The Hurtiest Bug

So yesterday afternoon I was minding my own beeswax when I noticed that Katy the cat was awfully excited by something over by the fireplace. I mean almost as excited as the last mouse she caught. Soon the baby got interested in whatever was in the corner. Good thing I decided to check out what all the hubub was about.

 Say hello to my little friend senor TARANTULA HAWK!!!

Cute photo huh? The only thing is he is actually 1000 times more horrific in person so please believe me when I tell you that I am still shaking.

He wasn't to happy after being molested by the cat for 15 minutes so I had to make a mad dash for the camera before we let him go back to the wild. Chef likes to document all the weird shit that creeps and crawls around our house. For the most part we have no clue what the names of the insects are that cavort around and in our house and Chef just loves uploading photos to whatsthatbug.  OMG! I am so glad I did not know what that thing was until after it was long gone.

Long story short... tarantula hawks actually kill tarantulas by paralyzing them and eating them alive careful not to eat vital organs so it lasts longer. 

Now this is when you begin to wonder why such an insect found itself so far from it's home deep in the South American jungle. Oh silly readers, this lovely beast isn't lost. It's native to my little corner of the world, as are tarantulas (but I already knew about those). 

What I find most disturbing is how high it rates on the sting-o-meter (that's my name for it, I'm sure there is a technical name out there somewhere). It ranks as the hurtiest (another fine word thankyouverymuch) sting in North America. 

Disturbing. Very disturbing.