Pest Management Professional, December 2013
did you know SPIDERS T he worlds largest known spider it holds the Guinness World Record is a male goliath bird eating spider Theraphosa blondi collected by members of the Pablo San Martin Expedition at Rio Cavro Venezuela in April 1965 It had a record leg span of 28 cm 11 in sufficient to cover a dinner plate This species is found in the coastal rainforests of Surinam Guyana and French Guiana but isolated specimens also have been reported from Venezuela and Brazil The South American tarantula is commonly known as a birdeater because of an 18th century engraving showing another member of the tarantula family eating a hummingbird Its the reason the entire Theraphosa genus is nicknamed bird eater Despite its nickname T blondi only rarely devours birds and mostly survives on arthropods As general predators they might also eat a small mouse or lizard should they encounter one T blondi does produce venom though its not dangerously toxic to humans Bites have been described as feeling like bee or wasp stings but they rarely require medical attention Sources guinessworldrecords com newswatch nationalgeographic com believe it or not STINGING INSECTS T he worlds biggest hornet is wreaking havoc in northwestern China where 42 people have died after being swarmed and stung More than 1600 others have been injured from stings since the outbreak began in July The Asian giant hornet Vespa mandarinia is the offending monstrosity At 15 to 2 in long the giant hornets are among the more dangerous venomous insects of their type and like Africanized bees and yellow jackets theyre the cause of many problems While the hornets dont typically swarm humans in large numbers theyre well known for their ability to quickly decimate a hive of thousands of honeybees leaving behind a trail of severed heads and limbs They routinely fly miles from their nests and use scouts to locate bee colonies Next they mark it with a special pheromone to attract other hornets to attack destroy and occupy the hive Bees and other insect victims often become fodder for the growth of the hornet hive Adult workers chew their victims flesh into a nutritious paste that feeds larvae which produces saliva to be consumed by adults who cant digest solid protein For now theres no known reason for the hornets attack on humans or what factors led to the hornets deadly season of human attacks Research is ongoing Source National Geographic magazine 40 December 2013 Pest Management Professional
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