More Creepies - Liz, please don't read this one

Most of my friends know that I love to explore and that I find nearly every new thing I see on this earth fascinating.  I have dragged poor Liz with me on my little adventures since we were 5 years old, and although she doesn't share most of my interests, she bears with me.  And, Mary Vane has told me that I will never be offered a position with the Philippine Tourist Bureau, (and hes even now dreamed up knee surgery so that she cannot visit me here.  But I see things totally differently - I find all the natural life here fascinating - perhaps I could work for the International Association of Entomologists?

So, fair warning to Liz and Mary - some pictures here will be creepy - but the good news is that you won't see them if you visit....probably.  Actually, when I moved to my RP new place (RP stands for Relatively Palatial), I was rather sad to leave my showers with the frogs, midnight toilet interactions with the tuko, and first sighting of two scorpions....rather sad.   It was slightly like being on safari - the fact that it was inside my house did become disconcerting, I must admit - I mean, all safaris end at some point and this seemed interminable.

So, moving to Bountiful Village disappointed me at first with its paucity of life - all of Puerto is "the city in the forest" and I felt deprived.  However, the last couple weeks, I've had a few visitors of note.



Nothing like the amazing centipede that crawled down my arm in the boat coming back from the Underground River.  I can't find a picture of the exact type, but did find this scolopendra gigantea online which is similar - mine was more hairy and brighter orange and yellow and only about 8"...these grow to over 14"...and are fast - I couldn't get my camera out in time after I brushed it off my arm (and I kept my feet up off the deck for the remainder of the trip!!)




I used to be such a freak at flying things like roaches...well, I still don't like them and would prefer to leave the room to them rather than do battle, but now, instead of running, I mutter to them, "Get out of my house - I live here."  At the last place on Alta Homes Road, I would threaten them with the Tokay Gecko (we call them Tuko here - and there is a crazy market now for them here in Asia - supposedly if you dry them into a powder and drink this elixir, you are cured of cancer - oh yes - the superstitions here are crazy.. the highest price I heard for one was $1M, although more common is in the hundreds...such a shame for such a cute and interesting creature - one which eats roaches and centipedes!!)

Back to my more current visitors.
Just before I left for the agricultural training at the Shell facility at WPU in Aborlan, my kitten found something to play with - at first I thought it was a roach, but then watched it move - it looked weird and head-heavy...so I moved in to get a closer look (after wrapping a towel around my exposed thorax, oops - throat area - for some reason that's my creepy spot - I mean it could be a jumping attack roach).  At first, I thought I was looking at a mutant - the weirdest and ugliest bug I'd ever seen...not a mean ugly - just a pathetically ugly - kind of like those 3 part picture flip charts where you can mix up pictures, putting a different body on legs and totally mismatched head.  This bug - maybe 3" long - had the body of a roach, the head of a lobster or crayfish and the front legs of a mole or turtle.  I did get a shot or two, but the cat kept playing with it - when I pushed him away...it was gone....and the cat swallowed.  oh.

My first look at the bug

My last look at the bug before he was eaten

The flip chart bug:

The Head of a Lobster or Crayfish

The front legs of a mole or platypus

The wings of the Wicked Monkeys of Oz

Putting it all Together

No one I talked to knew what it was (and, yes, I keep my camera with me at all times, and ask random folks if they know what things are - who cares, I'm just an old, white foreigner).  When I returned from the Shell Agricultural Training late at night, I was beat and tried to read a bit - when a big bug slowly flew through the house....but it didn't land anywhere, but just flew around.  So, yes, I regressed into the old Deb and retreated into my bedroom, closing the heavy wooden door, peeking out occasionally to see if it was grounded.  The bug was big enough that I knew it couldn't fit underneath.  I really don't like killing things, especially when I think of bug-karma - will they come back to get me? - so usually I just wait them out, willing them to leave the premises with my bug-ESP...which often doesn't work at all (for the last 3 days I've had a big, regular looking brown cricket in here, even though I've asked it nicely and repeatedly to leave).

Plus - I needed a picture!! So I had to outwait the bug... I have great photos of all my bugs - even kept the huge torong bumblebee on the counter, thinking of making a bug collection and that I'd pin it to something to show people - it's incredible - has a veritable beak for a mouth - it is hard as a rock and huge!  Here he is:
(he died a natural death after I left for work one day - quickly through the door around which he was buzzing)

At the top of the curtains - about 2" long
(the bee, not the curtains)

RIP with your enormous beak
(relax Liz - it is a sample bottle of rum)

Back to the Flip Chart Bug.....

Well, I did emerge from my room - ran to the kitchen and grabbed my can of Baygon and sprayed the bugjesus out of it - it still took it hours to die...but it wasn't flying again.   At this point, I had no idea that the bug was the same flip chart bug - because that bug had not flown....probably damaged from the cat play.  But it was!  I left it there in Baygon juice and slept soundly.  I next proceeded to photograph the fascinating thing and did an online search to find out what it was...didn't take long (I am constantly amazed at the web - wow).

It is called a mole cricket, and - amazingly - is also found in Florida and the southern USA!!!

Here's a short review by the Discovery Channel:

Mole Cricket, a large cricket that lives in shallow underground burrows. It is found in many parts of the world. The dark-brown body, 1 ½ to 2 inches (4 to 5 cm) long, is covered with short, silky hair. The insect's short forelegs have shovel-shaped claws adapted for rapid digging. The mole cricket has short, strong wings and can fly long distances. It usually flies at night and is attracted by strong lights. The common American mole cricket eats insect larvae and earthworms, and also damages the roots of grass, potatoes, turnips, and peanuts. A West Indian species, the changa, is particularly injurious to sugarcane. Mole crickets' eggs are laid in loose clusters in underground cells.

The American mole cricket is Neocurtilla hexadactyla; changa, Scapteriscus vicinus. Both belong to the mole cricket family, Gryllotalpidae.

I found the following video on Youtube and it cracked me up - by the end I was almost agreeing with one of the YouTube comments - "Where do you find these?  I want one as a pet!"     Well, for a couple seconds.

After the posthumous photo shoot, I left the mole cricket (which, by the way was bigger than the 2" cited in North America) -  put him just next to the bumblebee on the counter and truly think that I'll start a bug collection.....

until I awake the next day - it's gone!  The bee was still there - but the cricket - 3" of bulky body - is gone.  Hmmm...what was large enough to eat this - and came into my house last night?  Ewwww.  Okay - I'm paying for screens right now.

Apparently, these critters are not just a delicacy to animals of the 4 legged variety - humans in Asia consider them a delicacy and have specific exotic dishes and recipes such as:

Sinangag o adobong susuhong/camaro/ararawan (adobo or fried mole crickets)

Mole crickets are usually found in the rice fields before planting season. It is sautéed in garlic, onion, and olive oil or cooked by simply frying it.

   

and, as the Chiang Mei news (Thailand) reports:

Damn, someone hit this bug with the ugly stick, but that does not mean the Mole cricket misses out in a taste or popularity contest. Mole crickets are high in iron, calcium, potassium and phosphorous.



Crickets are one of the most common edible insect varieties in Asia. Fry them and serve with an ice-cold beer. Fry 'em, grill 'em, stir 'em, they are nice with chili sauce, but also tasty on their own. crickets are a good source of carbohydrates, calcium, potassium, vitamin B2, and niacin. Don't forget your toothpick for them tiny legs.

Well, I still have another year here, so won't say I won't eat one - maybe if it's fried....and I'm drunk.