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Doug/Vamonos
Nomad
Posts: 418
Registered: 6-19-2006
Location: Bahia de los Angeles
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One of those landed in our camp at Geckos many years ago and scared the crap out of my bugaphobe wife. It is a scary looking little monster when it is
12" in front of you.
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tehag
Super Nomad
Posts: 1248
Registered: 1-8-2005
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Tarantula hawk
Found this dead tarantula hawk today, and since the stinger is plainly visible I dug up this old thread to post the pic. This is the business end of
the beast, and they use it to knock a tarantula out very quickly. I've not been stung, but people who have generally say they don't wish to repeat the
experience.
Certainty is the child of ignorance, knowledge is the mother of doubt. Question everything!
http://bcsbirds.com |
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Marc
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2802
Registered: 5-15-2010
Location: San Francisco & Palm Springs
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Mood: Waiting
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i was stung - bit on my ring finger. Hurt like hell and then my lips went numb. Go figure?
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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The tarantula hawk feeds on nectar. Down south here we all have a mason jar under the kitchen sink full of guaco and tequila to treat the bite/sting
if we get one.
I keep my personal guaco handy for bitaches and avispas which have almost knocked me to my knees a time or two. One daubing with the precious guaco
and the pain is gone in seconds.
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monoloco
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6667
Registered: 7-13-2009
Location: Pescadero BCS
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They are interesting critters, their sting will anesthetize a tarantula which they will drag into a burrow in the ground and lay their eggs on, later
when the eggs hatch the babies will feed off of the tarantula which remains alive. We once rescued a tarantula that I found the tarantula hawk
dragging towards it's burrow after having stung the tarantula, we put the spider in a box and it eventually recovered after about two months.
Apparently their venom is quite a powerful anesthesia.
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monoloco
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6667
Registered: 7-13-2009
Location: Pescadero BCS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Osprey
The tarantula hawk feeds on nectar. Down south here we all have a mason jar under the kitchen sink full of guaco and tequila to treat the bite/sting
if we get one.
I keep my personal guaco handy for bitaches and avispas which have almost knocked me to my knees a time or two. One daubing with the precious guaco
and the pain is gone in seconds. |
Osprey, Where do you get the guaco? Is there a local plant named guaco or
are you referring to the plant known in South America as guaco? I know that there are numerous vines referred to as guaco and I'd be interested to
know the specific plant you have mentioned.
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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Mono, I'm not much help with that. I get mine from my Mexican neighbors but when I get it, it is dried leaves and twigs in a baggie. Online the pix I
see don't help me much with ID as it looks like every vine I've every encountered. It grows along side the highway on both sides of La Paz but only
when things are up and lush after a heavy rain.
After one really bad rain event down here there were over 1000 dengue fever victims in La Paz hospitals and their caregivers wiped out the vines to
make them tea when they got home -- must be good stuff because I'm told you could not find a plant anywhere even in the mountains when all those
people needed home remedies.
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monoloco
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6667
Registered: 7-13-2009
Location: Pescadero BCS
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Thank's Osprey, I'll have to start grilling the locals for more info on guaco.
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marv sherrill
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Posts: 464
Registered: 11-18-2003
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On the official "sting-o-meter a "torrito" - aka tarantula wasp, is a 4. The scale is 1-4 - 4 being the most painful - there are only 3 # 4 bugs--
one is the tarantula hawk and the other 2 live in Costa Rica. ( a bee is a 2 and a red ant a 3 for comparison)
[Edited on 5-28-2013 by marv sherrill]
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durrelllrobert
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7393
Registered: 11-22-2007
Location: Punta Banda BC
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Mood: thriving in Baja
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| Quote: | Originally posted by tehag
Found this dead tarantula hawk today, and since the stinger is plainly visible I dug up this old thread to post the pic. This is the business end of
the beast, and they use it to knock a tarantula out very quickly. I've not been stung, but people who have generally say they don't wish to repeat the
experience.
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I understand that after they paralyze the tarantula they lay their eggs in the soft abdomen and when the larva hatch they consume the tarantula while
it is still alive.
Bob Durrell
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durrelllrobert
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7393
Registered: 11-22-2007
Location: Punta Banda BC
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Mood: thriving in Baja
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| Quote: | Originally posted by monoloco
They are interesting critters, their sting will anesthetize a tarantula which they will drag into a burrow in the ground and lay their eggs on, later
when the eggs hatch the babies will feed off of the tarantula which remains alive. We once rescued a tarantula that I found the tarantula hawk
dragging towards it's burrow after having stung the tarantula, we put the spider in a box and it eventually recovered after about two months.
Apparently their venom is quite a powerful anesthesia. |
Sorry, I posted the same thing before I scrolled down and saw your reply.
Bob Durrell
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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
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Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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The movie "alien" supposedly was based on the antics of the tarantula hunter, and of course "molecular acid" to make things more interesting.
The sting of a scorpion feels entirely different in many cases. Like comparing a broken cheekbone to a broken elbow IMHO.
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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Bajatripper
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3152
Registered: 3-20-2010
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My daughter once had one of these beasts fly into the open car window as we were travelling down the highway and right under the blanket she had over
her legs. Even though she was wearing shorts, she coolly managed to keep her composure long enough to flick the bug out the other window without
getting stung. Don't know how she did it. Had it been me, we'd have probably piled into a cardon or something while I frantically tried to get it far
away from me as quickly as possible.
There most certainly is but one side to every story: the TRUTH. Variations of it are nothing but lies.
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