During one of my rants, Julie from the Madhatters said “One thing that really freaks me out is a Parktown Prawn (go and google the image – that should be enough for you!)” . Oh for goodness sakes, it’s a friggin king cricket. Hardly urky enough to have me running for the spray. Here is what Wiki had to say…
“They are generally considered pests by most in South Africa, and are held in the same regard as cockroaches. The strong exoskeleton of the Parktown prawn makes it exceedingly difficult to kill. They are able to function for a short time when decapitated, and are less susceptible to insecticide than most other insects.”
Of all the friggin scary things in South Africa, a cricket ranks way up there? Geez, spend a night in my friggin shed!!! So it got me thinking, the Loons should name and shame their worst insect…I personally nominate the spitfire caterpillar that I use to torment as a kid. When prodded with a stick it would fire a nasty acid type liquid from it’s ass (or mouth, who knew?) at you.
Hey Julie, is this a Parktown Prawn?
Personally, I think Julie’s the scariest thing in S.Africa !!!
Hmm, I fear retribution if I agree
Errr Loonie one ….. payment for my contribution to your latest post will be accepted via bank transfer to my offshore account
Grrrr …. grrrr ….. grrrr ……. hisss ….. claw ….. spit ……..
BROWN RECLUSE- most victims have immediate signs of being poisoned.
The poison causes the necrosis (death) of the soft tissue that starts as a local inflammation with reddening, edemas and pain.
General symptoms are: fever, shivering, nausea, vomits, itching, restlessness and state of shock.
The injury is usually of 1 to 2 3/4 inches and it becomes evident with the appearance of an ulcer, which can take several months to heal and generally leaves unattractive scars.
One of the main characteristics of a typical bite is a hard and sharp sensation on the skin, followed by intense pain and swelling. However, this may not occur in the very beginning, when the injury is local, but within the first hours it will be possible to notice how the skin gradually turns red. After the first day, this injury changes into purple and that is exactly when the typical injury known as “livedoid plaque” appears.
There are two types of poison cycles of this corner spider: one called skin Loxoscelim and skin visceral. The most common of these is the skin Loxoscelism ( 85 %), in which the aforementioned injury evolves gradually into a necrotica plaque with general symptoms. Although the patient’s life is not in jeopardy, he/she will certainly get a scar on the bitten area. The Physiopathology is a consequence of the poison action in the small vessels of the skin.
The second clinic cycle is the skin- visceral Loxoscelism. Here the patient presents general symptoms all over his body: high temperature and, most importantly, blood in his urine, in macro or microscopic way. In these cases, the patient could quickly achieve deep kidney insufficiency which turns later into multiorganic insufficiency. This pathology can cause the death of the patient (laxoscelism mortality rate 1 to 3 %). These phenomena are mainly caused by the toxin action in the red corpuscles and the kidneys.
Ewh, holy crap Sekan!!!!! Sounds like Jammers ex
“The Parktown prawn is renowned and feared for its ability to jump long distances when threatened (they tend to jump towards you). They also release a vile-smelling black faecal liquid.”
THAT my dear Loon is quite enough for me to shit myself whenever I see one! I even slept with one in my bed one night
…. this little fact I only found out the following morning when making the bed, and there in the middle of the bed underneath the duvet was this MONSTER ….. I left, screaming and running down the road …..
It’s a friggin cricket
Hmm, you slept with one, was he good?
It’s NOT a cricket, it’s a damn horrible monster from outer space
Ok, let’s put this in perspective here ….. you know those teensy weensy little green grasshoppers? You wanna see me run, hysterically …. ? (Yeah, I know you would … but you get my drift here?)
So now compare a teensy weensy little grasshopper to that THING ….. aaaaargggghhhhh!
P.S. If it was any good, I wasn’t hanging around long enough to find out! And also, I cant remember as I’d been to a party the night before
Julie, Julie, Julie, it’s one little cricket (be it a king one) how bad can they be?
hi.
i am looking for people who can tell me more freaking stories about parktown prawns for a possible film interview.
We were so damn infested with the things at one stage, it would sound like mice scratching around in the bedroom ….. HOUSE OF HORRORS
We (that being my ex and I) devised a very clever method of getting rid of (murdering and mutilating) the buggers! (Considering that they genuinely are immune to an entire can of Doom!)
Next to the bed was a permanent supply of plastic shopping bags and a half a brick
Quite simple really …… 
OOH that is bad and they are pretty ugly looking I have to agree. I’m not scared of much but hate Redbacks and White Tailed spiders as they are a bout the only poisonous spiders around here. Oh and rats, hate rats ! especially toothy rats. Those front teeth send me packing and lose long black skinny tails. EWH!
Just had a thought Ornery Frank can come with his bow and arrow and shoot every rat in Oz.
or all the Parktown Prawns
Teeth on blowfish freak me out. When I was little I caught one and when I tried to remove the hook his teeth shattered. Never fished again!!!!
OMG LOON! WHEN DID YOU PUT THAT PICTURE UP THERE? IT WASN’T THERE A WHILE AGO!!!
YES … I’M SHOUTING, AND FREAKING OUT HERE …..
YOU BULLY!
(Now I’m scratching, and searching under the desks, in the cupboards, everywhere ….. that was downright mean and NASSSSSTY)
I took that in my backyard last year. They don’t come into my house
.
Snakes I just hate them I freek every time I see one. I kill first the ask what kind it is.
Terri I think you should just RUN!!!!!!
I recall the dreaded potato bugs I ran into on a constant basis while I had to weed the weeds in our non-garden when I was a kid. The things had a radical set of pinchers on them that could cut through a toothpick like a hot knife through
my younger sisterbutter. A nuclear weapon couldn’t bust open their shell.http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=potato+bug+picture&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B5_____enUS330US330&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=JYjnSvXLOoacMeOC_aAI&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQsAQwAA
OMG, now that is what I am talking about! Geez, after seeing that, I don’t know what Julie has to bitch about
South Afrikan cricketers are way scarier than South African crickets.
http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=Pq1uHZRA
I know this is an old thread but thought I’d chime in. Julie being fearful of the PTP (Parktown Prawn) has a bias view of this bug. It’s not that they’re just ugly (though I think they are cool) the are uncommonly aggressive for insects. While I am sure there are many intimidating bugs out there this one ranks very highly. It is fearless and hardy. If you chop it with a spade you have two angry halves of PTP to deal with. They hiss when angry and attack when cornered. I don’t care if you’re Dart Vader, you don’t feel confident that you can win if conflict ensues. And they are not just Little crickets. They grow anywhere from 50mm to 100mm in length, granted the 100mm is a record size. These aren’t chirpy little field crickets but the uber warriors of the cricket world. They are also great for your garden as they eat slugs and snails and recycle your old vegetation.
I’m wondering what CMS your blog uses? This looks really good and I like every one of the visitor functions which are available. I’m sorry if this really is the incorrect place to ask this but I was not sure how to contact you – thank you.
Woooooow!!!!! Something bit me bout a month ago doctor said its a spider but I have never seen a spider in my house….. I had huge red marks on my back! Within hours these huge blisters appear…. They only gave me bactroban! I’m sure this alien creature got hold of me!!!! Its the only living creature I saw in my house since living here!!!! Omg.