Ewwww, cont'd
A reader sends along a photo of a critter that he says he spied on the foundation of a house in Portland yesterday. According to said reader, the thing's about two inches long:
Anybody know what it is? And is it good, bad, or indifferent?
| Posted at 4:17 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (11)
Yes, it is a native banded alder borer.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/8975
Posted by PJB | July 29, 2009 4:22 PM
I think it's one of the smarter NBA refs.
Posted by Tom | July 29, 2009 4:57 PM
I am not denying it's a living creature, but it almost looks more like a photoshop than a photograph.
Posted by none | July 29, 2009 5:01 PM
I would say the "good" category can be ruled out for anything with the word "borer" after the name of a tree.
Posted by Mister Tee | July 29, 2009 5:23 PM
It sounds like it fits within the "indifferent" category. It bores in dead trees, not houses.
Posted by Brent Logan | July 29, 2009 5:37 PM
Houses are mostly made from dead trees...
Posted by John | July 29, 2009 5:50 PM
It's smaller than a breadbox.
Posted by Jim | July 29, 2009 6:25 PM
It's a dreaded Heatwave Harbinger, much maligned and undeservedly so, as it is not venomous as its mutant transcousin form is, the Spotted-Flood Harbinger. Either variety sucks the sap of garden vegetables, often during moonlit nights, (hence the black&white camouflage coloration), and then the only evidence you find of the thermotion is shriveled wilted and dehydrated produce. They batch hatch every 9 years, breed, and deposit eggs in dormancy, fertilized. The largest on record was 6 inches long, discovered by swimmers in a cove snacking in the grove at Indian Lake. Scientific name: helatious screamyjeebees.
Sauteed in garlic butter with crawfish and kohlrabi is a cajun delicacy.
Posted by Tenskwatawa | July 29, 2009 10:19 PM
It might be a rare zebra beetle, recently escaped from the zoo in Gaza:
http://www.slate.com/id/2222991/
Posted by PMG | July 30, 2009 7:58 AM
It's a Skeezus, my cousin Alice from Weehawken actually.
Posted by Skeezus | July 30, 2009 8:14 AM
I'm not exactly sure, but I'm pretty sure I just heard Bill Paxton yell "Game over, man, game over!"
Posted by Texas Triffid Ranch | July 30, 2009 1:55 PM