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Sunday, August 18, 2013

Sometimes Nature Is Too Much Even For Me



I'm embarrassed to admit that I shrieked when this thing jumped on me.
You know, I really do my best to live in harmony with the natural world. Yes, I do have to run the air conditioner several hours a day for seven months, but I balanced that out by converting the front yard from a water-guzzling lawn to a wildlife haven filled with native desert trees and shrubs.

I like to work in the garden all day in the company of birds and bees.





I encourage our spiders, large and small, to do their work of pest control.
Crab spider?

Black Widow Spider - I've seen them kill scorpions many times their size (below)
I really have no sympathy for these - I keep getting stung!

 I rescue poor confused snakes and lizards from the pool all summer. 

I even put up with some of these pests...

But once in a while, something comes along that is too weird!
 
I was just walking around the back yard yesterday, minding my own business, when this thing flew right into my face. It was scary.
WHAT IS IT AND WHY IS IT HERE?
When I recovered my composure - and when the bug removed itself to a tree - I was able to appreciate its beauty. The body is about 1/2 inch long, and then it has those crazy red legs. It really has the most amazing colors. It likes the mesquite tree. The closest I can get to an ID is that it may be related to the Giant Mesquite Bug, Thasus neocalifornicus.

 

I've recovered from the shock, but honestly, I can do without any more surprises hitting me in the face for a while!
 
Katrina
 

4 comments:

  1. You have some amazing creepy crawly things about your garden!Don't quite like the sound of the Black widow Spider or the scorpion I must admit.The canine pest looks a sweetie though!

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  2. ...also...have not the faintest idea what the other bug might be (obviously) but it certainly looks startling!!

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  3. Eueew - my skin is crawling just looking at them! I have arachnophobia big time. They literally freak me out. So you have much more patience than me. On the flip side - loved the little bird and puppy pictures!

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  4. Okay, that is one creepy bug!!!! Like you, I would definitely appreciate it from a distance. But on my face? I would scream like a little girl!

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