Deadly giant scolopendra (10 photos + 4 videos)

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There are many amazing creatures on our planet, the anteater is perhaps one of them. After all, his extraordinary appearance is very memorable. He is like an alien who came down from a spaceship or an unusual superhero from the pages of colorful comic books. Even Salvador Dali himself was so inspired by the anteater that he decided to be one of the first to have such an exotic pet, which delighted and amazed everyone around him.

general description

The giant scolopendra came to this planet, apparently straight from a nightmare. This centipede reaches a quarter of a meter in length, and its body consists of 21–23 sections, each of which is equipped with a pair of fast, dexterous legs 2.5 cm high. Giant scolopendra lives in South America, Puerto Rico and Jamaica.

The head of the centipede is equipped with strong jaws filled with poison - thanks to this, it is able to hunt animals significantly larger than it in size, for example, bats. In addition, the centipede has an irritable and nervous character, which is facilitated by the lack of vision - the animal’s eyes can only distinguish between light and darkness. This makes the centipede rather suspicious, and in response to a threat, it prefers to attack by injecting a paralytic poison into the victim.

When hungry, the scolopendra becomes very aggressive, it is capable of developing great speed when hunting, and the agility and mobility of its body allows it to hunt even small birds. Scolopendra devours its prey gradually, since its digestive system is very primitive. For example, once researchers observed her dining on a killed bat - in 3 hours she devoured and digested about 35% of the victim’s body.

The giant scolopendra is included in the list of the most dangerous animals. In addition, she has a repulsive appearance and has one unpleasant feature - she is not at all afraid of people. It is a cold-blooded predator that hunts not only small invertebrates and beetles, but also lizards, birds, mice and frogs.

Where do mosquitoes live?

Mosquitoes populate almost the entire planet. There are even species of bloodsuckers that live in the northern regions. Apart from Antarctica, mosquitoes can be found everywhere. Some species feel comfortable in temperate climates, others in tropical forests.

However, there are places where the likelihood of encountering mosquitoes is highest:

• Since humans are the main source of blood, mosquitoes always try to live near humans. This is simply necessary for procreation;
• Many species of mosquitoes feel quite comfortable in regions with high climatic temperatures;
• Places with high humidity are also attractive to these insects. Wetlands with minimal water fluctuations are the best environment for breeding healthy offspring;
• Reservoirs with standing water. There are many microorganisms here that the larvae feed on. This becomes the reason that mosquitoes are often infected with various infections.

Where do mosquitoes spend the winter? For wintering, mosquitoes choose not only damp, but also fairly warm places. These could be basements, caves, landings, hollows in trees, residential apartments.

Scientists have proven that these insects are able to adapt to almost any climate. Today, mosquitoes can be found in northern regions where they did not previously live. There is an assumption that bloodsuckers may soon adapt to life in Antarctica.

Types of centipedes

There are about 600 species of these predators in the world. They belong to the genus of labiopods from the order Scolopendra. Prominent representatives of these animals are the Californian scolopendra, ringed scolopendra and Lucas scolopendra. The first reaches 20 centimeters in length and is found in arid regions of Mexico and the United States. This species has one unpleasant feature - when disturbed, the animal causes inflammation of human skin at the point of contact with the limbs of this centipede. At rest, the Californian scolopendra is not dangerous.

The ringed scolopendra is found in the countries of the Mediterranean basin, in southern Europe, North Africa and southern Russia. It is widespread in Crimea. The average body length is 14 centimeters, but some individuals reach 170 millimeters. This species has a beautiful golden yellow color. Like other members of the Scolopenridae family, the ringed scolopendra has venom glands.

Slaughter at home

Slaughter can begin only when the animal is ready for it. The time of year can be any, the main thing is that the pig has time to gain the required weight. This article will tell you about fattening piglets for meat at home. Let's consider the main methods of carrying out work.

How to stab in the heart

A simple and effective method that is most often used by experienced carvers. The animal is secured with ropes by its front and hind legs. It is advisable that 2-3 people hold it so that everything can be done as quickly as possible. Two people must hold the pig during slaughter, and the third one makes the puncture.

05:13

shvayka in the heart. kolem boar. (NOT NORMATIVE VOCABULARY)

The restrained animal is placed on its right side, and then a long thin knife is thrust directly into the heart (in a pig it is located in the same place as in a person between the fourth and third ribs). You should not immediately take out the knife; wait until the animal calms down, and only then remove it from the wound. Support the blade with a clean, thick piece of cloth.

The length of the knife blade should be at least 30 cm; a shorter one will simply not slaughter a pig.

Puncture in the neck

It will be enough for a couple of people: one stabs the neck, and the second holds the animal by the legs . First, the pig will need to be placed on the slaughter table with the legs pointing up. Direct the animal's head so that it is comfortable for you (right-handed to the right, left-handed to the left). Pigs weighing at least 100 kg are used for slaughter.

As soon as you give the injection, the animal will go into shock. Then lay him on his side and press him to the table by his right leg. The blood begins to flow immediately, the pig quickly calms down and falls asleep. A puncture in the neck is the best way to slaughter small breeds such as Vietnamese.

02:33

Professional pig slaughter. Children, vegans, and the faint of heart should not watch.

How to score using a stun gun

The most inhumane method of slaughter, but it is sometimes used for wild boars. The fact is that males are quite strong, and even strong men cannot always hold them. If the fight is a single one, you simply have no chance, so first stun the animal with a stun gun, and then cut its artery or pierce its heart. Thanks to a stun gun, you can handle slaughter alone.

Firearms

The most inhumane and impractical way. It is quite difficult to hit a pig that has sensed danger with a gun, and inept attempts and inaccurate hits into the atmosphere are unsafe for others. Therefore, the use of this technique is considered a last resort; it is not worth resorting to unless absolutely necessary. Usually they resort to weapons when the animal has already broken free and started to run away.

Lifestyle

Giant scolopendra, like all other representatives of the genus of centipedes, is thermophilic and lives exclusively in countries with warm or tropical climates. This is a nocturnal predator that feels uncomfortable in open spaces during the day. All scolopendras run very fast, but the giant one is especially swift.

Scolopendras live mainly underground or in shelters, since their body does not have strong protection and quickly loses moisture.

She prefers to hunt small underground invertebrates: larvae, earthworms and beetles. Giant centipede can catch and kill small lizards, frogs, birds, mice and even small snakes. The predator also catches bats. To do this, she climbs onto the ceiling where the victim sleeps, holds on to the surface with several claws, and attacks with her front legs, wrapping herself around the bat and injecting poison into it.

Scolopendras are bright individualists and prefer to live alone. However, the meeting of two males most often occurs quite peacefully. Cannibalism occurs in this species of centipede. Most often this happens in captivity, when a hungry adult is able to eat the young. In nature, this happens quite rarely.

Natural enemies of anteaters

Photo: Anteater

If in the wild conditions such large predators as pumas and jaguars act as enemies for giant and four-toed anteaters, then for dwarf representatives of the anteater family there are much more dangers; they can even be threatened by large birds and boa constrictors.

The large anteater's main weapon is its huge ten-centimeter claws, with which it can tear apart an enemy like sharp hook knives. During a fight, the animal stands on its hind legs and fights its enemy with its front legs; these strong limbs can even crush the enemy. Often, predators, seeing such courage and power, leave and do not contact the large anteater, because they consider it a dangerous and strong opponent, capable of inflicting serious wounds.

Tree baby anteaters also bravely defend themselves, despite their dwarf size. They also stand in a stance on their hind legs, and keep their front claws ready in front of them to strike the enemy. The four-toed anteater, along with the main defense mechanisms, also uses a special odorous secretion, which is secreted by its anal glands, scaring away enemies with an unpleasant odor.

Still, humans have the greatest impact on the number of anteaters, exterminating them both directly and through their active life activities.

Anatomy

The scolopendra's body consists of two parts: the head and a long body. It is divided into segments. Their number varies from 21 to 23. All of them are equipped with a pair of light yellow legs that end in a pointed spine. Their average length is 2.5 centimeters. Each of them has a poison gland. Therefore, when the legs of a scolopendra come into contact with human skin, inflammation occurs.

The head is a plate with eyes, two antennae and a pair of jaws. During the evolution, the legs of the first segment of the scolopendra's body turned into poisonous claws.

The last pair of legs is also different from the rest - they are larger in size and directed backwards. The hind legs help the animal when moving through earthen burrows and during hunting, acting as a kind of anchor.

Giant scolopendra has a beautiful copper-red or brown color. Color can vary from yellowish to red, blue, green and purple. The color of an animal changes with age, and even among individuals of the same species it can differ significantly.

The predator's body consists of plates that are connected to each other by flexible membranes and protected by an exoskeleton. Giant scolopendra is a soft-bodied animal. This type of centipede, like many invertebrates, has to shed its chitinous exoskeleton, which does not grow, from time to time. This process is called molting.

Maximum weight and volume of piglets and adult Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs for slaughter

Before slaughter, the weight should be between 110 and 112 kg, it is not worth raising more than that, as it will become fat. Age in this case is not so important; we focus on weight.

On average, animals reach the weight required for slaughter within six months of breeding, provided proper feeding.

Since it is difficult to weigh a pig, we recommend that you focus on its parameters, namely chest girth and body length. First, the length of the body is measured, the tape is applied to the middle of the back of the head, then it is pulled along the neck, withers, and back in a straight line. You will need to reach the root of the tail. In this case, the pig should stand with a level (that is, horizontally positioned) head.

Maintenance and care

The giant scolopendra, whose bite is extremely painful for humans, is often kept in captivity by centipede lovers. She is interesting to watch, but needs to be kept with caution - she is a fast and aggressive animal. Inexperienced lovers are better off abandoning such a dangerous “pet” because of the very likely possibility of being bitten. Since centipedes are flat and flexible, they can squeeze into a small gap and escape from the terrarium. They live in captivity for a long time - up to 7 years.

It is necessary to maintain relatively high soil and air humidity - animals are very sensitive to this indicator.

Centipedes in captivity feed on cockroaches, mealworm larvae and crickets. They eat slowly and infrequently. It is recommended to give them food 1-2 times a week.

Electric meat grinder transmission clutch

An electric meat grinder does not have a handle. Instead of a lever there is a motor. Before assembling the meat grinder, adjust the transmission clutch. By the way, most of the breakdowns occur in this part. Designers protect the product from mechanical overloads using two methods:

• The gears are made of plastic; when the shaft jams, the coupling breaks. Remember this, do not allow such situations to happen.
• Advanced domestic manufacturers supply meat grinders with special bushings instead of plastic gears. The parts are for protection. Now the bushings break when overloaded. The advantage of this method: if there can be two gears in a set, then miniature inserts are shipped in dozens, which sharply reduces the frequency of the need to contact a service center.

Electric meat grinder complete set

There are reduction gears inside the transmission unit. One, usually steel, with a small number of teeth and a modest diameter, is mounted motionlessly on the shaft. Without special tools, the assembly can only be disassembled in a vice. It is recommended to preheat the parts. Watch the video for the process (YouTube can help). For heating, use, for example, a soldering iron; make sure that the motor rotor does not burn out. The winding is designed for a certain temperature (say, 135 degrees Celsius); when the collector block heats up, there is a chance of burning the wires.

So, there are two or more reduction gears. The coefficient is calculated by the number of teeth of the driven and driven ones. For example, there are about 10 on the shaft, and 25 on the outer ring of the first stage of the gearbox. As a result, each subsequent gear rotates more slowly, with the lowest speed being the one driving the auger.

What are the dangers of meeting a centipede?

The danger of these predators is greatly exaggerated. All centipedes have venomous glands that produce poison, but many of them are harmless to humans because they simply cannot bite through the skin. These are cryptops, or blind centipedes, and drupes. A flycatcher living in houses can bite only for the purpose of self-defense. Most often, her jaws cannot bite through the skin. But if this happens, the bite will be equal in strength to a bee.

What does a scolopendra bite look like? It depends on the type of centipede. When the animal bites through the skin, it releases poison, which causes burning, pain and swelling. The bite may also be accompanied by nausea and dizziness.

The venom of the giant scolopendra is especially toxic. It causes severe swelling (the arm may swell up to the shoulder) and high fever. These symptoms persist for several days.

Video: Scolopendra catches and eats a mole cricket

The only documented case of death from a scolopendra bite is the death of a child from the venom of Scolopendra subspinipes. This species has several names: Chinese, Vietnamese or orange centipede.

Some species of these predators, when disturbed, secrete a protective fluid that causes burns when it comes into contact with the skin. For example, the Californian scolopendra has this feature.

After a centipede bite, you need to wash the wound, apply cold water and consult a doctor. Usually, analgesic drugs are prescribed and tetanus is prevented.

Female centipedes pose the greatest danger (they are more poisonous) to small children, people with weakened immune systems, and people with allergies.

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Facts: all the most interesting things about the predatory centipede

• It is difficult to kill this predator. Firstly, all types of centipedes run very fast. Secondly, they are so flat that they simply press into the ground, and it is almost impossible to crush them.
• Even the ancient Greeks called all types of centipedes scolopendras.
• In South Africa, the rhizida lives - a blue scolopendra.
• In Thailand and Africa, these animals are eaten.

Preparing quails

Fattening occurs according to certain rules. This preparation allows you to take more meat:

1. Create conditions in which birds move less. This helps the accumulation of special fatty layers that make the meat soft and tender.
2. They give food that is high in calories. The basis of the diet is concentrates, peas, cereals, corn cobs, feed fats.
3. Provides vitamins. Particular attention is given to A and D. These vitamins help in the absorption of food.
4. Animal proteins are desirable - dairy products, eggs.
5. New foods are introduced gradually.
6. Feed at least 3 times a day.
7. There are no restrictions on food.

There are a few more preparatory steps. They help preserve the meat and the appearance of the carcass. Conducted shortly before slaughter:

1. During the day, the quails are fed and removed. They no longer give food. This is how the meat is protected. It sometimes gets dirty with the contents of the intestines or crop. This happens if they are not careful when cutting.
2. Give water with diluted salt. The proportion is 3:1. It is a mild laxative for cleansing the digestive organs.
3. When there are about 10 hours left before slaughter, the water is removed.
4. Prepare cages, carriers, and wooden boxes. They transport the bird to the place of slaughter. Choose spacious ones, otherwise the quail will get injured. Skin abrasions spoil the appearance.

Dangerous diseases

The hybrid table grape variety Blagovest does not have a particular tendency to be affected by diseases and can rarely succumb to rot. There are two most common types of diseases that are most often found in this grape form - Mildew, Oidium. These are quite serious, dangerous diseases that require mandatory treatment, or even better, prevention.

Mildew attacks green areas. Externally, oily white discharge becomes noticeable. If left untreated, the outcome for the plant will be drying out and death.

To prevent the appearance of mildew, you need to choose the right place to plant the bushes - more or less constant air circulation is necessary. It is also important to monitor the growth of shoots and leaves - there should be no clots. If the disease appears and continues to develop, then the only way is to use chemicals, for example, Bordeaux mixture, which is sprayed on the affected bush. The solution should be 1 or 2 percent, and the procedure should be carried out regularly.

Oidium is a rather dangerous disease that spreads throughout the green part of the plant, spreading to the bunches and berries. When infected with oidium, grape fruits become dry and crack.

Treatment of this disease will not be too difficult or problematic. First you need to remove all weeds and remnants of the vine from the place where the bush grows. It is necessary that the bushes are well ventilated; this requires high-quality air circulation and thinning of the vines themselves. When treating oidium, one cannot do without chemicals - ground sulfur or colloidal.

The Blagovest grape variety will be an excellent choice for growing in areas where the climate is temperate continental and winters are quite frosty. Fruits that have been cared for efficiently and with care will look very attractive.

Workout

To develop endurance and a certain flying style, pigeons need to be trained regularly.

Properly trained pigeons can fly for 6 to 10 hours without rest.

Before proceeding directly to training, you should make sure that young individuals:

• calmly fly high;
• can remain in the air for a long time;
• do not get lost at the sight of people and animals.

If all these qualities are absent, then such a pigeon can serve exclusively for decorative purposes.

Training begins at dawn, when it is fresh outside. They last no more than 6 hours a day with breaks.

The entire lengthy training process is divided into stages:

1. Accustoming pigeons to the trainer. To do this, you need to come to the nursery every day in the same clothes. This way the birds will remember you and will eat from your hands, not be afraid of approaching, and sit on your shoulder.
2. From 1.5-2 months, pigeons are released briefly from the nursery into an aviary.
3. After 5-7 days they are released from the enclosure onto the roof of the dovecote. This stage lasts up to 5 days.
4. The young can fly around the nursery together with the leader pigeon, which teaches them a certain style of flight.
5. After 6-7 such trainings, you can let the pigeons fly alone or in a flock, but without a leader.
6. After a short time, the birds will begin to spend 20-40 minutes in the air.
7. When the flight time reaches 45 minutes, the youth can be released with an old pigeon that flies in the same style.

There are several prohibitions on training pigeons:

• training is temporarily stopped when the pigeon begins to molt and the fifth flight feather falls out - this process has a bad effect on the ability to fly;
• females cannot be trained before oviposition;
• Birds with different flight styles should not be released at the same time.

Sometimes birds fall during training. There are several most common reasons for this:

• inappropriate time for training (too hot, foggy);
• calm weather;
• various diseases;
• the birds lost their orientation.

Carcass processing

Next, farmers remove the feathers. Sometimes quails are scalded before this. Finally, they are cut and sent for storage.

scalding

To make plucking easier, use boiling water. The quail is immersed in hot water for about 1 second and quickly removed. So dip 10 times. Use a deep container.

To check, tear the feather out of the wing. If it is easily plucked, the scalding is completed.

The temperature of the water is decisive. It should not be below +55–60 °C.

At lower temperatures, the pores do not open. As a result, when plucking, the skin is torn out along with the feathers. The presentation suffers.

Some people soak the carcass for 30 seconds, but it should not be in boiling water for more than 40 seconds. The temperature is not raised above +80 °C. If these requirements are not followed, the feathers fall off along with the skin.

Then the carcass is cooled. Remove from boiling water onto oilcloth.

Plucking

Before further processing, the quail is given a convenient and marketable appearance. Remove the paws. They cut at the junction of the tibia (“knee”). The wings up to the first joint are also removed.

Then the quails are plucked. After scalding, the feathers come out easily. In an hour, the farmer processes up to 15 carcasses. First, get rid of the largest feathers (tail, wings). Gradually they move on to smaller ones. As a rule, they go from the tail to the chest, sides and beyond.

Sometimes feather removal machines are used for plucking. Doing it by hand usually turns out to be more accurate and of better quality. Although the fluff remains anyway. It is scorched, for example, with a gas burner. Hard remains of feathers (hemp) are scraped off with a knife.

How to cut a quail

Plucked birds are gutted. Quail dressing includes the following:

1. Cut off the legs if this has not already been done.
2. Remove the tail.
3. A longitudinal incision is made on the abdomen.
4. The insides are removed with a special spoon. You can even gut it by hand. They work carefully so as not to rupture the intestines or gall bladder. Their contents slightly spoil the meat.
5. The goiter and esophagus are cut out. Sometimes undigested food remains inside. It also spoils the taste of the meat.
6. The neck is cut off.
7. Wash in water at room temperature.
8. They wipe it off.

Fast processing

Sometimes it’s easier to deal with a carcass:

1. Place on a cutting board.
2. Remove legs and wings.
3. Place the carcass on its back, belly up.
4. An incision is made on the quail's breast.
5. They grab the edges of the skin and sharply remove it (“stocking”).
6. If necessary, make an incision on the back and finish.
7. They wash and cut up the quails.

Do not scald or pluck. It turns out fast and simple. However, the carcass looks unattractive. It is not suitable for sale. Plus the weight decreases greatly, the meat loses its juiciness.

By what signs can you distinguish zinnia seeds?

Taking a good look at the seed heads, you can see that there are several types of seed:

• shield-shaped cordate;
• spear-shaped sharp;
• elongated with a tail.

Although these seeds are collected from the same inflorescence, completely different zinnias can subsequently grow. Therefore, experienced gardeners sort through the seeds and sort each type separately. These are the flowers you can get from each of these species:

1. The most common zinnias can be grown from shield-shaped or heart-shaped seeds, even if the seed was collected on a double inflorescence.
2. Spear-shaped zinnias grow into single or semi-double zinnias.
3. Double inflorescences grow from elongated seeds, at the tip of which there is a grayish tail. These are the flowers that are most valued.

Terry zinnias require special careful care. So you have to take into account how much time you have to care for your flower garden.

Collecting seeds

In order to collect seeds, you just need to choose the most beautiful inflorescences in your flower garden and wait until they ripen and dry. After this, you can cut off the box. It will take about 2 months for the plant to fully mature, so it is better to leave the very first flowers in advance. They most often grow large and lush.

The cut baskets can be further dried in a dry room. Then you need to carefully pull out the petals and remove the seeds. They are then sorted out, dried again on newspaper and placed in paper envelopes.

Modern selection of cloud cutters

Over time, the qualities of the breed, officially systematized in 1910, were slightly changed. Having a traditional cross type of flight (lark) were called Old Nicholas pigeons. The name Old Regime also stuck to them.

Birds demonstrating a more modern type of flight are called Nikolaev high-flying birds.

History has a way of making unusual pirouettes. Soon, Nikolaev pigeons began to be imported en masse to Poland, where a new breed of Polish eagles was bred from them, almost completely imitating the flight style of the Nikolaev cloudcutter.

The main feature that determined the unique flight qualities of this breed was constant strong winds, the strength of which reaches 7-10 m per second or more.

Varieties of Zinnia Seeds

Spreading zinnia seeds on a white sheet of paper, you can see that they are of three varieties:

• Flat shields . These seeds are brownish in color, flat, and have a notch at the top. If you grow seedlings from such planting material, you get simple, non-double zinnias;
• Spear-shaped seeds . The color of such seeds is darker, they are elongated and taper towards the base. This type of seed has poor germination. The seed produces double and semi-double zinnias;
• Elongated seeds , at the tip of which there is an awl-shaped tail. The color of such a seed is grayish and the shape is more elongated than that of other seeds. These seeds are located on the outer rows, so separating them is easy. From such seed material terry zinnias with full heads are obtained.

If you want to grow beautiful flowers on your plot, then you should try and spend time sorting out the seeds.

It is worth noting that even non-double zinnias are beautiful during flowering, especially if they grow in a large area. Therefore, you should not be too upset if, instead of terry heads, flowers with simple baskets grow in the front garden.