BajaNomad

the bugs of Baja

gueribo - 10-30-2018 at 04:16 PM

The "What's That Bug" website is a great place to have mysterious bugs identified. A search for Baja California yielded some interesting results. Have any Baja bug photos to share?

https://www.whatsthatbug.com/?s=Baja+California

thistledown ant.jpg - 14kB

DouglasP - 10-30-2018 at 04:39 PM

Nothing too out of the ordinary......except when they are in the casa! :o

IMG_0959.jpg - 17kB

PA140104.jpg - 78kB

[Edited on 5-1-2023 by BajaNomad]

gueribo - 10-30-2018 at 04:48 PM

Not Baja but nearly. Southern California, crossing the road, just minding his own business . . .

tarantula1.jpg - 185kB

Bug

tehag - 10-30-2018 at 09:52 PM

Horse Bean Longhorned Beetle (Trachyderes mandibularis) About 6cm long not counting those "horns".

Beetle-Horse-bean Longhorned-9974sm by tehagl, on Flickr

Russ - 10-31-2018 at 09:17 AM









[Edited on 10-31-2018 by Russ]

[Edited on 5-1-2023 by BajaNomad]

thebajarunner - 10-31-2018 at 05:35 PM

WHAT???
No VW pix yet?
You thread thieving trolls are losing your touch

gueribo - 11-1-2018 at 08:26 AM

Russ, do you know what this one is?


bug1.jpg - 103kB

David K - 11-1-2018 at 10:33 AM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaNomad  
A dozen or more (?) threads on here in the past asking about - or discussing - Sun Spiders, Camel Spiders, Wind Scorpions, and what the locals in Baja seem to refer to as Mata Venado (Matavenado) - "deer killer".

http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=47246
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=38330
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=33295
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=27185
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=23503
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=14092

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_spider

One of Russ' pictures:



gueribo - 11-1-2018 at 02:11 PM

Thanks, David. That's a looker.

gueribo - 11-1-2018 at 02:19 PM

Quote: Originally posted by thebajarunner  
WHAT???
No VW pix yet?
You thread thieving trolls are losing your touch


Here you go . . .


bug2.jpg - 22kB

StuckSucks - 11-1-2018 at 03:35 PM

Lunch in San Felipe:


Playa Bonita RV Park:

bajabuddha - 11-1-2018 at 04:20 PM

@stuck ~ That lunch in San Flip..... how'dja cook'em?

StuckSucks - 11-1-2018 at 04:23 PM

Quote: Originally posted by bajabuddha  
@stuck ~ That lunch in San Flip..... how'dja cook'em?


Medium rare, with a lemon wedge and a splash of Tapatio.

bajabuddha - 11-1-2018 at 04:51 PM

:biggrin:

bajaric - 11-2-2018 at 05:10 AM

No see Um:








:biggrin:

Bugman - 11-2-2018 at 11:55 AM

The critter pictured a few times above (most recently in David K's Post) is not a sun spider. This one is in the family Amblipygidae and goes by the common name of whip spider or whip scorpion. They look like something out of a nightmare but are pretty harmless. They are related to scorpions and spiders but are not venomous and don't have much of an attitude. In subtropical and tropical locations they can get very large and I have seen them with a legspan larger than a dinner plate.

thebajarunner - 11-2-2018 at 12:49 PM

They serve all kinds of bugs, fried and otherwise, on the waterfront in Singapore where all the nice restaurants are located.
They display them on panels
If you want to take a picture they charge you for the photo

Maybe some enterprising young dude could sell deep fried tarantula on the Malecon in San Felipe

BajaMama - 11-3-2018 at 07:23 AM

I saw a whip spider (?) for the first time last week in Punta Chivato, at night with a flashlight in the bathroom of course. Thing looked like it had twice the number of legs from the flashlight shadow. Wickedest looking bug I have ever seen!

surabi - 11-4-2018 at 08:06 PM

Yes, those whip tails are one of the scariest looking little critters. They get really big where I live near PV. Their bodies and pincers are crablike and they move sideways like a crab as well.
They have no toxin and are quite shy, yet every Mexican has a story about how their tio or someone got bit by one and died :-)
I keep a dead one in a jar to show visitors so they don't freak out when they see one.
My neighbor once found an albino one in his bodega, snow white.

weebray - 11-5-2018 at 08:31 AM

The baddest bug in the jungle down here is the deer fly. Very aggressive and painful bite.

Bugman - 11-8-2018 at 12:26 PM

Quote: Originally posted by surabi  
Yes, those whip tails are one of the scariest looking little critters. They get really big where I live near PV. Their bodies and pincers are crablike and they move sideways like a crab as well.
They have no toxin and are quite shy, yet every Mexican has a story about how their tio or someone got bit by one and died :-)
I keep a dead one in a jar to show visitors so they don't freak out when they see one.
My neighbor once found an albino one in his bodega, snow white.


More than likely he did not find an albino whip spider. He probably happened upon one that had just molted. When insects molt the cuticle is soft and often very pale. Over the course of several minutes or hours (depends on the bug) the cuticle will harden and return to its normal color. If I had a nickel for each time somebody told me that found an albino c-ckroach I would have retired by now. Wait 20 minutes and the roach is miraculously not albino anymore :biggrin:

surabi - 11-10-2018 at 05:07 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Bugman  
Quote: Originally posted by surabi  
Yes, those whip tails are one of the scariest looking little critters. They get really big where I live near PV. Their bodies and pincers are crablike and they move sideways like a crab as well.
They have no toxin and are quite shy, yet every Mexican has a story about how their tio or someone got bit by one and died :-)
I keep a dead one in a jar to show visitors so they don't freak out when they see one.
My neighbor once found an albino one in his bodega, snow white.


More than likely he did not find an albino whip spider. He probably happened upon one that had just molted. When insects molt the cuticle is soft and often very pale. Over the course of several minutes or hours (depends on the bug) the cuticle will harden and return to its normal color. If I had a nickel for each time somebody told me that found an albino c-ckroach I would have retired by now. Wait 20 minutes and the roach is miraculously not albino anymore :biggrin:


Nope, he caught it and kept it for a few days until giving it to a friend who is fascinated by them. Stayed bright white. Any creature can be albino, I believe. Of course it's rare. But interesting to know about the molting process.

imlost - 11-12-2018 at 10:53 AM




One of our friends who were guests at our casa this week, mistakenly left a couple camp chairs folded up outside on our patio. We discovered three of these spiders inside when we unfolded the chairs. They are quite large - For reference, the blue tile in the top right corner of the picture is 4"x4" and the grout line is about an inch wide. I believe this is a Huntsman Spider. Can anyone verify?

[Edited on 5-1-2023 by BajaNomad]

DeMinimis - 12-28-2018 at 05:25 PM

About to finish up this Bug soon. Not going to Baja it though. Sorry.

00808_fl6PcscyIkC_1200x900-800x1076.jpg - 125kB

Bubba - 12-29-2018 at 06:41 AM

Quote: Originally posted by DeMinimis  
About to finish up this Bug soon. Not going to Baja it though. Sorry.



Love the old Bugs, nice color!

Alm - 12-30-2018 at 10:50 PM

Did anybody ever die in Baja of scorpion bite? From what I hear, Baja bark scorpions are different from Arizona bark scorpions. The latter "might" kill you, one fatality per few thousands bites.

Other scorpion species are less deadly yet - if there are other species in Baja. To me, they all look like bark scorpion.