Chilopoda

A.K.A. Giant Centipede - just one of the many joys of living in the Texas Hill Country. Trent and Aaron discovered this wiggly relative of the insect in our yard yesterday. It was HUGE! Aaron went straight to the Texas Bug Book (thank you, Dre). They have a bite about as powerful as a bee sting, but a bite is rare. They are actually considered beneficial around the house because they feed on roaches, ants and flies, among other things. Ewwwww. . .
We also found a tarantula the other night, but we didn't get any pictures of it (not the first one we've seen around the house). Trent scooped it into our big washtub so we could inspect it. All I have to say is, GROSS! Aaron is adept at finding them under rocks when we are hiking, so we've seen them before, but they are still always icky to see.
Apparently Sadie got a taste of a tarantula Wednesday night. Aaron saw her corner one and get a quick snap at it, but the hairy critter must have bitten back because Sadie started rubbing her snout and decided to leave it alone. I hope she learned her lesson.