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Gigantic Bugs in Southern California
SloppyElvis writes "...and this time, Silicon Valley didn't create them. ;P CNN picked up this AP story about new species discovered in S.Cal. The most suprising news is this discovery came in such a densely-populated area. Beware, monstrous unknown creatures may be lurking in your backyard!"
I wonder if the timing of the news relates to the recent protest against dune buggies and other desert games.
This isn't news. Everybody knows that Caltech includes giant bugs in everything they release.
Maybe they're aphids...
Why is Grand Theft Auto a much more serious crime than Reckless Driving?
A friend of mine was sleeping on the floor, in my guest room, when he heard something by his head.
When he turned on the light, he saw that the huge hideous Jerusalem Cricket that he had heard crawling.
Yow! They are big and ugly, and this is from someone who finds tarantulas pretty.
Assembly is the reverse of disassembly.
Jeepers, those things are huge. And really ugly. I'm suddenly reminded of why living in a northern climate isn't such a bad thing -- winter kill prevents giant beasties like this from (hopefully) taking residence.
I can't imagine they have many natural enemies (other than coyotes, as mentioned in the article) -- I know I definitely wouldn't want to see the spider big enough to eat one of those monsters. I wonder what has kept their population from exploding like with most insects?
-A.
What did the walrus say to the penguin? "No soap, radio."
I am fairly sure that the pest control companies in the area knew of the bugs.
When I used to be a hired bug killer we would be asked by the company scientist if we had seen any of "bug x" and invariably, most of us had. Every time, he was surprised.
I guess scientists that don't spend much time in the field think that they know it all since they have read (suposedly) all of the books.
OK... So where can I download the patched version of Southern California?
What do you mean not that kind of bugs?
Make even shorter URLs - 8LN.org
This totally brings to mind a spooky horror novel from my childhood, called The Hephaestus Plague.
Any of 'em start a fire yet?
Big Daddy, Johnny, Burp, Aunt Zelda, Scott, Slurp, Big Momma
microsoft already released a critical update to fix this.
That man tried to kill mah Daddy
Somehow I'm forced to wonder if this 13 inch bug isn't native to California. In order to be a species it needs something to mate with and if people havn't been seeing 13 inch bugs before I would think that other bugs might have the same problem. In other words this isn't a species from around here. I suspect this species probably originates from some jungle and this one just escaped from its cage. Either that or its the vangaurd of a massive Alien invasion and soon legions of these are going to overwhelming our species. Alien invasion or South American pet? Take your pick.
I stole this Sig
My wife caught one a couple of years ago and kept it in a jar to prove to me they exist (I had been reluctant to believe that such a monster was real).
She calls it a "potato bug," and they're relatively common in the desert valley she grew up in.
As a New Yorker, I had seen my share of giant waterbugs, but this took the cake. It's the hideous proportions of the bug, and it's languid movements, that make it so creepy- almost as if it knows it doesn't have to be scared of anything.
(Except coyotes, apparently, and curious SoCal residents with jars).
Marc Siry || interactive media professional, motorcycle enthusiast ||
The department of energy has not commented.
The alternative to limited government is unlimited government.
How long till somone starts putting these bugs in lollipops or serving then with ketchup?
t'nera semordnilap
If you see the photo, it's actually two cut back parts of
cockroaches, glued together.
Black cockroaches can be 5 santimeters in length.
And it's not a news.
Actually, the reason why insects can not be huge,
lies in their means of breathing. They breath through pores in
their skin and have no lungs. So their dimensions are limited by
their ineffective breathing. The more oxygen in athmosphere,
the larger insects can be.
Before anyone corrects me, I meant the largest insect in that area. The largest insect known is rather drastically larger :).
Steven N. Severinghaus
Maybe they're just looking for an "Edgar" suit...
An f'ing Potato Bug! I saw these monsters during my childhood in the early 70's in Santa Monica, CA. These were the same size as pictured but sand colored. Later on I tried to describe them to friends with laughter being the result. Giant bugs! Ha ha!
Now I get the last laugh!
Many sand fleas along the west coast? How big do they get? I used to dig for them along the beach as a kid. Those boogers got pretty big. Fast, too.
Don't tell me. The cockroaches in California can say things like "Yo quiero Taco Bell".
You sound like a total dick.
I awoke feeling something on my head and I quickly swept my arm on the sheets to brush it away. Since I was still half asleep, and I didn't think I swept anything I figured it was just a dream.
My girlfriend awoke from my sudden movement and armsweep and immediately screamed and brushed something off of her neck. I guess I did sweep it away, right onto her!
After turning on the lights I discovered one of these "Jerusalem Bugs" which a room mate identified as a "potato bug". Apparently they like to crawl in bed with you.
I crushed the little bugger with a heavy iron box I had lying around as I had no coyotes handy. Little did I know I was impeding science.
A few summers ago we had a few show up in the house we were renting in Costa Mesa. They didn't really move, and died pretty quickly (whew), but I had to try to track down what they really were to help my wife relax.
I remember calling them "patato bugs" as a kid, but couldn't find that on the web (aside from real patato bugs. After an evening of searching I finally found that they were really "Jerusalem Crickets".
I had hoped that there was at least somewhere online (college entomology department, etc.) that I could use to identify the bugs, but no dice. Then I checked to see if there was any place that would like to hear about them. Again, no dice. It seems a shame that the scientists out there aren't taking advantage of the Internet.
have a nice day
bofh_org
-- Nethack Ueber Alles --
I find it interesting given this" story as well that there is an 'outbreak' of new insect discoveries. What's next, plagues of locusts.....
just doing my job as a biological filter
-shpoffo
There's nothing new here as these are known as Potato Bugs. They're also the most repulsive and disgusting creatures on the planet. Checkout www.potatobugs.com
Those things are nasty!
The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
I grew up in Long Beach, CA, and the picture at CNN is what we used to call a "Potato Bug"... that's not the correct latin, but this is not a NEW, Improved, ribbed for her revulsion sort of critter.
:-D
Seriously though, we're realizing one observed animal is multiple species pretty frequently lately... whales of course, elephants a few months ago... I was hoping this was something from the dark realm of Monsanto.
Danish and German researchers have published a study in today's issue of Science announcing the discovery of a new Order of insects. This is the new Order of Insects discovered in almost ninety years.
The Order shows similarities to stick insects, and to crickets. But only three individual speicimens have been found each representing a different new species.
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