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Old May 2, 2012   #1
stormymater
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Default I got knocked in the head!

i surely did - by a 2 1/2 inch long flying beetle! It is MONSTROUS!!! Lokks like a 'click beetle" BUT has gray & black striping along its wings covering its abdomen & has a light gray background w/2 black spots on the top of its thorax - they look like EYES! Creepy, creepy & too big to hold to see if it "clicks".
I have it in a Chock Full o' Nuts can. I will add 1 of the two weirdo caterpillars I have had cruising around here - never seen before & truck over to the Ag Extension Service to see what I have got.

Caterpillar 1 - fuzzy yellow & mustardy stripes with 2 long fuzzy tufts in the front & shorter fuzzy tufts (both sets black) in the back - makes you want to pet it but I suspect it may sting so no touching

Caterpillar 2 - darker brown & reddish striping w/shorted brownis tufts both fore and aft BUT w/ 3 or 4 pairs of wart-like symmetrical saddles in its middle. Thought the first one had a parasitic affliction but have since seen more.

Both these caterpillars are about the size & thickness of those awful tent worm caterpillars.

Any clues as what these 3 are?

We had kudzu beetles show up last week for the first time ever (thanks Atlanta airport & USDA). They are similar to dark olive green flying dog ticks until you count their legs & crush their carapaces (crunch not squish).

Golden web spiders are moving into the area again - last one we had was several years ago & she got as big as the palm of my hand...
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Old May 2, 2012   #2
tjg911
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click beetles are not that large, at least not up here, that's HUGE!

what the heck are "dark olive green flying dog ticks"? ticks don't fly, at least not up here.

tom
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Old May 2, 2012   #3
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Pictures, pictures....we need pictures!
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Old May 2, 2012   #4
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Stormy, I saw some caterpillars like those you describe about two days ago. They were getting out of the flying saucer that lands in the back pasture every couple of weeks. Definitely large ugly things.
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Old May 2, 2012   #5
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There are many huge click beetles this size one is called the western eyed click beetle.
The caterpillar is the tussacks moth caterpillar spelled something like that.
I have seen many nof these critters.

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Old May 2, 2012   #6
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http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...pillar&spell=1

Tussock moth caterpillar

Worth
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Old May 2, 2012   #7
Sun City Linda
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ContainerTed View Post
Stormy, I saw some caterpillars like those you describe about two days ago. They were getting out of the flying saucer that lands in the back pasture every couple of weeks. Definitely large ugly things.

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Old May 2, 2012   #8
Worth1
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http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...nmx0O3sxuEzlxA

Eyed click beetle.

Bare with me I'm doing this from my phone.

Worth
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Old May 2, 2012   #9
FILMNET
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He or she was jealous with your comment on my plants today???????????? Come grow something I can eat.
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Old May 2, 2012   #10
stormymater
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Worth - you got 'em BOTH! Eyed click beetle knocked me upside my head! And I have the first 2 kinds of Tussock moth caterpillars creeping around in the uber hot peppers! You are a real gem!
Looking back on my descriptions one might have thought I was smoking something out in the mater patch but I wasn't!
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Old May 2, 2012   #11
stormymater
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and they are related to puss caterpillars - just as I had suspected & therefore did not touch! SCORE!

Kudzu beetle - http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/no...n/kudzubug.htm
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Old May 2, 2012   #12
Worth1
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Originally Posted by stormymater View Post
and they are related to puss caterpillars - just as I had suspected & therefore did not touch! SCORE!

Kudzu beetle - http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/no...n/kudzubug.htm
That is a nasty looking beetle.

My curiosity of bugs goes all the way back to my childhood I was always coming home with critters.
I would then open up my critter identification books to see what it was.

Yes the tussocks caterpillar does sting though I never have had the privilege myself.

Worth
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Old May 2, 2012   #13
babice
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oh please don't let me see one of these...
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Old May 3, 2012   #14
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Stormy if you want I can send over my feral cats who love to eat and bugs are like desert. If you got snakes they'll kill them too!!
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Old May 3, 2012   #15
tjg911
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Worth1 View Post

Yes the tussocks caterpillar does sting though I never have had the privilege myself.

Worth
i always wondered what this cat was, i have seen these from time to time. i never touch cats cuz some have hairs that irritate. if i have to move them i use something to pick them up, never my hands.

tom
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I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night
He’s gotta be strong
And he’s gotta be fast
And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
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He’s gotta be sure
And it’s gotta be soon
And he’s gotta be larger than life
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