The bushes are alive…
…with a swarm of critters. Another project we undertook this weekend was removing all the overgrown, weed-infested bushes around the perimeter of the house. A chainsaw, a rake and a lawnmower (plus two crazy people working in the heat) were all it took to take the bushes down…
What was more interesting was the sheer amount of creepy crawlies (and other small animals) that emerged as we tore down their home. I cannot count how many large spiders we encountered….
I’m not even sure what these two bugs were. Any ideas?
The first bug was relatively small, but the second bug was huge – about the width of Rick’s hand. At first we thought it was some kind of spider – we counted 8 legs. But after closer inspection, it appeared as though the two longer “legs” were feelers, making it an insect of some sort.
We disturbed about a trillion of these green leaf-like bugs (can you tell I’m no entomologist?). Once we had removed their bushy abode, they took up residence all over the fascia of the house. I am starting to understand exactly how many bugs exist out there in the world. Did you know that there are approximately 10 quintillion insects on the planet – about 200 million insects for every human. I think about half of those insects were in our bushes…
In addition to the creepy crawlies, we found a few other surprise visitors. Like this tiny, cobalt blue lizard:
and this adorable little frog:
Who knew that our house was a cornucopia of critters?
July 8th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
I think that “spider” with the 8 legs is what we in the south call a Grandaddy Long Legs. If so, they are one of the most poisonous spiders around. However, their mouth is too small to bite a human so no worries!
July 8th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Wow! Thanks for letting us know Jennifer. Whatever it was, it was huge and I would definitely not like to be bitten by it!
July 8th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Now you know I’ll be bringing a can of raid the next time we come – I don’t do the whole spider thing!!!
September 9th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Gorgeous photos, I am jealous of your skills. You’ve got mad skills.
And that large spider in your first photo? We see them ALL the time in our garage. They are the reason we don’t let our cats play in the garage anymore… They look like they bite