What was that weird arthropod?
Granted, arthropods are weird, all of them, what with entirely too many legs and a tendency to end up just where you don't need or want them. But the one that met its end in my bathroom last night was one for the record books.
It was 8-10 inches long from the front of its face to the tip of its abdomen. It had large, gauzy wings, and its body was black in color. Its long, slender body seemed to be covered in short black fuzz. It had long, very slender legs, as well. It was resting on the wall right next to the toilet. I grabbed some toilet paper and tried smooshing it, but instead of smooshing, it lifted off from the wall, buzzing angrily, and then returned to the same place. I had to try three times before I finally nailed it, at which point it and the toilet paper went into the toilet and were flushed down.
Praying mantises are, as far as I know, green in color, and somewhat shorter in body-length. Walking-stick insects may be longer, but they're tan or brown, like a branch or stem. And whatever they say about Alaskan mosquitoes in summer, this was no mosquito; it was far bigger than any mosquito I've ever seen, and didn't seem to have a proboscis like the one a mosquito has.
Anybody out there have any idea as to what that insect was?
It was 8-10 inches long from the front of its face to the tip of its abdomen. It had large, gauzy wings, and its body was black in color. Its long, slender body seemed to be covered in short black fuzz. It had long, very slender legs, as well. It was resting on the wall right next to the toilet. I grabbed some toilet paper and tried smooshing it, but instead of smooshing, it lifted off from the wall, buzzing angrily, and then returned to the same place. I had to try three times before I finally nailed it, at which point it and the toilet paper went into the toilet and were flushed down.
Praying mantises are, as far as I know, green in color, and somewhat shorter in body-length. Walking-stick insects may be longer, but they're tan or brown, like a branch or stem. And whatever they say about Alaskan mosquitoes in summer, this was no mosquito; it was far bigger than any mosquito I've ever seen, and didn't seem to have a proboscis like the one a mosquito has.
Anybody out there have any idea as to what that insect was?