Alien parasite

Hairworms are a parasite that infect grasshoppers, and "reprogram" their brains causing them to make a suicidal dive into the water. If you happen to squish a grasshopper infected by these worms (an accident in this case) you'll get a scene right out of a scary alien movie.

Theraphosa apophysis

This is the largest (in leg span) tarantula in the world. This mature male is probably around 13 inches from the tip of his back leg to the tip of his front.

Surprisingly, while younger ones and mature females are fairly aggressive, when it comes to being handled, mature males are fairly nice.

Neat video! :)

Shameless Plug

First, a video of a wonderful pet of mine that has passed on. My goliath bird eating tarantula, Gion. I miss her.



Now the plug: If you like strange and freaky animals, check out my friend's blog. It definitely fills a need that nothing else does.

Ugly Overload