Foreboding? I haven’t seen that word since I read it used to describe Darth Vader. Two metres tall. Bipedal. Foreboding. 
[/quote]
I’ve got the ‘twice bitten, three times foreboding’ thing happening. They do routinely buzz me while I am outside working and it still gives me the creeps.[/quote]
I know what you mean. I’m always really cautious this time of year when I’m hiking.
I was very pesistently buzzed by a hornet the other day, so I killed it by knocking it to the ground with a slapping motion and then stomping it. But I wondered if there any bees, wasps or hornets in Taiwan that will attack someone for doing this, you know, like Africanized bees do. Anyone know?
Double post
[quote=“Pingdong”]
I’m curious, how was the wine? I had the larvae thing at our wedding here, not a big fan personally. But the wine sounds interesting. Is that the same stuff you see with the honey comb on it? I always passed it off as mead or something.[/quote]
The wine was great! It’s not the honeycomb thing - you will know it coz there will be lots of dead hornets in it. I’ve heard it can be up to $10 000 a bottle - though that might be crap.
In terms of the effects, well, i am enjoying a glass now so i can give a live report, though these things can be a bit hard to quantify. Anyway, it’s not a peyote type thing that ‘comes on’ like a wild drug rush, rather it’s supposedly an ‘energy enhancer’. I had some a few days ago and i have felt in a damn good mood actually since then, but that may be just coz the weather was perfect.
That is the thing that they advise strongly against doing for exactly the reason you mentioned, though i do wonder if the attack pheromone thing, although real, might have got blown out to horror movie proportions just a little bit. What color was the hornet. If it was that big brown one, then they only live in pairs and they are not aggressive. I’ve got a nest of them in my roof - they’re fine. If it was 4-5 cm long and had an orange/yellow and black face - then that’s the dangerous one and i’d hesitate about adopting that as a general strategy. Apart from the pheromone, there’s a very real chance the ‘step 2’ part ‘knocking it to the ground’ won’t come off, which rules out ‘step 3’ and then you will be left with a highly agitated, aggressive, skillful flying venomous thing. They also have sticky feet and large mandibles that can grip onto you.
My technique, if it’s just one out foraging for food, then crouch down and back away until it moves on. If you have come too close to a nest of them, then do the same, but more quickly. If you get stung, then just run.
[quote=“Dial”]I meant to say about your filming skills. I noticed the first time I watched that it wasn’t Discovery Channel I’d chanced upon. I’m still impressed - and also a reminder about how much skill and set-up must be required for all those animal shows.
Now that I think about it, most of the times those Discovery/National Geographic channels show night filming, they’re not much better than your efforts. 
[/quote]
Yes, i become painfully aware of my crappy filming skills everytime i sit down to edit. Don’t worry, it’s annoying for me too. Though i did see that a US clothing company put out a successful viral ad where they had gone to a lot of trouble to replicate that crappy amateur hour handycam shooting.
The effects of the hornet juice wine is, and this is not the fanciest adjective, but it’s nice. It’s very nice.
It’s a ‘natural high’ sort of feeling, like after a good run, but without having to run - though technically the alcohol component probably disqualifies it from the ‘natural high’ category.
Roger that!
Damn man, you make these things sound scary! And i thought we were safe int eh bush in Taiwan lol. On a side note i saw a lovely BLACK viper (well almsot black) climbing up a vine today, very majestic.
Are you sure it was a scorpion and not a vinegaroon? i was under the impression there are only tiny scorps native to taiwan on orchid island, none anywhere else. though with all the pet scorps and Taiwan’s unfortunate luck with residents releasing/not caring abotu escapes im sure some are going to be come naturalized.
That is the thing that they advise strongly against doing for exactly the reason you mentioned, though I do wonder if the attack pheromone thing, although real, might have got blown out to horror movie proportions just a little bit. What color was the hornet. If it was that big brown one, then they only live in pairs and they are not aggressive. I’ve got a nest of them in my roof - they’re fine. If it was 4-5 cm long and had an orange/yellow and black face - then that’s the dangerous one and I’d hesitate about adopting that as a general strategy. Apart from the pheromone, there’s a very real chance the ‘step 2’ part ‘knocking it to the ground’ won’t come off, which rules out ‘step 3’ and then you will be left with a highly agitated, aggressive, skillful flying venomous thing. They also have sticky feet and large mandibles that can grip onto you.
My technique, if it’s just one out foraging for food, then crouch down and back away until it moves on. If you have come too close to a nest of them, then do the same, but more quickly. If you get stung, then just run.[/quote]
It was about 4cm long, mainly black,with some orange or red markings, although I was bit busy to make reliable observations. It was quite spindly, and seemed a bit weird, like wasps do in Canada in the early fall. Its kung fu was not strong.
[quote=“Pingdong”]Damn man, you make these things sound scary! And i thought we were safe int eh bush in Taiwan lol. On a side note I saw a lovely BLACK viper (well almsot black) climbing up a vine today, very majestic.
Are you sure it was a scorpion and not a vinegaroon? I was under the impression there are only tiny scorps native to Taiwan on orchid island, none anywhere else. though with all the pet scorps and Taiwan’s unfortunate luck with residents releasing/not caring abotu escapes im sure some are going to be come naturalized.[/quote]
It was a scorpion, but small and dead on the trail. I’ve seen many snakes as well, but again, since this experience pales in comparison to many others, it’s hardly worth mentioning.
I still would love to know what those bright blue/purple flying insects I saw were, buzzing about like dragonflies, but some type of bees. Some type of hornet? Anyone? Cheers.
I think i know what you are talking about. They have a kind of sheen. I assumed they were some kind of flying beetle - anyway, they are not hornets. They were around a few weeks ago but i haven’t seen them recently. Can you get a picture?
I think I know what you are talking about. They have a kind of sheen. I assumed they were some kind of flying beetle - anyway, they are not hornets. They were around a few weeks ago but i haven’t seen them recently. Can you get a picture?[/quote]
Thanks, but no picture since I’ve only seen them a few times in the bigger mountains, and they are definitely not beetles. I can’t find them un the net. They move like angry intense f*ckers. Zip, zip, zip around. Solitary when I saw them. I always thought they were hornets.
i personally think its very much worth mentioning as introduced scorpions species are important to know about, especially seen as how many very deadly ones are kept here. This may sound out of line, but if you ever see one again, and if you have ajar/tub of some kind, if you were able to collect it and send ti to me i would VERY much appreciate it, dead or alive. then we can ID it and start thinking about what might actually be around.
the flying thing you see, anything like this? timdm.tari.gov.tw/aic/detail.php … speauthor=
did the scorpion you saw look anything like this? this pic is one i foudn in Borneo, but the Taiwan species is similar looking.
but if it zig zags i am onyl guessing its not inteh bee/ant order, maybe a fly of some kind?
Dulan drift, are you thinking of these beetles: Protaetia orientalis?
A little hard to say as i never saw them at rest and their season seems to have finished so i can’t verify it until next year, though the shape looks about right. They were pretty strong fliers, appeared singularly in the daytime, and as i recall they were a kind of dark glossy blue/green. Anyway, i appreciate your input - there is such an abundance of weird and wonderful insects here, it’s nice to learn a few things about them.
I have also seen a beautifully colored fly that does ‘zip’, bright glossy green, though I doubt that it’s what kea has described as it clearly looks like a fly.
they are decent at flying. there is another common beetle here that eats at roots like sugar cane. you must have seen them. Trigonophorus rothschildi they are often green but range in blues, greens, oranges to reds. i dont have a pic handy of my own, but google image search has tons.
http://www.butterfly-designs.com/insects/images/3long.jpg
There are also some pretty big beetles that look kinda like this. No idea what they are but they are about 7 cm long. Fly rather well and my first thought when it suddenly buzzed around my head was definetly not “Oh that is surely a beetle… how nice.”
[quote=“Ryan the third”]http://www.butterfly-designs.com/insects/images/3long.jpg
There are also some pretty big beetles that look kinda like this. No idea what they are but they are about 7 cm long. Fly rather well and my first thought when it suddenly buzzed around my head was definetly not “Oh that is surely a beetle… how nice.”[/quote]
Yeah, that could well be it. Looks quite like it and my initial field observation and reaction was identical to yours.
Damn beautiful though…
oh, I thought I replied earlier: definitely a scorpion, not one of those you showed, more like this, had the typical curved over tail, but quite small:
I mean, by zig zag, it flies fast and straight with no noise, then changes direction and keeps flying with not deviation-although I could be overstating this for effect, definitely not a fly or beetle. Bigger and meaner. Oh well, I haven’t a clue what it could be, always thought it was some type of hornet.
A friend had an unfortunate encounter with old paederus fuscipes curtis the other day. They don’t bite or sting, but if you squish one on your skin then that disgusting insect bodily fluid that blurts out turns out to be a kind of chemical corrosive which causes a long term rash and irritation. I have heard about them before - they are a known painful thing in Taidong at least. He has posted his encounter and picture of his rash here: http://formosahut.com/forum/index.php?id=148
Was wondering if anyone knows if there is a season for them? Should we be on alert now? What kind of recovery timeframe my friend is looking at? And what are his chances of getting laid with such visible rashes on his body?
Also not sure if the pic above is the same variety that we have in Taiwan. It would be handy to be able to identify them if i do encounter one.
