Posts tagged europe
Ursini’s viper
Ursini’s viper Vipera ursinii Description: The common adder, long-nosed adder, and Ursini’s viper basically have the same coloration and dorsal zigzag pattern. The exception among these adders is that the common adder and Ursini’s viper lack the projection of tiny scales on the tip of the nose. Characteristics: These little vipers have an irritable disposition.…
Pallas’ viper
Pallas’ viper Agkistrodon halys Description: Coloration is gray, tan, or yellow, with markings similar to those of the American copperhead. Characteristics: This snake is timid and rarely strikes. Its venom is hemotoxic but rarely fatal. Habitat: Found in open fields, hillsides, and farming regions. Length: Average 45 centimeters (18 inches), maximum 90 centimeters (35 inches).…
Long-nosed adder
Long-nosed adder Vipera ammodytes Description: Coloration is gray, brown, or reddish with a dark brown or black zigzag pattern running the length of its back. A dark stripe is usually found behind each eye. Characteristics: A small snake commonly found in much of its range. The term "long-nosed" comes from the projection of tiny scales…
Common adder
Common adder Vipera berus Description: Its color is variable. Some adult specimens are completely black, while others have a dark zigzag pattern running along the back. Characteristics: The common adder is a small true viper that has a short temper and often strikes without hesitation. Its venom is hemotoxic, destroying blood cells and causing tissue…
Tick
Tick Description: Ticks are in the same family as spiders and hence share some characteristics with them (e.g. like spiders, Ticks have eight legs). They are parasites living on the blood of other animals a practice which makes them vectors (carriers) of several diseases including Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. The tick bite…
Wasps and hornets
Wasps and hornets Description: The Wasp, or Hornet (also known as Dirt Daubers, Mud Daubers, Potter Wasps, Velvet Ants, Yellowjackets, Fairyflies), is a rather generic suborder of insects. A Wasp generally a smooth-bodied, slender stinging insects. Like a Bee, Wasps have two pairs of wings, a stinger (only the female Wasps have stingers), and few,…
Bee
Bee Description: Bees are flying insects with brown or black, hairy, fuzz-covered bodies (the hair on their body is used to collect pollen). The bee’s body typically has 3 or 5 dark, black and yellow or orangish, colored hair bands around their body and lack the “thin” abdomen found in hornets and wasps. Bees have…
Centipede
Centipede Description: Centipedes have multi-jointed body, each segment having a pair of legs, growing to 30 centimeters (12 inches) long, with each pair slightly longer than the pair in front of it. Centipedes are typically dull orange, red to brown (species that live underground may have no color pigmentation), with black point eyes at the…
Black Widow Spider or Widow Spider
Black Widow spider Latrodectus species Description: Black Widow Spiders are dark, usually black, medium sized spiders with light red or orange markings (typically in the shape of an hourglass) on female’s abdomen (underneath the spider’s body). Black Widow Spiders (or Widow Spiders) have dark, glossy, globular bodies about 1/2 inch long. Not all Widow Spiders…
Tarantula
Tarantula Theraphosidae and Lycosa species Description: Very large, brown, black, reddish, hairy spiders. Tarantula size ranges from 1-4 inches with legs as long as 12 inches. Most tarantulas are brown. Tarantulas have eight legs and two additional appendages that they use to grip prey. Large fangs that fold much like a pocketknife, inflict painful bite…

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