Creepy Crawlies of Ecuador, vol. 2 (Extra Creepy)

Happy Halloween! We thought it appropriate to share a dose of jungle-creepiness with you this year to celebrate. These are some of the more bizarre, terrifying, and weird insects we've snapped on camera during our journeys through the Amazon.

(If you missed it, you can check out volume 1 of Creepy Crawlies here.)

We'll start with one that isn't TOO terrifying. It may look cute and fuzzy, but these furry guys are not for petting. Ecuadorians tell us: "Esos pican." Those ones sting!

Read on... IF YOU DARE!!!

This monstrosity was chillin' on our bench one day.

 

A large beetle.

These beetles come into our house sometimes. They're always covered in mud (or poop--haven't gotten close enough to check), and they're IMPOSSIBLE to squish. They should make armor out of these guys.

This moth is actually pretty cool. It looks like Toothless, the Night Fury from How to Train Your Dragon.

This grasshopper got less creepy through a camera lens. It was blood red, had a butt like a hypodermic needle, was HUGE (note Isaac's finger), and had decided to take up residence on our mosquito net (good thing we had it up...)

 

Another big beetle, this one on our table. He's sitting on a piece of A4 paper.

An orange and black beetle on Kirstie's boot. Note the shady-looking eyes and the giant chompers.

A giant ant in our house. Everyone in the jungle is afraid of these guys. They "dan fiebre"--their bite can give you a fever.

Part ant, part wasp, and pure evil!!! Just kidding--it's a dobsonfly! This one was about five inches long, has the eyes of the devil, with a mouth hungry for YOUR SOUL!!! We got to see the larval form of these buggers in Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona, a few years ago; the babies are called: HELLGRAMMITES!!!

But the creepiest of them all? The cockroach, of course.

Here's one after it molted. I mean, really, is there ANYTHING elegant about a cockroach?

What's the creepiest bug YOU have ever seen? What did you do with it?

..Kirstie and Isaac..

ps Five points to the first person that can find the SPIDER.

This post is a part of the Forest and Farm series.