Category Archives: Arachnids

Dogs, dog fennel, longleaf, beggarticks, chiggers 2022-09-18

Ah, fall flowers, dogs frolicking in the dog fennel, and mysterious molds, all on a morning walk.

And chiggers. Most likely Trombicula alfreddugesi, aka Eutrombicula alfreddugesi, in the genus Trombicula, family Trombiculidae.

Whichever species of arachnids, cousins of ticks and spiders, these ones will make you itch for days. They can raise red welts and send you to the doctor seeking steroids. You don’t want to see pictures of that.

[Common sneezeweed, Helenium autumnale]
Common sneezeweed, Helenium autumnale

Continue reading →

Scorpion 2021-08-21

“It’s stinging me!” screeched Gretchen as she rushed into the house.

Yes, “screeched” is the word she later used to describe the loud noise she made.

[On the sink]
On the sink

As you can see, she then managed to fling this Striped Bark Scorpion off her, but the Centruroides vittatus landed on the sink.

Like the one I stepped on recently, this one hurt like a bee sting, but caused no noticeable damage by the next morning.

The amusing part is that Gretchen did not get this scorpion here at the farm.

She got it in downtown Valdosta.

-jsq

Scorpion

Seen while picking corn, about two inches long, and would not stay still:

Would not stay still On tire

Pictures by John S. Quarterman for Okra Paradise Farms, Lowndes County, Georgia, 12 October 2012.

Did you know scorpions are not insects? They're arachnids: eight legs, like spiders.

-jsq

Bathroom spider

The spider that keeps insects out of the bathroom:

The spider that keeps insects out of the bathroom

The spider that keeps insects out of the bathroom
Pictures by John S. Quarterman for Okra Paradise Farms, Lowndes County, Georgia, 8 July 2012.

It likes that little stool I put there for it! Some people have aquariums….

-jsq