Pass this along to those you know that have kids, dogs and cats


IF YOU HAVE KIDS AND DOGS THIS IS IMPORTANT!!
BE SURE TO READ IT TO YOUR KIDS ALSO.

Safety Notice - BEWARE of Nasty New Bug
Of the WALKING STICK VARIETY.

Forwarded from a woman in Houston Texas

Here is a safety related tid bit that I discovered because of
my dog. This could be useful for those of us and our
families outside.

On Monday night my dog sniffed at a rather large bug (about 3
inches long) that was on our garage wall and immediately
reeled back. I checked her over and saw nothing wrong - she
was just pawing at her nose a little then seemed normal.
Tuesday morning when I woke up she had an eye swollen shut.
I irrigated it with saline and took her to the vet - she had
a chemical burn on her cornea. She is getting treatment and
making good progress to, hopefully, complete recovery.

I photographed the bug and sent pictures to Texas A & M
Entomology department - the bug is Anisomorpha monstrosa, a
breed of walking stick insect imported from Belize and
becoming common on the Gulf coast. This is not the normal
walking stick most people are familiar with (if you are
familiar with them). The female is from two to four inches
long and heavy bodied. It ranges from weathered gray to
shiny black in color with a distinctive pattern on its back
in yellow or dull orange. This insect has a pair of
meta-thoracic defense glands which can spray an irritating
secretion towards "attacking" objects. Temporary blindness
has been recorded when the secretion contacts eyes. If
washed out promptly with sterile saline this poses no real
hazard. If not promptly removed a chemical burn of the
cornea can occur.

Here is a quote from a commercial fruit grower in Florida
sent to me by the entomologist:

"I went out to pick blueberries yesterday and found the
bushes loaded with walking stick insects. As I picked I took
to having sneezing fits. I then noticed that an unusual scent
as the sneezing fit came over me. I wondered what the source
of the substance could be, as I continued picking I glimpsed
wisps of a yellowish color appearing in the air as the scent
occurred. Then a walking stick jumped onto my hat just above
my right eye, it let me have a face full of it's defense
secretion & I thought that I had been sprayed with mace!"

Another reported in the gulf coast is Anisomorpha
buprestoides - same capabilities. They can actually spray
this chemical defense spray about 10 to 12 inches! It is
recommended that you rinse any sprayed area with water as the
chemical is water soluble.

Again, these are not the normal thin green or brown walking
sticks you are familiar with - here are photos. The first
two are the harmful imports (the one labeled nasty is what
got my dog) the last is the not so bad Texas native.

After checking my yard I found three more of these and killed them - they are an
undesirable import and the Entomologist from A & M said if you see them kill
them - he actually recommended dropping them in boiling hot water to kill the
eggs the female carries inside as well. These are getting more and more common
on the gulf coast - watch out for these and don't let your kids near them.

Just when you thought killer bees were bad enough.

Picture of the WalkingStack insect is located at:
http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/holistic_gp/vwp?.dir=/Insects&.dnm=Walkings\
tick.jpg.jpg&.src=gr&.view=t&.hires=t
[please copy/paste entiure URL into your browser location line
or go to http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Holistic_GP/lst
and click on Insects / Walkingstick]

--
Warmly, Joy & George LaCaille
& the "Naturally Reared" Lakai German Pinschers
Mailto:Holistic@... 352-365-9955
914 Lake Ella Road, Fruitland Park, FL 34731
ICQ# 2168628 AOL IM = GPRescueJoy Yahoo IM = lakai_gp
Health/Nutrition: http://www.geocities.com/holistic_gp/