Wildlife August 2011

[Maggi Young]

I thought he was about right.....http://www-public.jcu.edu.au/discovernature/herpscommon/JCUDEV_009764

OK you're saying he has huge fingers.

Suppose I am! 

The skink is about half grown, do you think ?

[Lesley Cox]

That's the one Maggi. There is a series of ornamental (made of volcanic rock and don't serve a purpose) walls at the south end of the local football pitches that have myriads of them.

Well perhaps THAT'S their purpose, to provide a home for skinks.

[Lesley Cox]

There's a newish, nightmare inducing programme started on a TV channel here, called, simply "Infestatation." You'd love it Maggi. On Tuesday night it was about a spider species, some ants and garter snakes that had invaded 3 separate homes in different American states. The families affected seemed amazing cool about them all until there were some final straw moments. In the snake case, the husband/father had been gathering up more than 40 a day on the back yard and eventually when he crawled under the house, he found a hibernation pit with literally thousands, in every size from fully grown to tiny newly hatched ones. The house had been built on top of the pit way back some time and a previous family had walked away, understandably but then put the house on the market without, apparently, notifying of the hell hole beneath. The current family, also packed up and left - and put the house back on the market!

[Anthony Darby]

OK you're saying he has huge fingers.

Suppose I am! 

The skink is about half grown, do you think ?

For the record, the last joint of my finger is 30 mm long! The snout-vent length of an adult rainbow skink ranges from 40 - 55 mm.

[Anthony Darby]

There's a newish, nightmare inducing programme started on a TV channel here, called, simply "Infestatation." You'd love it Maggi. On Tuesday night it was about a spider species, some ants and garter snakes that had invaded 3 separate homes in different American states. The families affected seemed amazing cool about them all until there were some final straw moments. In the snake case, the husband/father had been gathering up more than 40 a day on the back yard and eventually when he crawled under the house, he found a hibernation pit with literally thousands, in every size from fully grown to tiny newly hatched ones. The house had been built on top of the pit way back some time and a previous family had walked away, understandably but then put the house on the market without, apparently, notifying of the hell hole beneath. The current family, also packed up and left - and put the house back on the market!

Was there no way of filling the pit in with concrete during the summer, when the snakes have dispersed?

[Lesley Cox]

Something of the kind was mentioned but it seemed they would have had to lift the house to get at the pit. Too expensive.

[Anthony Darby]

Something of the kind was mentioned but it seemed they would have had to lift the house to get at the pit. Too expensive.

It can be done! Here's a house we saw last week in Napier. By Friday it had been taken away in sections on low loaders!

[Anthony Darby]

Here are the decorative walls. The actually continue down the central grassy strip in the street we live in.

[angie]

Something of the kind was mentioned but it seemed they would have had to lift the house to get at the pit. Too expensive.

It can be done! Here's a house we saw last week in Napier. By Friday it had been taken away in sections on low loaders!

Hey that's brilliant. Now I wonder I'd I could pick up my home and transport to a nice sunny place 

Angie

[PDJ]

Just looking through some old photos and thought Maggi would like a look.

[PDJ]

And a few more!

[Maggi Young]

That's you off the Christmas card list, Paul !
 Great pictures though.... if some a bit on the large side. Some too large to be visible, and thus terrifying, on my screen!

[angie]

I hope most of those creepies can't live in Scotland 

Angie

[mark smyth]

Angie number 3 can and does live in your house - house spider

[Anthony Darby]

Number twelve lives in our house and round the west coast of Scotland, at least. It's Pholcus phalangoides the daddy long-legs spider. I suspect the rest would be found in Scotland, although I can't recall seeing the green number 1?