today's wildlife adventures

[the_siobhan]

I was brushing my teeth this morning when I was getting ready to leave for work, and I kept imagining I could hear this soft rustling noise. Pause, listen, nothing. Go back to brushing my teeth and rustle, rustle, rustle. Repeat several times.

Finally I decided that I should figured out once and for all if I was actually losing my marbles and I went looking for the noise. I moved the garbage pail to look underneath and this time I definitely heard the noise. I peered inside and spotted a large dark lump moving between the bag and the side of the pail. And I thought, "Wow, that's a huge mouse."


So I gently peeled the side of the bag away from the container; expecting that at any second I was going to have to jump backwards so as not to get a faceful of startled rodent.

Instead I came face-to-face with the biggest frickin' centipede I have ever seen in my life. It was longer than my middle finger. I could clearly see the segments on the body and the tiny hairs along each leg. The brown banding is actually kind of pretty if you can forgive it for having that many legs.

You know given the size of the thing, I wouldn't be surprised if it's the reason we haven't seen any mice in our house yet this fall.

Then when I was waiting for the bus a flock of about 60 starlings decided to land in the tree next to the bus stop and start hammering back the tiny hard berries in the branches over our heads. Resulting in a deluge of dislodged berries and jammy birdshit to rain on the commuters below. I couldn't help laughing - with my arm over my mouth obviously, and while backing away from the tree.

I love autumn.

Comments

[missjanette]

hahahah. We always called those things silverfish. I never knew there was another name for them until M & I were discussing how I won't kill them if I find them in the house. They're freaky looking but they're basically toxin-free pest control. So long as you don't consider them to be pests.

[greylock]

That's a silverfish to you? *shudder*
This international same-names-for-different-things just gets odder the older I get.

This, to me, is a silverfish:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverfish

They're usually about the size of a joint the size of my small finger (in length) about 4mm wide and they love eating paper. They are my natural enemy.

My parents house was infested with them, and the infestation followed me. I keep mothballs/cederballs on my library shelves to keep them away even now.

[missjanette]

BLEAH!

yeah, M showed me those and I almost jumped out of my skin. I don't think I've ever seen one of those in person. He insisted that silverfish ate paper, I insisted they did not. When we geeked out and looked it up, we discovered we were talking about two different critters.

I think it's a regional thing, most ppl I know in the northeast US mean "house centipede" when they say "silverfish."

[greylock]

Considering as a country we can't agree on the names of fish in certain regions, it does not surprise me as a species we are completely all Tower of Babel over bug names.

[kest]

not to worry, your silverfish is my silverfish, so its not an international thing, although yours sound nastily bigger than ours :/

[the_siobhan]

"Running ribcage" is the best description I've ever heard.

[greylock]

Sweet holy jesus that is one ugly... well, I have no idea what it is. It's like no centipede I have ever seen. Or, judging by my finger, want to see.

[the_siobhan]

Given that you live in Everything Is Poisonous And Wants To Eat You Land, I'm kind of impressed by your reaction.

[greylock]

Not everything is here is ugly, however.
The lizards that live in our garden are kinda cute.

[inulro.livejournal.com]

Lizards in general are pretty cute.

Jodi