marv sherrill - 9-15-2007 at 04:09 PM
what is the "Tarantula Hawk" called in Espanol (assuming it just didn't sting you...)? muchas gracias
bahiamia - 9-15-2007 at 04:47 PM
"Toro", or "Torito". Got stung by one of those once. Was the most painful sting/bite I've ever felt and I've been hit by scorpions, stingrays, all
that good stuff. Stung me on my ring finger on one of my knuckle joints and it took almost a year before I could get my ring back on (I took it off
immediately after getting hit).
They like the "Milkweed"/ Juemte plants and you'll see alot of them crusing around those. The time I got stung happened at night, and it was
attracted to my laptop screen along with many other insects (had left one of my shudders cracked open a bit). I felt something land on me and
instinctively took a swipe at it, and that's when it hit me. Extremely painful.
Iflyfish - 9-15-2007 at 05:25 PM
Got a picture of it?
Iflyfish
Socalz - 9-15-2007 at 06:11 PM
The "Schmidt Sting Pain Index" created by Entomologist Justin O. Schmidt was an attempt to rate the relative pain caused by different Hymenopteran
stings. The tarantula hawk is also known as the pepsis wasp, one of only 3 insects to rate a "4" on the 1-4 scale.
# 1.0 Sweat bee: Light, ephemeral, almost fruity. A tiny spark has singed a single hair on your arm.
# 1.2 Fire ant: Sharp, sudden, mildly alarming. Like walking across a shag carpet & reaching for the light switch.
# 1.8 Bullhorn acacia ant: A rare, piercing, elevated sort of pain. Someone has fired a staple into your cheek.
# 2.0 Bald-faced hornet: Rich, hearty, slightly crunchy. Similar to getting your hand mashed in a revolving door.
# 2.0 Yellowjacket: Hot and smoky, almost irreverent. Imagine WC Fields extinguishing a cigar on your tongue.
# 2.x Honey bee and European hornet: Like a matchhead that flips off and burns on your skin.
# 3.0 Red harvester ant: Bold and unrelenting. Somebody is using a drill to excavate your ingrown toenail.
# 3.0 Paper wasp: Caustic & burning. Distinctly bitter aftertaste. Like spilling a beaker of Hydrochloric acid on a paper cut.
# 4.0 Pepsis wasp: Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair drier has been dropped into your bubble bath (if you get stung by one you
might as well lie down and scream).
# 4.0+ Bullet ant: Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch nail in your heel.
Interesting article here: http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/176758
[Edited on 9-16-2007 by Socalz]
Osprey - 9-15-2007 at 06:35 PM
Mexican medicine silver bulltet for all of the above and many, many more =Guaco, nature's roadside antihisamine. I've used it on avispas, alcon de
tarantula, bitaches, more.
bajajudy - 9-15-2007 at 06:52 PM
Seahawk
What is guaco? por favor...pictures?
Iflyfish - 9-16-2007 at 12:45 AM
Wow, that is a real hum dinger!! or hum zinger!
What a lovely color combo!
Thanks for the pic.
Iflyfish
The pic doesnt do it justice
Hook - 9-16-2007 at 01:31 AM
From Wikipedia....
Tarantula hawks are up to two inches (50mm) long with a blue-black body and bright rust-colored wings. The bright rust coloring that they have on
their wings is also known as aposematic coloring; this warns potential predators that they are dangerous. Their long legs end with hooked claws for
grappling with their victims. The stinger of a female tarantula hawk can be up to 1/3 inch (7 mm) long.
Female tarantula hawks may hunt for wandering male tarantulas. However, during the insect's reproductive season male tarantulas are usually emaciated
from ignoring food while searching for females. The tarantula hawks prefer female tarantulas and seek them in their burrows. They capture (often
following a dramatic battle), sting and paralyze the spider. Next they either drag the spider back into her own burrow or transport their prey to a
specially prepared nest where a single egg is laid on the spider’s body, and the entrance is covered. The wasp larva, upon hatching, begins to suck
the juices from the still-living spider. After the larva grows a bit, the spider dies and the larva plunges into the spider's body and feeds
voraciously, avoiding vital organs for as long as possible to keep it fresh. The adult wasp emerges from the nest to continue the life cycle.
Tarantula hawks are "nectarivorous." The consumption of fermented fruit sometimes intoxicates them to the point that flight becomes difficult. While
the wasps tend to be most active in daytime during summer months, they tend to avoid the very highest temperatures. The male tarantula hawk has an
interesting behavior: many act in a behavior called "hill-topping", where they sit on top of tall plants and look out for females who are ready to
reproduce.
Cypress - 9-16-2007 at 06:28 AM
Thanks all for the information.
I learn something of interest every day on this
forum.
Osprey - 9-16-2007 at 08:42 AM
Judy, I don't have a photo of a live plant -- my Mexican pals bring the dried leaves, stems, etc. to me, I put em in Mezcal in a jar under the sink
like so many other families around here. Instant relief (as in no pain) if applied right to the bite (everybody takes a little hit and that's a good
idea and no joke as the Mezcal puts the medicine into the blood stream pretty quickly).
I'll try to google up a photo, send you the link.
Osprey - 9-16-2007 at 08:46 AM
Here's the link for the photos: http://www.rain-tree.com/Plant-Images/guaco-pic.htm
CABALLITO DEL DIABLO
BAJACAT - 9-16-2007 at 11:27 AM
Where I was raise in MX we call them CABALLITOS DEL DIABLO(THE DEVIL'S HORSE),due to the red wings,we where afraid of them..
.I sitll remember some good fights betewen these two TARANTULA VS CABALLITO DEL
DIABLO.
[Edited on 9-16-2007 by BAJACAT]
marv sherrill - 9-16-2007 at 05:03 PM
Thanks for all the info - I too have been stung by everything EXCEPT one of those - I think I'll keep it that way.... loved the "sting-o-meter" Socalz
bajajudy - 9-16-2007 at 05:14 PM
Thanks seahawk
very interesting......
Gnome-ad - 9-17-2007 at 11:56 AM
Thanks for the info. We met a guy at a party a couple of weeks ago who had been stung that day. It was all he could do to carry on a conversation
without wincing in pain. He was keeping an ice cube attached to his hand. Ironically he was an expert on the local flora and the uses. Perhaps he
remembered guaco in the morning. I hope so.
Cypress - 9-17-2007 at 12:53 PM
Remember seeing 'em down south, called 'em "Black Wasps". Never been stung by one.
Paulina - 9-17-2007 at 01:08 PM
We always knew what the Trantula Hawk's mission in life was. We see them all the time, but never knew that they could be a hazard to us as well. In
fact this past summer Dern picked one up to move it out of the road. I will now look at them a bit differently after reading this post. That was quick
thinking Mia, in removing your ring asap.
Thanks for the very interesting and informative information this thread has provided.
P<*)))><
edinnopolo - 9-17-2007 at 01:29 PM
Boy, see those wasps here every day. Never gave them a second thought, probably since they're not aggressive.
Will definitely change my way of thinking now and avoid them as much as possible.
docsmom - 9-17-2007 at 08:26 PM
I wonder if they have these in So. Cal? I got stung by something at Lake Piru in the '60's that my mom called a blue wasp. I was a kid, eating a fig
newton and that sting was the worst I've ever experienced. Spent the day with my hand hanging over the boat trying to cool the sting in the lake
water. And as I remember, it lasted several days after that. Not bad enough to keep me from putting a ring on for a year, but pretty bad. Anyone
know the regional habitat of this creature?
BajaDanD - 9-17-2007 at 10:29 PM
We used to see them all the time out in the desart near Riverside. I remember a kid getting stung by one and heard stories of others getting stung
I have seen some lately by my house in Prescott Az.
bahiamia - 9-18-2007 at 10:25 AM
Yeah Paulina, you'll see alot of them down here in Bahia and as edinnopolo mentioned, they do not seem aggressive. They usually just cruise around
from plant to plant. There are tons around the ranch, one milkweed might have 10 hawks on it at times. But good idea keep your distance and avoid
getting stung. And on the ring, figured I better get it off right quick because from how bad the sting felt that I knew was in for some big time
swelling.