Yikes!
I found the bloated corpse of a bug in my pool today. At first glance I thought it was one of my kids' toys. It looked too creepy to be real.
Click here for a shot that gives it some scale.
The thing stunk, too. I posted the picture online and asked for help in identifying the creature. Someone directed me to this link, and solved the mystery.
It's the famous Potato Bug. Many years ago I asked a plumber who was crawling under our apartment, "What's the scariest thing you've ever seen under a house?"
He said that the worst thing he'd seen was a bunch of Potato Bugs running at him. I remember him telling me, "They have big bald heads, like babies."
Now I can finally understand what he meant.
posted by Josh Troy at 5:58 PM
2 Comments:
It's time to move back East.
I have received lots of useful feedback since I posted the dead bug photos. One of the most interesting and disturbing tidbits was this from the Dr. Bug website:
"They are sometimes found dead in swimming pools and ponded waters. This is either the result of a simple drowning or a parasite infection. The horsehair worm (Gordius spp. or Paragordius spp.) can inhabit the jerusalem cricket's gut and feed. The worm can alter the behavior of the cricket and force it to seek water. Once in water, the worm bursts through the insect's abdomen and seeks a mate. The cricket dies from the wound."
http://homepage.mac.com/bugbob/askdoctorbug/stenopelmatus.html
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