Scariest Arthropod (contains pictures of crawly things)

[Zong]

Trilobite



Spider



Scorpion



Horseshoe Crab



Sea Scorpion



Centipede



Millipede



Shrimp



Lobster



Crab



Cockroach



Earwig



Cricket



Mantis



Stick Insect



Cicada



Bee



Wasp



Ant



Beetle


Moth



Butterfly



Flea



Termite



Fly



Mosquito



Daddy Long Legs (Crane Fly)

[Muskrat]

the mosquito's probably the most dangerous. Many of the really scary-looking ones are either relatively harmless or (like the sea scorpion or trilobite) unlikely for one reason or another to intrude on my daily strolls through the neighborhood. flies, ants and cockroaches are just annoying.

A couple of types of spider, then (brown recluse, black widow); maybe the thought of a scorpion in my shoe.

[Zong]

The mosquito is without a doubt the most dangerous non-human animal in the world.

It is also true, at least among scorpions, that smaller varieties are infinitely more dangerous.

I've tried just to list one or two per order so if you need to be more specific just go for the closest. In the case of beetles this has left them ludicrously unrepresented, one in every 5 species of known animal is a beetle. With other orders I have decided there is enough of a distinction between groups within to include more than one option (eg bees, wasps, ants for one and flys, mosquitos, crane fly for another).

Some I have chosen not to represent altogether as I'm assuming nobody can be too bothered by them, such as spring-tails, barnacles and silverfish.

The extinct trilobites and sea scorpions are included as they both have their own order and they are a bit freaky to modern eyes. The sea scorpion is by a long way the hugest arthropod ever.

Worms, leeches snails etc are not arthropods i'm strictly sticking to the one phylum.

[trans-chigley express]

In day to day life it's the wasp. I get stung frequently and it can be nasty depending on the species. There are some big nasty ones here and I'm pretty paranoid about them as I've had many bad encounters.

Mozzies are annoying but the ones I encounter daily are unlikely to ever kill me.

Red fire ants are also pretty scary as you don't realise you're standing near a nest until they're up your leg biting the hell out of you. This happened just last week. They are insanely aggressive.

The scariest looking one I encounter regularly is a large native spider called a Woodland Spider. It can have a nasty bite but it's not aggressive and won't do much harm but they make vary large webs which are easy to walk into and can give you quite a fright as they can be as big as your hand and look pretty scary when you're face to face with one.

[KeithPratt]

The Mantis is the coolest!

[Muskrat]

late entry on the race, all the way from Kiwiland.



Gave its name to Peter Jackson's special effects company.

[Zong]

That would come under the category of "cricket". I voted for cricket myself....which seems like a wuss choice until you understand it was due to finding a cricket like monster approaching that thing in size in my Greek hotel room couple of years back.

And hey you gits ignoring this thread, this took me an hour to set up so get with the freaky bug like programme! (if you wish to vote for "true bugs" the cicada counts.)

[Magilla]

late entry on the race, all the way from Kiwiland.



Gave its name to Peter Jackson's special effects company.

That story is a stupid bloody beat-up and anyone that takes it seriously is a moron. It's only a medium-size weta and nothing out off the ordinary story here

Note this sentence, especially: "But Landcare Research entomologist Dr Thomas Buckley says, based on Moffett's photos, the weta's size looks about average for its species.

"The species itself is the heaviest in the world but whether that individual is the heaviest you couldn't really say.

"From the picture it's a female, but it just looks like an average sized one of that species."

[Johnny Fartpants]

I voted for the following:

Scorpions - because their German heavy metal-lite is shit.
Wasps - because they are cunts of the highest order.
Cricket - because it''s a shit sport played by fat poofs.
Cicada - because it's Madonna's surname, and she's a twat.
Ant - because he's not as good as Dec, and has a forehead you could land a helicopter on.

[sensi]

[Beebsy]

The Mantis is the coolest!

Absolutely. I love the mantis. They are the most beautiful things.

I went for cockroaches and earwigs. I HATE earwigs.

I also voted for the millipede. I don't suppose I'll ever see one but that picture is freaky! And they move so fast. I don't like things that move fast.

[hookfinger]

I once put a small anole (chameleon) in a shoebox with one of those big Texas centipedes and within 4 hours there was nothing left of the lizard but a skull and vertebrae.

[Hugh]

That's not really up there with Schroedinger's Cat, is it?

[hookfinger]

That's not really up there with Schroedinger's Cat, is it?

That's absurd.

[harvey k-tel]

Super Criminal Lobster!

[Polishgirl]

I want to vote for several, cos I can't choose:

Like Beebsy, I hate earwigs - there's something deeply, deeply unpleasant about them.

I'm a big fan of crabs and lobsters ( don't even think about it..) but those horseshoe crabs aren't easy on the eye.

Otherwise, centipedes and millipedes make my skin crawl........

[Polishgirl]

oh!! *shouting* AND SCORPIONS because I saw a programme on telly once where a bloke was living somewhere tropical (possibly Hartlepool) and he got out of bed one morning and slipped his foot into his slipper and there was a bloomin' SCORPION LIVING IN THERE and it savaged him and his foot fell off and then his head fell off and then he did die.

[Zong]

I'm a big fan of crabs and lobsters ( don't even think about it..) but those horseshoe crabs aren't easy on the eye.

Well horseshoe crabs are not true crabs. They are as different from crabs as ants are. That's why they get their own section. They are probably closer to the extinct trilobites.

[Zong]

oh!! *shouting* AND SCORPIONS because I saw a programme on telly once where a bloke was living somewhere tropical (possibly Hartlepool) and he got out of bed one morning and slipped his foot into his slipper and there was a bloomin' SCORPION LIVING IN THERE and it savaged him and his foot fell off and then his head fell off and then he did die.

Best "You've Been Framed" ever.

[Polishgirl]

I'm a big fan of crabs and lobsters ( don't even think about it..) but those horseshoe crabs aren't easy on the eye.

Well horseshoe crabs are not true crabs. They are as different from crabs as ants are. That's why they get their own section. They are probably closer to the extinct trilobites.

that's why I don't like them. They don't look like crabs.. nasty things.