Ninety nine plonk ….

Posted on by Ark

The sound of a centipede with a wooden leg.

Found one of these two years ago and this morning I was alerted that one of the cats had found a new ”toy”.

On the previous encounter the little horror was a goner, but this one,although a bit the worse for wear was still alive.

Meet …. Cormocphelus nitidus

 

15/7/19

Ark.

 

 

38 thoughts on “Ninety nine plonk ….”

    1. Tastes? I didn’t eat it …. you know I am a vegisaur.

      Jokes aside …
      This is a fascinating creature. See its pincers?
      Can give quite a nasty nip and it is venomous.
      Fortunately ( for moi) this one was still somewhat dazed and confused after its rough and tumble with one of the cats. Nevertheless, I was cautious.

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  6. I am convinced that insects will take over the world someday. There’s one scary one!!

    Speaking of bugs. . A few weeks ago I heard a scrabbling out on the front deck. We had seen a hornet’s nest under one of the railings of the deck and hubby was going to spray it with some toxic canned stuff. . .anyway. I hear this noise of tiny feet scrabbling, look out and there’s a blue jay tearing the hornet’s nest apart. It would peck a layer off, dip its beak into the nest and eat the larvae, then repeat the action. It took about 5 minutes, but nature got rid of the pesky hornet’s nest! Never saw anything like that before.

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      1. You know something? I hardly ever take pictures and when I do I use my ipad (they’re usually of the grandchildren as opposed to nature pics). Actually, that reminds me. I did take a picture of two deer standing at the edge of the lawn last week – they usually don’t come this close to the shore. Hubby and I stood out on the deck with our coffee cups and watched them browse for a good 10 minutes.

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    2. Carmen, last year I saw something similar. There was a Yellow Jacket (i.e. hornet) nest inside the exterior wall of my apartment building near my bedroom window. The manager was having trouble eradicating the nest because of its protected location. I’m not very fond of Yellow Jackets because they swarmed me a few years ago and it was a painful experience. Anyway, one day I saw a mating pair of House Sparrows circling around and picking off individual hornets as they tried to enter or exit the nest. Later on I learned that many bird species supplement their diets with insects as a source of protein.

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  7. I love the up close and personal, and that ‘moustache’ is elegant. That said, I pray to FSM that I never even see one of those.

    I’ll remember that about the birds and the er, wasps. Our porch is a site on a map somewhere for yellow jackets and white tailed hornets. Im hoping now, if we leave them alone, the birds will find them. If not, well…

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  8. Hello Ark. Again you show a bravery with bugs that most of us wouldn’t dream of. Hey speaking of not thinking one would do something, you have had … an effect on me regarding spiders. Twice this week I have been faced with the nasty unwanted intolpers. The first time I looked over from my desk and seen a rather large huge spider on the floor in front of my desk. This thing was as big as an US dime. My fear factor spiked as adrenaline flooded my system to flight or fight. I slowly stood up judging the distance between us and how fast I could rain my shoes on this nasty beast. However I remembered your often repeated words that they are rarely dangerous and surely even one this large couldn’t eat much of me as I squashed it. I got close, slowly reached out to the door squeezed by it hoping it wouldn’t move and got a plastic container / lid and then gingerly tried to move it into the container. It wouldn’t cooperate. It simply refused to go into the container. I needed another plan if I was to save this vile thing without getting harmed. I got a dustpan and small hand broom and hoping it wouldn’t lunge at me I swept it into the dustpan and took it out side where I released it. How ever there was a problem. It still wouldn’t cooperate and enjoy its new freedom. Stealing myself with a shot of Vodka I poked it. It did not move. Turns out it was dead. Very dead. But hey I tried to save it and I did not kill it, again.
    Then yesterday I was looking for something on my shelves and noticed something smaller than an ant moving down the wall. Again the urge to be a defending giant and squash it rose in me. Even I had to admit this thing was hardly more than a dust mote. I got a piece of paper towel and while shaking a bit I let the crazy demon crawl on it. Then I rushed it outside before it could devour my hand. That is when I discovered getting it on the towel was a much easier job than getting it off the towel. I tried shaking it and saying threatening words but it just kept crawling over the paper towel and going over and under the edge causing me panic every time I couldn’t see it. Then I got inspiration, I have plants by the door, so I put the towel next to a leaf and the thing crawled up on the leaf. I then rushed in side and barricaded the door before it could attack. See I do try to read your posts even when they have hellish creatures on them. 😁😃😄😎🙄 Hugs

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    2. Oh. My. Thor! Scottie, you had me cracking up!! You definitely have a knack for story-telling. You should consider doing it professionally!

      BTW, glad to see it all worked out and you’re SAFE!

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    4. I awoke one morning after someone’s wild wild wedding, on a camp-stretcher in someone’s back porch. Opened mine eyes and couldn’t at first focus, and then it dawned on me that I was hallucinating—they just don’t make spiders that large. I went back to sleep.

      Later I helped clean out the garage and in amongst the detritus of ages found a mummified deceased spider, dry but still waaaaaay too big to be legal …

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      1. Hello Argus. I wouldn’t have been able to go back to sleep. As a kid I use to have nightmares of an old black and white movie of a man who kept shrinking and had a fight with a huge spider. Hugs

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    5. Proud of you, Scottie. I do the glass/paper bit quite regularly here, since we seem to be a waystation or anything that walks, climbs or, god forbid, flies. The only time it stumps me, is winter, and if the spider seems to be minding her own business I mind mine and it does work.

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  9. Very nice. The centipedes we get around here don’t get more than an inch or two and are rather plain-looking and unassuming. Your find is quite the handsome creature.

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