and I told her to dump it in the hallway by our apartment door.   She did, and the beetle flew out.   I shut the door fast.

When I water the plants I take a bag with me. I think the bug must have hitched a ride inside.   Now I check the bag after watering plants.

I'm really no good with bugs.

Sounds like a California root borer beetle.

I was fascinated with nature as a child and like Henry, I lack fears common to others. Living in Southeast Asia was a dream come true in this regard where plentiful rainfall and warmer temperatures made life easier for arthropods, my favorite creatures to observe. I had to be cautious where snakes were concerned since cobras were endemic to the housing areas on base. I had an encounter with a cobra but it went rather well: I looked at the cobra in the tall grass, the cobra noticed me, and then we went our separate ways.

I'm skilled at spotting snakes and that served me well in the wilderness where rattlesnakes were a problem. I never ran afoul of one because I know where they're most likely to be found. 

My favorite arthropods are spiders, jumping spiders in particular. They're superlative pest control technicians and I watched one devour moths attracted to a light fixture for several hours.