Encounters with Animals/Insects on Chases

[Michael Thompson]

The past Aussi chase season coincided with a locust plague.

I drove through several swarms around December. The worst was near a small town called Cumnock, the road in the town was surfaced with a whitish tar/rock. The locusts thought this was great and landed on the cooler surface.

At one stage I had to pull over and extract 2inches of dead locust cover on the radiator.

 

[joel ewing]

Speaking of locusts, I remember my Dad telling me that as a kid on the farm in Nebraska..circa the late 1920's-30's, there were locust plagues...and he remembers them literally blackening the sky there were so many of them.

 

[Aaron Kennedy]

Well...

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2100.html

Bites

Chigger larvae do not burrow into the skin, nor suck blood. They pierce the skin and inject into the host a salivary secretion containing powerful, digestive enzymes that break down skin cells that are ingested (tissues become liquefied and sucked up).

http://lancaster.unl.edu/enviro/pest/facts...eets/008-96.htm

Contrary to popular belief, chiggers do not burrow into the skin, but pierce the skin, (often around a hair follicle) and inject a fluid that prevents blood from clotting.

http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/...truct/ef630.htm

After secreting digestive enzymes, they suck up liquefied host tissues. They neither suck blood nor burrow into the skin. The rash and intense itching associated with chiggers is an allergic reaction to the mite's salivary secretions.

I would hope that numerous universities Entomology depts. aren't wrong!

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&c2c...row&btnG=Search

BTW... I found this interesting story:
"‘05 Weather Creating Paradise for Chiggers"
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/news/sty/2005/chi...adise070105.htm

Aaron

 

[Bill Hark]

I am always finding animals while chasing (or they find me).

I stopped to photograph a cumulus congestus, looked down and saw this critter:

In 2001, while traveling through southwestern Texas, I encountered a plague of large black beetles. There were millions of them.

Bill Hark

 

[joel ewing]

I guess I stand corrected, Aaron. But I'll tell you, I have taken a needle and dug away into my skin to eradicate these miserable creatures..and I have found what I thought were remains of smothered chiggers. Possibly I was removing some hardened blackish remains of the substance they leave in you.
Well, I learned something today. Cool.

 

[Mark Farnik]

As me and my dad were driving on Highway 14 to Holyoke on my first chase back ont the 27th of June, we nailed about 8 birds with my dad's 1997 F-150. One of them was a gigantic pigeon that burst into a cloud of feathers when it bounced off the hood. Three got stuck in the grille and I had to pry them off when we got home. We also ran over a large rattler near our house that night. I came within 10 feet of nailing a doe just over a hill the first night I had my permit last January and a few years back a hawk flew into my mom's windshield. Didn't do any damage but it startled her so bad she almost wrecked the car.

 

[cdcollura]

Animal "Rescues" During Storm Chases

After hurricane "Frances" in FL ... Baby squirrels brought to animal control facility after tree they were in fell...

The same for baby sea turntles crossing the road after a hurricane storm surge retreats...

On a scarier note, less than 10 feet away from me in the FL everglades while chasing summertime thunderstorms (Yikes!)...

Even worse, the damage to Amos Magliocco's 4 Runner from an un-avoidable deer out of a ditch enounter (BAM!)

Respect wildlife, just like you respect storms!

 

[T. W. Miller]

Guess I have a tendency to attract critters wanting a ride to other places and this seems to usually occur in Oklahoma. Several years ago on return drive from Central OK chase was near Pauls Valley when a pair of ticks decided to move from my head by crawling down my neck. Managed to capture and remove from vehicle. Most interesting encounter was in 2003 on drive home from a chase in, none other than central OK. Not sure where I acquired it, most likely during either sunset photo shoot on side of dirt road south of Chikasha or at Arbuckle rest area while videotaping lightning, but just north of Marietta had my right hand resting on my leg when felt something crawling onto my fingers. First thought was grasshopper, but soon discovered a scorpion perched on my fingers; totally relaxed and non-threatening position. I let remain there until rest stop near Gainesville, TX; whereby, took 10 minutes or so to finally coax out of vehicle. Last year hit a large bird between Throckmorton and Graham that knocked passenger side mirror out of mounting.

 

[Chris Sokol]

A couple of years back, I took out a pretty big turkey in Texas. Actually had to duct tape the parking light and grill to finish the chase. Didn't keep the bird.