Joplin UrbanEx - Crocodile Hunter-style.

[Mindscape]

Since my digital camera sucks ass, and my analog camera needs a flash still, I don't generally get to take a picture of my wanderings-around. However, today I found something that (I think) qualifies as Something Nifty Found In The City... so I promptly clubbed it with an empty Gatorade bottle and stuffed it inside.

What you see is a Cicada Killer wasp of about two inches in length (give or take). There's a penny in the pictures to provide a size reference.

[Chris]

Those things arew fucking huge. I found one in the pool filter at my old house once. I wonder if the sting is proportional to their size!

[Mindscape]

Yup. I've got the thing sitting here in a tupperware storage box on my desk, and it's kinda pissed about being in there. The stinger's easily a quarter of an inch or a little longer, and it's about as big around as your average 0.7 mechanical pencil lead (tapered, though, of course). Freakin' nasty-lookin'. Plus, the thing's apparently fully recovered now from being boshed on the head with the Gatorade bottle.

This one's a good inch longer than the one that the Conservation Department branch down here has in a bug collection. I stopped by there to figure out what it was, since it's been about a decade since the last time I saw one (I remembered after I'd asked). Since we've got a lot of cicadas running around down here, and they like our porchlight, I'm gonna toss one in and see what happens.

[Chris]

LOL awesome. You've got to take a video of that.


The only thing that would make it cooler is if - somehow - the cicada kicked it's ass.

[Mindscape]

Lacking functional mouthparts (their mouth only works during their larval stages, and fuses itself between their legs upon reaching adulthood), or claws of any defensive or offensive sort, I think the cicada's pretty much screwed. The only thing it's got going for it is a little bit of bulk (but not much), and the fact that it's got bigger wings. But considering that the wasp did fine against bludgeoning by a bottle powered by a human, I think the cicada's fucked.

[gimpface]

You should just add two or three cicadas to the bottle and film what happens.

[Willard]

Lacking functional mouthparts (their mouth only works during their larval stages, and fuses itself between their legs upon reaching adulthood), or claws of any defensive or offensive sort, I think the cicada's pretty much screwed. The only thing it's got going for it is a little bit of bulk (but not much), and the fact that it's got bigger wings. But considering that the wasp did fine against bludgeoning by a bottle powered by a human, I think the cicada's fucked.

I know some people who have a lack of functional mouth parts...

[dawgchain]

? update?

[Mindscape]

Update:

After putting a cicada into the box and shaking them into the same corner, they completely ignored one another. After a while of watching them, I got bored and put the box outside for the night. The next day, the cicada was dead.

Now, that could just have been because cicadas have a short life span. Or it could have had to do with the fact that I had to pry it out of Hamlet's mouth (he apparently liked holding it there and listening to it scream muffledly). Or the wasp might have actually like stabbified it to death. I have no idea.

Today, the wasp is also dead. I plan on pinning it to something. It's huge.

[CasperMilkToast]

Cuda and I saw one of those in our garage last week sometime. I though it was a big ass bee. It was also huge, might see if I can find it in there somewhere and see how big it is.

[pavement]

I had one of those things fly in to my car before, I almost wreck trying to pull over and get the damn thing out of my car.

[Split]

I had one of those things fly in to my car before, I almost wreck trying to pull over and get the damn thing out of my car.

One time when I was moving I rented the biggest U-Haul you could rent, like 26ft I think, and towed my car behind it. I was driving down the interstate when out of nowhere I felt an extremely sharp pain in my leg. It was one of the most extreme pains I have ever felt. I was all over the road and stomping my feet. I managed to swerve over onto the shoulder and found this fucking wasp. I killed the bastard and squished him untill you could no longer see what he used to be.

[dawgchain]

A long time ago, in a campground far away, when i was like 8-9 we were camping out, I got woke up in the middle of the night with the most excutiating pain you could ever imagine in my pants... When i opened up and looked, I had been stung by a wasp right on the hole in the tip... and seeing as I am HIGHLY allergic to sstart with, it swelled up to the size of a fucking softball. it fucking hurt like hell for weeks... you know those funnel/hoods that you see dogs wearing... I had to wear something like that in my nether-regions to keep my pants from rubbing it, and had to wear sweats for three days.



"Actually no, it's not a banana, it's a dick-collar. And, no, I am not happy to see you."

[BROUSER]

I worked at a Xmas tree farm one year trimming the xmas trees. Wasps and hornets love that shit. I got stung 6 times on one tree. I think the most I got stung in one day was 10. Not hornets. Just the red wasps.

[Hiccup]

A long time ago, in a campground far away, when i was like 8-9 we were camping out, I got woke up in the middle of the night with the most excutiating pain you could ever imagine in my pants... When i opened up and looked, I had been stung by a wasp right on the hole in the tip... and seeing as I am HIGHLY allergic to sstart with, it swelled up to the size of a fucking softball. it fucking hurt like hell for weeks... you know those funnel/hoods that you see dogs wearing... I had to wear something like that in my nether-regions to keep my pants from rubbing it, and had to wear sweats for three days.

that is FUNNY!

sorry dude, sorry for your pain

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!