As I was about to leave for work this morning this creature caught my eye - it was about 2 mm long and crawling on our bathroom wall. It took me several attempts to get a decent picture of it, then I caught it and disposed of it.My first reaction was to wonder if it was a tick - it was about the size of an adult deer tick - although the long mouth-parts/pincers did not look right for a tick. Sure enough, it turned out when I researched it that my 'disposal' of it was 'unnecessary carnage' although the 'unnecessary' killing of bugs that wouldn't harm us is hardly unusual.
Still, I have nothing to be proud of. It was a pseudoscorpion and apparently although harmless to humans, these tiny creatures have been known to catch and eat much-larger-than-themselves house flies. For some reason (perhaps my stature) I am inclined to cheer for the little guy or maybe it's my British leaning towards supporting the under-bug.
I'm amazed by the 'What's that Bug' website. Some people just have too much time on their hands...;-)
ReplyDeleteThe "Oil Beetles mashed in the heat of passion" is particualrly gruesome!
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