#Do Termites Bite Humans?

[ecolifely]

Can Termites Bite Humans? Debunking Myths and Revealing the Truth

When termites come to mind, they’re often associated with costly property damage rather than direct interaction with humans. However, a common question arises: Can termites bite humans? The short answer is yes, but the full story is much more nuanced.

This blog post explores the reality of termite bites, the circumstances under which they occur, and why termites pose a bigger threat to your home than to your body.

Do Termites Bite Humans?

Yes, termites can bite humans, but this is a rare occurrence under very specific conditions. Termites are not aggressive insects, nor do they see humans as a food source. Their primary interest is consuming cellulose found in wood and plant materials.

Understanding Termite Castes and Their Mandibles

In a termite colony, each caste has specific roles, and their mandibles are adapted accordingly:

Workers: Tasked with feeding the colony, their mandibles are for chewing wood, not biting humans.

Soldiers: Equipped with larger, stronger mandibles, soldier termites are responsible for defending the colony. If provoked, they may bite in defense.

Reproductives (Kings and Queens): These termites lack functional mandibles for biting and are focused on reproduction.

Only soldier termites have the capability to bite humans, and even then, it happens only when the colony is directly disturbed.

When Do Termite Bites Occur?

While termite bites are extremely rare, certain situations may lead to them:

Colony Disturbance: If you break into a termite nest or damage mud tubes, soldier termites might perceive you as a threat and attempt to bite defensively.

Direct Contact: Handling termite-infested wood or debris can result in soldier termites reacting to perceived danger with a bite.

Professional Extermination: Pest control professionals dealing with infestations may encounter soldier termites, which may bite as they defend their colony.

Are Termite Bites Dangerous?

Bite Characteristics

Termite bites are mild and usually painless.

They may leave a small red mark but rarely cause irritation or swelling.

Potential Risks

Termite bites are not venomous.

Termites do not transmit diseases to humans.

The risk of infection is minimal and usually stems from improper wound care.

What to Do If Bitten by a Termite:

Clean the area with soap and water to prevent infection.

Apply an antiseptic cream if redness appears.

Seek medical attention only if unusual symptoms, such as excessive swelling, occur (highly unlikely).

Why Are Termite Bites So Rare?

Unlike mosquitoes, ticks, or bed bugs, termites are not parasitic insects. They do not rely on humans for survival or nourishment. Their diet consists entirely of cellulose, a component found in wood, plants, and paper products.

Additionally, termites prefer dark, hidden environments like wood interiors, soil, and walls, minimizing their interaction with humans.

Key Misconceptions:

Myth: Termites actively bite humans. Fact: Termites only bite defensively when their colony is threatened.

Myth: Small red marks on the skin are caused by termites. Fact: Such marks are more likely from other pests like ants or bed bugs.

For a deeper understanding of termite behavior, check out this Terminix article.

The Real Threat of Termites

While termite bites are harmless, the real danger lies in their destructive habits. Termites are silent invaders that can cause extensive damage to wood-based structures, sometimes before their presence is even noticed.

Signs of a Termite Infestation:

Hollow-sounding wood when tapped.

Mud tubes along walls, floors, or ceilings.

Discarded wings near windowsills or entry points.

Early detection and swift action are key to minimizing damage. For more insights on protecting your home, visit EcoLifely’s guide.

How to Prevent Termite Bites and Infestations

Avoid Direct Contact with Termites:

Wear gloves when handling wood or soil.

Inspect firewood or wooden furniture before bringing them indoors.

Minimize Termite Attractions:

Repair leaks and ensure proper drainage to reduce moisture around your home.

Remove wood debris, mulch, or dead plants from near your foundation.

Seal cracks and crevices in walls and floors to block termite entry points.

Consult Pest Control Experts:

Professional pest control services can accurately identify and eliminate infestations, providing peace of mind and protecting your property.

Conclusion

While termites are capable of biting humans, such instances are extremely rare and harmless. Soldier termites may bite defensively if their colony is disturbed, but these bites are mild, painless, and pose no health risks.

The true danger of termites lies in their ability to cause structural damage to homes and buildings. Early detection, preventive measures, and professional pest control are essential to safeguarding your property.

For more information on termite behavior, risks, and prevention strategies, check out trusted resources like EcoLifely and Terminix.

By understanding the truth about termite bites and their behavior, you can protect yourself, your family, and your home from these silent invaders.

[bogleech]

Anyway while we're on the subject of public misconception towards living things (which is completely understandable because have you SEEN living things? There's like dozens of them!) here's a fresh rundown of some common mistakes about bugs!

Arachnids aren't just spiders! They're also scorpions, mites, ticks and some real weirdos out there

Insects with wings are always finished growing! Wings are the last new thing they ever develop! There can never be a "baby bee" that's just a smaller bee flying around.

That said, not all insects have larvae! Many older insect groups do look like little versions of adults....but the wings rule still applies.

Insects do have brains! Lobes and everything!

Only the Hymenoptera (bees, ants and wasps) have stingers like that.

Not all bees and wasps live in colonies with queens

The only non-hymenoptera with queens are termites, which is convergent evolution, because termites are a type of cockroach!

There are still other insects with colonial lifestyles to various degrees which can include special reproductive castes, just not the whole "queen" setup.

Even ants still deviate from that; there are multi-queen ant species, some species where the whole colony is just females who clone themselves and other outliers

There is no "hive mind;" social insects coordinate no differently from schools of fish, flocks of birds, or for that matter crowds of humans! They're just following the same signals together and communicating to each other!

Not all mosquito species carry disease, and not all of them bite people

Mosquitoes ARE ecologically very important and nobody in science ever actually said otherwise

The bite of a black widow is so rarely deadly that the United States doesn't bother stocking antivenin despite hundreds of reported bites per year. It just feels really really bad and they give you painkillers.

Recluse venom does damage skin, but only in the tiny area surrounding the bite. More serious cases are due to this dead skin inviting bacterial infection, and in fact our hospitals don't carry recluse antivenin either; they just prescribe powerful antibiotics, which has been fully effective at treating confirmed bites.

Bed bugs are real actual specific insects

"Cooties" basically are, too; it's old slang for lice

Crane flies aren't "mosquito hawks;" they actually don't eat at all!

Hobo spiders aren't really found to have a dangerous bite, leaving only widows and recluses as North America's "medically significant" spiders

Domestic honeybees actually kill far more people than hornets, including everywhere the giant "murder" hornet naturally occurs.

Wasps are only "less efficient" pollinators in that less pollen sticks to them per wasp. They are still absolutely critical pollinators and many flowers are pollinated by wasps exclusively.

Flies are also as important or more important to pollination than bees.

For "per insect" pollination efficiency it's now believed that moths also beat bees

Honeybees are non-native to most of the world and not great for the local ecosystem, they're just essential to us and our food industry

Getting a botfly is unpleasant and can become painful, but they aren't actually dangerous and they don't eat your flesh; they essentially push the flesh out of the way to create a chamber and they feed on fluids your immune system keeps making in response to the intrusion. They also keep this chamber free of bacterial infection because that would harm them too!

Botflies also exist in most parts of the world, but only one species specializes partially in humans (and primates in general, but can make do with a few other hosts)

"Kissing bugs" are a group of a couple unusual species of assassin bug. Only the kissing bugs evolved to feed on blood; other assassin bugs just eat other insects.

[weaselle]

i am convinced that human evolution and development was centered around the basic up-grade from "i steal your resources" to "i steal your behaviors and concepts"

We got clever enough and we just started copying absolutely everything we observed just because now we could figure out how to copy concepts and things that other animals were doing

see that squirrel hoarding acorns for the winter? we can do that. okay now how do we make these acorns edible, cause they are poisonous to a number of animals and we don't do great with them either. What if you put them in the fire? or just on hot coals? what if you put them in water on hot coals and boil them? Oh if you soak them in cold water for 24 hours and maybe change the water a couple times you can totally eat them? YOINK storing acorns for winter is our idea now.

or, you ever seen a weaver bird do it's thing? if not i'll give you one guess what they do

or how about the tailor bird that uses spider silk to stitch the edges of a big leaf together to make a nest in

or sometimes they'll stitch a bunch of leaves into a little cup for a nest

like i'm not trying to downplay how clever it is to be the first humans to weave or sew, and indeed, being the first person to weave that anyone knew about probably happened many times throughout human existence but my conceit is that most if not all of those times was a human seeing something in nature that was basically weaving and going "i'ma do that, and get real good at it - i'ma take that concept and really make it mine"

like it wouldn't surprise me if humans got dogs because we saw how ravens were treating wolves and went "shit yeah, great idea - YOINK that's my idea now."

most of the things that we think of as special human skill or behavior can actually be found elsewhere throughout nature -- all over there are animals using tools, farming, ranching, building, etc.

my favorite primate behavioralist anecdote is a group of people studying tool use in chimps were spending their days in the bush logging the use of twigs to catch termites, and over the campfire at night they're like "it's so boring i wish they'd do something more impressive than this completely basic tool skill."

and one of them was like "actually... how do we know its not a difficult skill? has anyone tried to use a twig to catch termites and see?" and so the next day, like good little scientists, they went out and recorded their attempts at catching termites with twigs.

And lo and behold out of the whole group and all their attempts that day, only, like, a single termite was caught by a human, mostly by chance. Suddenly the whole situation flipped - they'd been thinking of it as basic unskilled tool use, but actually the chimps knew how to do something that none of them could easily figure out on their own - or even together as a group!

y'all, they had to go back to watching the chimps do it to figure out how. Think about that. University degrees, scientific minds, educated people... and they had to be taught how by the chimps.

It turns out there's a reason that young chimps will spend like a year closely studying how an adult is fishing for termites. You gotta select the right kind of twig or leaf stem, maybe you fray the end like a paint brush depending on particulars, you gotta have just the right poking and little shaking technique to provoke the termites into biting the twig, it's a whole thing. There's even regional/cultural differences in the general approach to termite fishing that are distinct between groups that live in different areas.

Now, wild chimps have been observed using objects as tools to fashion crude spears for hunting (it's the mothers doing it by the way, and slowly some of their kids have been growing up doing it, which will probably result in refinements and developments eventually.

ants do both farming and ranching. For real. Some species of ant grow a fungus they eat AND it's a domesticated fungus, like our corn, it can't actually reproduce and survive in the wild without the ants farming it. They maintain its growing conditions and feed it leaf litter mulch, and the fungus produces some kind of ant food idk i forget the details about that. But that's farming. They are farming a domesticated mushroom, basically. And other species of ant will maintain a herd of aphids; they'll move them from grazing area to grazing area, and protect them from predators, and they "milk" them for a liquid food substance and also every now and then they straight up eat one. That's ranching.

beavers sometimes have muskrat... tenants? pets? The muskrats low key pay rent by changing out the reed bedding they all use, and they live in the beaver's lodge with them and eat some of the food. So. idk

Some Tarantulas keep frogs as pets

anyway my point is, i think the true human skill that sets us apart is our ability deconstruct and reconstruct anything we see into something that is for us. Oh, you eat that? Now WE eat that. You have the perfect teeth to drill little holes in specific tree trunks to let the sap ooze out and eat it because it's high in sugar? We don't have those teeth but we're gonna do that now and if we can't figure out a tool that's as good as your teeth at it, watch out, because we will absolutely just also steal your fuckin teeth.

[bestanimal]

Round 3 - Reptilia - Psittaciformes

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Our next order of birds are the Psittaciformes, commonly called “psittacines” or “parrots”. Psittaciformes contain the families Cacatuidae (“cockatoos”), Psittacidae (“holotropical parrots”), Psittrichasiidae (“black parrots” and “vasa parrots”), Psittaculidae (“Old World parrots”), and Strigopidae (“New Zealand parrots”).

Parrots are some of the most well known and recognized tropical birds. They have large, strong, sharply downcurved beaks, an upright stance, and clawed, zygodactyl feet (two toes facing forward and two back). They are the only animals that display true tripedalism, using their beak as an extra limb to generate propulsive forces equal to or greater than those generated by the limbs of primates when climbing vertical surfaces. They travel with cyclical tripedal gaits when climbing. Along with corvids, they are considered the most intelligent birds, and are able to use tools, solve puzzles, and mimic human speech; some have been shown to even associate meaning to human words. Most parrots feed on plant material like seeds, nuts, fruit, and buds. Some species eat small animals, eggs, and/or carrion, and lories and lorikeets are specialized for feeding on nectar and fruit juice. Parrots are found on all tropical and subtropical continents and regions including Australia and Oceania, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central America, South America, and Africa, with the greatest diversity coming from Australasia and South America.

Most parrots are social animals which live in large flocks, and hold no territories other than their nesting sites. All are monogamous, and the pair bonds of the parrots and cockatoos are strong, with a pair remaining close during the nonbreeding season even if they join larger flocks. Almost all parrots nest in cavities such as tree hollows or termite mounds. In most cases, both parents excavate the nest, though in many, only the female incubates the eggs while the male brings her food and guards the nest. Their young are altricial, hatched naked and helpless.

A single 15 mm (0.6 in) fragment from a large lower bill (UCMP 143274), found in deposits from the Lance Creek Formation had been thought to be the oldest parrot fossil, having originated from the Late Cretaceous period. However, this fossil is more likely to have come from a parrot-like caenagnathid oviraptorosaur. It is still generally assumed that the Psittaciformes were present during the K-Pg extinction, 66 million years ago, with modern parrots evolving in the Eocene, around 50 million years ago.

Propaganda under the cut:

A large macaw can have a bite force of 35 kg/cm2 (500 lb/sq in), close to that of a large dog.

Most species are capable of using their feet to manipulate food and other objects with a high degree of dexterity, in a similar manner to a human using their hands. A study conducted with Australian parrots has demonstrated that they exhibit "handedness", a distinct preference with regards to the foot they use to pick up food, with adult parrots being almost exclusively "left-footed" or "right-footed", and with the prevalence of each preference within the population varying by species.

Parrots eat a lot of seeds, and in many cases where they are seen consuming fruit, they are actually just eating the fruit to get at the seed. As seeds often have poisons that protect them, parrots will carefully remove seed coats and other chemically defended fruit parts prior to ingestion. Many species in the Americas, Africa, and Papua New Guinea also consume clay, which releases minerals and absorbs toxic compounds from the gut.

The large, nocturnal, flightless Kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus) (see gif above) is the heaviest parrot, weighing around 4.0 kg (8.8 lb). They are world’s only living flightless parrots, having evolved in New Zealand where they did not have to worry about land predators. Today, the Kākāpō is critically endangered, due to the introduction of mammalian predators like domestic cats, rats, domestic ferrets, and stoats. The current total known population of living individuals is 244, with all known individuals being named and tagged.

The Kea (Nestor notabilis) (image 4), also from New Zealand, is the only alpine parrot, living in the forested and alpine regions of the South Island. Kea are known for their intelligence and curiosity, both vital to their survival in a harsh mountain environment. Kea can solve logical puzzles, such as pushing and pulling things in a certain order to get to food, and will work together to achieve objectives. They have been filmed preparing and using tools. Their natural curiosity and urge to explore and investigate makes this bird both a pest for residents and an attraction for tourists, and they are known to play with (and damage) backpacks, boots, skis, snowboards, and cars. They are known to “steal” unguarded items of clothing, car keys, passports, and rubber parts of cars. Unfortunately, this naturally curious and trusting behavior has led to the endangered bird being illegally killed by poachers in some instances.

Some parrots are active predators of other animals. Golden-winged Parakeets (Brotogeris chrysoptera) prey on aquatic snails. The bulk of the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo’s (Zanda funerea) diet consists of grubs. While the Kea’s main source of protein is carrion, it also uncommonly preys on Domestic Sheep (Ovis aries), as well as other birds (including shearwater chicks), and small mammals (including rabbits and mice). Another New Zealand parrot, the Antipodes Parakeet (Cyanoramphus unicolor) is known to prey on adult Grey-backed Storm Petrels (Garrodia nereis) by entering their burrows while they incubate their eggs.

Lories, lorikeets (tribe Loriini), Hanging Parrots (genus Loriculus), and Swift Parrots (Lathamus discolor) are primarily nectar and pollen eaters, having adaptations specifically for this diet, including tongues with brush-like tips.

The Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) is an extinct species of conure that was once native to the Eastern, Midwest, and Plains states of the United States. It was the only indigenous parrot within its range, and one of only three parrot species native to the United States (the only remaining is the Green Parakeet [Psittacara holochlorus] in some parts of Texas, while the Thick-billed Parrot [Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha] has since been extirpated from the US). Carolina Parakeets were hunted, both for the decorative use of their colorful feathers in women's hats, and for reduction of crop predation. Deforestation in the 18th and 19th centuries also likely played a significant role. They were also captured for the pet trade and competed for nest sites with the introduced European Honeybee (Apis mellifera). The last confirmed sighting in the wild of a Carolina Parakeet was in 1910. The last known specimen, a male named Incas, died at the age of 33 at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1918, and the species was declared extinct in 1939.

The endangered El Oro Parakeet (Pyrrhura orcesi) is one of the few parrot species known to breed cooperatively. One breeding pair may be accompanied by up to six helpers.

The Golden Parakeet (Guaruba guarouba) (image 3) is the only other parrot known to breed cooperatively, and they may also be polygamous breeders, with multiple females contributing to a clutch.

The Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) is one of the very few parrots known to build a nest, and even among them it is unique. Monk Parakeets breed colonially, building a single huge nest, with separate entrances for each pair. These colonies can become quite large, with pairs occupying separate "apartments" in composite nests that can reach the size of a small car. These “apartments” may attract other tenants who will nest alongside the colony, such as pigeons, sparrows, American Kestrels (Falco sparverius), Yellow-billed Teals (Anas flavirostris), and mammals like squirrels.

The Burrowing Parrot (Cyanoliseus patagonus) excavates burrows that can be as much as 3 m deep into a cliff-face, connecting with other tunnels to create a labyrinth, ending in a nesting chamber. They nest in large colonies, some of the largest of any parrots, up to 70,000 strong, creating “cities” in cliff faces during the breeding season.

Parrots do not have vocal cords, so sound is accomplished by expelling air across the mouth of the trachea in the organ called the syrinx. Different sounds are produced by changing the depth and shape of the trachea.

A study by scientist Irene Pepperberg suggested a high learning ability in a Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus) named Alex. Alex was trained to use words to identify objects, describe them, count them, and even answer complex questions such as "How many red squares?" with over 80% accuracy. N'kisi, another Grey Parrot, has been shown to have a vocabulary of around a thousand words, and has displayed an ability to invent and use words in context in correct tenses.

As parrots are highly intelligent and social, an absence of stimuli from members of their own kind can delay the development of young birds. This was demonstrated by a group of Vasa Parrots (genus Coracopsis) kept in tiny cages with Domestic Chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) from the age of three months; at nine months, these birds still behaved in the same way as three-month-olds, but had adopted some chicken behaviour. Parrots kept as pets or in detrimental environments can, if deprived of stimuli, develop stereotyped and harmful behaviours like self-mutilating. Keepers working with parrots often have dedicated environmental enrichment plans to keep parrots stimulated.

One-third of all parrot species are threatened by extinction, with a higher aggregate extinction risk than any other comparable bird group. Parrots are subjected to more exploitation than any other group of wild birds, and their wild populations have been diminished by trapping both adults and chicks for the pet trade. Half of all parrots live in captivity, with the vast majority of these living as pets in people's homes. Despite many breeders existing, parrots are not domesticated, and very few make good pets as they have complex social, dietary, and enrichment needs, they have strong bites and need to chew, and are naturally very loud. They are also long-term commitments as, depending on species, they can live from 15 to 80+ years, all while requiring the same levels of attention, care, and intellectual stimulation akin to that required by a three-year-old child to survive. Parrot rescue groups estimate that most parrots are surrendered and rehomed through at least five homes before reaching their permanent destinations, or before dying prematurely from unintentional or intentional neglect and abuse. If considering a pet parrot, make sure you have the time, money, and emotional energy to devote to these wild animals, know what you’re getting into, and make sure you adopt from a rescue so as not to fuel this unethical pet trade.

[ckret2]

Thoughts on Samurai Jack's gods? They barely do anything to help stop Aku given that he only exists because of their negligence.

Given the scale of what they were fighting, I wouldn't be too harsh on them about their "negligence." If an exterminator is called to get rid of a termite mound with 5,000,000 termites, and 1 termite escapes, I'd call that a successful exterminator.

My personal headcanon is that gods deal with god-tier problems, but mortals must deal with mortal-tier problems—whether because of divine rules, or because they have too many god-tier problems to spare time for mortal-tier ones, or whatever other reason. Most mythologies around the world have gods largely butt out of mortal affairs except for special occasions of divine intervention, you can borrow any of a thousand reasons to justify the separation.

A giant mass of Pure Evil? That's a god-tier problem. It was bigger than the gods, it was implicitly capable of infecting the gods, and a scrap of it so teeny-tiny the gods didn't even see it was still huge enough to cause a global extinction-level event upon planetfall, which tells you how big the whole thing must have been.

We don't know what, if anything, the Jello Of Evil (aka Joe) was up to before it got hunted. But given the kind of story this is—where good and evil have clear unambiguous lines drawn between them, where goodness and evilness can power magic itself, where gods and heroes and anthropomorphized natural forces are main characters—I suspect Joe wasn't out doing its grocery shopping. It was probably being maximum evil. Devouring stars and plunging whole planets into the Black Hole of Hate (precursor to the much less imposing Pit of Hate) and terrible things like that. Leave that thing unsupervised for ten minutes and a whole solar system—with trillions upon trillions of lives—is gone.

It must be dealt with, as fast as possible, and as hard as possible.

Aku? Ate like one dog and/or farmer a year for 65 million years.

When he finally gained sentience and took over, he like,, harassed ONE kingdom, took out ONE army, and then settled down to enslave the sentient people and put them to work digging up rocks that were slightly more shiny than the surrounding rocks.

It took him thousands of years to conquer the rest of the planet. If Genghis Khan had been immortal he probably would've done the same in 1/10th of the time it took Aku.

And that's conquer, not exterminate. That planet is still hella populated. Sure, the locals don't like the condition their planet is in—by human standards, a lot of Earth is a shithole—but like,, compare Earth to, say, Mars or Mercury. As evil as Aku may be, he's largely left Earth in the same state he found it in! Covered in plants and animals, breathable air, liquid water, and tool-using technology-making civilizations!

This is not a god-tier problem!

Aku is a conqueror & dictator who just happens to be immortal and very spooky-looking from a human's point of view. To a god, a threat like Aku is a fire ant. A fire ant's bite might sting but it's not gonna kill you.

If as gods they're busy dealing with threats on the same level as Joe, they can't break off their busy schedule of exterminating termite mounds to make a house call to one planet to smash one ant. Especially a sneaky ant that runs away and hides under the counter when you try to step on it. If you have an ant in your house, there's a far more efficient way to deal with it:

Just leave it alone and wait for the tiny spiders also in your house to deal with the ant. It's in a spider's nature to trap and kill ants.

Jack is a spider.

The gods took the time to make the emperor a sword because they figured that was the most efficient way to give the mortals a way to deal with their own mortal-tier threats without distracting the gods too long from dealing with god-tier threats.

[luxlightly]

Fragile

A fanfic of @personostient's OC Dr.Arachne in their recent comic

I said I desperately wanted to read more about him and they said "then write it yourself, scrub" (more or less) so here's this. I have now a multiple chapter story in my head for this but at least here's a very small (as of yet unnamed) Arachne trying to understand complex ideas like sympathy and compassion when he's only big enough to fit 2 brain cells in him and one is fully occupied with having OCD.

---

In retrospect, gnawing on the already weak supports of a load bearing cross beam was a bad idea vis-a-vis the structural integrity of the floor above but, in its defense, its grasp of architecture was somewhat lacking. 

Also, it had only done so to get at the termites within, who'd already done some pretty extensive damage to the whole area. 

Really, it had been inevitable.

Only a matter of time before someone or something fell straight through to the dark and dusty basement. 

Into the spider’s web. 

Well, straight through its web, tearing up hours of work and crushing a very delicious looking moth that the spider had been saving for later and sending the spider frantically scrambling away, dodging bits of debris.

It wasn't exactly a spider, but it wasn't exactly not a spider, either. Something closer to “the elements of spiders that instill fear”. All fangs, legs, eyes, and jittery movement. 

Not that it was instilling much fear at this size, though the exact nature of the size was nebulous at best. Somewhere between a rat, a golf ball, and a human heart, the shifting mass of jet black limbs and glowing red eyes would lose in a fight with the average house cat or particularly determined mouse. 

So a dead, fully grown human, delivered to its metaphorical doorstep, was a fortuitous turn of events, indeed. 

It could put so much of that mass to use, finally having enough to form some more complex systems, maybe even to venture out beyond the basement! 

The spider scurried out from its hiding place in the dark, excited but still cautious, and onto the chest of the human. The smell of blood was thick in the air. 

The spider had been trying to determine the best way of beginning to consume such a feast when some of its eyes made unexpected contact with another pair. 

The human blinked and the spider froze. 

Oh fuck. That rising and falling of the chest was breathing! That thing vertebrates did when they were alive! 

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

For a long moment, the two just stared at each other.

Then, the human raised a hand, reaching towards it, and the spider braced to be crushed. It squeezed all its eyes closed, but the pain didn't come. 

The hand instead ran two fingers softly over its body in a gentle, repetitive motion. 

“Hey…little buddy…” the human wheezed. “It's okay…I'm not--” the human paused to cough, specks of blood dotting his lips. “--not gonna hurt you. ‘M a doctor…Do…’do no harm’...”

The human’s eyes were glassy and its breathing seemed labored. 

The spider didn't know a whole lot about human anatomy, but it was pretty sure they needed their blood to stay almost entirely inside of them or it was detrimental to their health. The amount that surrounded the human and was currently leaking from a gash across his side was probably more than was supposed to be outside of him at any given time. 

The various pieces of wood and glass embedded in his flesh were probably also probably bad.

The spider stayed frozen in terror, tiny body trembling as the hand that was nearly as big as it was continued to run along its carapace.

“Shhh…” the human hushed, though the spider had made no sound. “ ‘s okay. Okay to be scared. I'm…heh…I'm a little scared myself…”

The spider’s venom was laughably weak at this size, barely enough to put a human under for a few minutes, but that would likely be all it took for his injuries to finish him off. 

It would be easy enough to strike out and bite him as he continued his odd pattern of stroking his hand across its body but, strangely…the spider found it didn't really want the motions to stop. 

It felt…nice.

Centimeter by centimeter, the spider's body relaxed, leaning into the touch, eventually pressing back into the human’s fingers.

The human let out a wet sounding chuckle.

“You’re a weird little thing, huh? I think…I think I may have lost a bit too much blood…”

His hand went still, settling against his chest and his eyes closed. His breathing continued, but it was growing weaker by the moment.

Well, that problem solved itself, it seemed. Now the only problem the spider faced was again trying to find a way to best consume a creature so much larger than itself.

Perhaps…perhaps it should wait until he was dead before trying to eat him. After all, he had not killed it, though it was easily within his power. Perhaps it was only fair that it not kill him, in return.

Though, technically it was sort of its fault for gnawing through the support beams, which would mean it had killed him. No more so than the termites had, though, certainly!

Fine. It would eat him then finish eating the termites as recompense and all would be good and balanced and correct.

The spider let out a frustrated chittering noise, pacing tiny circles around the human’s chest.

It was not all good and balanced and correct! It was bad and wobbly and wrong like rotten, termite eaten wood and it felt Bad! But why?

The human was full of holes now, too. The spider had gnawed holes in the wood. Maybe it could close these holes in the human and it would not be Bad anymore. Yes, then it would be balanced. Then this feeling of Wrong would settle.

And…maybe the human would continue his gentle repetitive touches again.

The spider crawled up to the human's face, where a small gash weeped blood. Trying to get the blood to go back inside seemed like it was likely a lost cause. Liquids hated going where they were supposed to and the spider hated it about them. The human would just have to find new blood on his own, once his stopped leaking.

Long appendages tipped with spinnerets extended up from the spider's mass, stretching fine silken stands between them.

Pressing against the human's skin, it tethered a strand above and below the very end of cut, then crossed the limbs, pulling the stands taut before anchoring the strands to the skin again, a fraction of a centimeter down the length of the cut, forming a tiny ‘x’.

It repeated the motion. The silk’s adhesive held strong. It repeated the motion. Then repeated it again.

And again and again and again.

Bit by bit, the skin pulled together over the wound in a surprisingly satisfying way and the spider’s limbs became a blur of movement, crossing over each other a dozen times a second.

The repetitive nature of the movement scratched some itch in it's mind oh so nicely. All balanced and mirrored and equal and Good.

It was almost disappointed when the wound was fully closed, the seam of tiny, gossamer stitches nearly invisible, as if the wound had never been.

Luckily, there were many more holes left to close.

It moved to another on his collar, stitching it up in only a few seconds, then pulled a shard of glass from his shoulder and sealed the wound there just as quickly.

Before the spider could move on to the next wound, the thrumming in the human’s chest, his heart’s pulsing movement, stuttered. It's rhythm grew ever weaker.

The spider didn't know all that much about how creatures of flesh and blood worked, but it knew that, when that pulse stopped, they did too, and that they needed blood to keep it going.

The gash across the human's side was leaking a lot of blood. It had to be closed soon or the human would almost certainly die.

The spider moved to the wound and started the same pattern of criss-crossed silk that it had closed the other's with. It got an inch or so down the length of the gash when the silk's glue gave way, the wound splitting back open.

The spider chittered, pensively.

The wound was too big and the blood flow from it too strong for the silk to stick to the skin tightly enough. It needed something more substantial.

Holding up a leg, it stretched the tip out to a nearly hair-thin strand.

It could spare just enough of its own body to hold the wound closed enough for the silk to seal it. It wouldn't take much.

But…sealing a wound held together by a piece of itself would mean sealing a piece of its body in the human's. What effect might that have on such a creature?

After all, its body didn't have to exist in one single piece. So what was really the difference between making a part of its body a part of the human's and making the human's body a part of its own?

But, without action, the human would die either way.

…

Surely, such a tiny piece of itself would do no harm…

The spider used another limb to pull the thin, jet black strand taut. Using the sharp tip of the strand, it pierced the flesh on one side of the wound, then the other, weaving itself back and forth through the human's skin, pulling the torn edges back together.

Once the gap was closed, the spider sealed it with silk, the same as the others.

Good and Balanced and Correct.

[shadowonwater]

Every Instance I can find of Wild Kratt Bros Being Affected by Animal Instincts

I love it when they show animal instincts so here's a collection. If there's something I missed, let me know!

Season 1:

Bass Class (Martin as a bass kept getting attracted by fishing lures)

Tazzy Chris (This is THE instinct episode. Chris gets a suit malfunction that turns him into a T-Devil without a power disc. He's still himself but he keeps trying to eat rotten meat and growling)

The Blue and the Gray (squirrel Chris burying acorns)

Falcon City (Chris as a pigeon, trying to eat a random fry on the ground, preening his feathers, using the power of homing to get back, Martin as well also seemed to be briefly affected when first transforming and ate Jimmy's pizza. They were both also cooing like pigeons)

Cheetah Racer (Chris eating grass as a gazelle)

Flight of the Pollinators (when Martin was wearing that Bee Antenna Headband he was strongly attracted to the smell of flowers)

A Bat in the Brownies (when Chris and Martin entered the dead tree where the bats were they felt safe and secure and fell right asleep alongside the bats)

Maybe?:

Voyage of the Butterflier XT (this is a maybe. It's just I have no idea how they managed to hibernate with the butterflies they weren't even using power suits though)

Octopus Wildkratticus (not the bros but the octopus. I think it was being effected by animal instincts of the other animals)

The Food Chain Game (Chris tried eating grass as a gazelle again but found it gross, I think Aviva might have patched the gazelle disc after the last time)

Little Howler (all the howling, but considering the amount the brothers will howl while not transformed tells me that this is more just enjoying howling. Tell me none of y'all have howled like a wolf before)

Season 2:

Groundhog Wakeup Call (Aviva eating a bunch of grass and dandelions and then hibernating)

maybe?:

Termites Vs Tongues (Chris joining in with the termites defending themselves, could be seen as just helping out the creatures he's with)

Happy Turkey Day (the frequent gobbling like a turkey while transformed)

Rainforest Stew (not sure if the slowness of the sloth suit is instinct or if Chris physically can't move quickly in that)

Season 3:

The Hermit Crab Shell Exchange (the bros being scared as hermit crabs when they don't have shells, being extremely focused on finding a shell)

Opossum in my Pocket (Martin fainting aka "playing possum" when we was scared of Gourmand)

Chameleons on Target (blending in with background when scared, walking in the slow way that chameleons walk after first transforming, since they were able to control the tongues with concentration suggests that maybe it's not a malfunction but rather instinct?)

Maybe?:

Where the Bison Roam (Martin taking a bite out of a dirt and grass cake as a buffalo)

Season 4:

Stars of the Tides (Chris as a hermit crab getting nervous when he loses his shell)

Maybe?:

Panda Power Up! (Martin being very tired and hungry as a panda)

Season 5:

Maybe?:

Elephant Brains! (Chris being extra empathetic towards the elephants after transforming)

Season 6:

Deer Buckaroo (Martin trying to get the velvet off his antlers)

The Real Ant Farm (when first transforming into the different roles, Aviva, Chris, and Martin all mention feeling like doing the role of that specific ant)

Uh-Oh Ostrich (baby ostrich Chris following the mom ostrich)

Cats and Dogs (Martin doing the African Wild Dog warning call, he looks noticeably surprised when he first makes that sound)

Maybe?:

Adapto the Coyote (similar to Little Howler, the coyote howling may be less instinct and more humans having fun making animal noises)

[evolutionsvoid]

One of the Olisboi that Epizkon had escaped with was one that had been carved from the spire of a termite mound, the “father” of the towering Ysogast. The Droning One would be remembered as a walking omen of horrible death, for from his hollow body came ravenous swarms of flying termites. Clouds of them could strip entire villages clean, turning its inhabitants into piles of bloody bones. But when grown within a mortal womb, the resulting Ysogast is not quite as impressive. The use of his Olisboi creates a second generation version of him that keeps the hungry hive but loses many other things. For one, it is not the imposing giant whose stride brought death to all who opposed his Mother. Instead, these Ysogasts are more human-sized, and walking really isn’t a thing they can do. 

The second generation Ysogasts are little more than termite colonies with a voice and mind, as their stony bodies are permanently frozen and unmoving. They cannot walk on their own, lacking functioning limbs. Instead they rely solely upon the wingless termites that are generated from their insides. They create an army of these insects to serve as carriers of their immobile bodies, resting upon a raft of hungry, biting bugs. Though these termites cannot fly, their incredible hunger remains, as they tear through flesh with gluttonous glee. They make up for their wingless state by linking their bodies together to create tendrils, supports and living bridges to reach foes, using these same skills to help ferry Ysogast about. When going after prey, the termites look to slow their food down before they can feast, so they move to wound limbs and chew into veins. Loss of fluids and devoured legs makes escape much harder for their meals, giving them time to bring their hive and army to the dinner table. The mass will swallow prey and reduce them to bones, making the Ysogast very pleased.

These inferior versions keep with the original’s simple ways, typically speaking very little and focusing mostly on finding things to eat. This hunger of theirs, though, does make them a bit troublesome for Epizkon and her followers. They will not feed on the faithful, but they do try to get at food they aren’t supposed to have. Anyone walking about with any goodies on them will notice the Ysogasts slowly follow in their walk, and somewhat sneaky tendrils of termites trying to steal a bite. Epizkon does pretty well with making sure they don’t clean out their supplies, but that doesn’t stop the occasional Ysogast from trying to nab a treat or sit expectantly near the dinner table begging for scraps. It is why these children are often planted near Church affiliated places, so they can eat their fill while also doing some damage to the golden faith. Plus it gets them to devour things that aren’t Epizkon’s offerings. 

---------------------------------

Teraknon babies, they'll make your dreams co- AAAAAGH MY LEG! THAT IS NOT FOOD!

[super-hero-confessions]

Homelander only treats Firecracker badly cause she LETS him do so???

Holup.

Nah...naaaaaaahhhhhh...fucks sake y'all tell me there ain't actually people THAT delusional?! FOR REAL??? COME ON!!

Aight let's clear the air. First. Nobody 'LETS' someone mistreat them. Saying they do is straight up victim blaming PLEASE do not do that? PLEASE?

Second. Homelander's a misogynist.

Point blank and it may not be conscious or as overt. Systemic or whatever you want to call it but THAT'S why he's treating Firecracker like shit and it don't matter what she does for him as a matter a fact it grew old in like 2 seconds after. He straight up put the breast milk DOWN (wow that's a sentence) when she told him the meds were making her sick like 'ew gross medicines and sick person yuck' (he ableist as fuck too like brooooooo). I don't even think we saw him pick it back up after that?? On top of that she couldn't really calm him down after the first time either. Like he might be completely done with this shit and she's the last straw. It was more like she distracted him once but now the magic is gone. Like 'ooh yeah something I want shiney and new!' and then 'nah I'm over it not that great'. He gets BORED so quick it's insane and I can't with y'all.

That's been happening since the beginning too! He rejects Stillwell when she invites him for dinner (legit the only time she offers him any form of consent) and again (Doppelganger as Stillwell but still) when 'she' is trying to calm him down with a glass of milk but he's just not having it and totally disgusted by the sight of her (this is after Stormfront manipulated him but also still). He puts a hand up to pull away and it's honestly kinda bad how done he is?? Yeah I mean DUH Stillwell was also his groomer and abuser and exploited the brainwashing Vought did to forcibly infantilize and make him regress so she could control him (which Stormfront pretty much ruined with her 'needing everyone to love you kinda pathetic' speech) and that big reveal that Stillwell was afraid and always lying to him is gonna change his whole outlook on what she ever was to him but like that's also the whole reason Doppelganger turns into him and (which could arguably have had a greater affect if we go by Mirrolander's affect on him) it still doesn't work!! Just makes it worse???

I mean the boi is evolving into something worse but he was ALWAYS a misogynist who looked down on women and humans and idk how much clearer that can get from back when he RAPED Becca?? Was that something she 'LET' happen too (really hope that outlines how fucked up it is to say Firecracker is only abused because he 'LETS' it happen?? Like pretty please? Y'all that so fucked like super not over it please never say that again???)?????????

EVEN BECCA has tried to play on the whole feelings and mommy thing with him when she tries to appeal to him not having one and convince him that Ryan needs her and IT STILL DIDN'T WORK?! HE STRAIGHT UP STOLE HER BABY FOR IT WITH NO INTENTION TO RETURN HIM!!!

I'm sorry y'all but I just I can't like I really really can't. How ya gonna see a man huffing this much bullshit and treating women WORSE than a crushed Termite under his boot and think 'yeah he totally listens to women and mommies he could NEVER kill me if I just pulled the same abusive manipulative shit he is growing out of and showing how tired of it he is! they all tried to do the same thing but it'll TOTALLY work if I do it!!' LIKE WHAT???

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuuuuuuuuck...

If he's a 'baby'...he's a fucking DEMON baby that cannot be contained or controlled cause people keep trying the same shit over and over and guess what?? Every fucking time it fucking FAILS spectacularly. And listen cause that don't mean that 'baby' don't deserve your sympathy or anything but it does mean PROCEED WITH SOME DAMN CAUTION cause LOOOOORRRD like that 'baby' has some SHARP TEETH and he WILL BITE YOUR TIT CLEAN OFF if he just gets...a little pissy...and then go find a shiney new 'mommy'.

Cause he's a MISOGYNIST.

Women are a completely replaceable convenience for him even if or when they do have a momentary affect on him there is a reason that shit never lasts and given it hasn't changed regardless on who was behind it (been like a runaway train since he killed Stillwell) it's pretty doubtful it ever will just cause it's a new lady. Man goes through that 'honeymoon' phase like a goddamn bee through a flowerfield??? LIKE ITS JUST NOT GONNA STICK.

Like y'all...y'all for real. Like damn for sure enjoy the kink or whatever fantasize but like also have some sense of reason here please (and please don't victim blame)?

Homie a misogynist. Just. Y'know. Keep that in the back of the mind (for canon at least cause I know y'all will come up with whatever for fanon and I know that and that's great and all but just try to understand that canon ain't fanon and fanon ain't canon and not everybody has the same fanon and y'know just maybe we shouldn't try to force that fanon onto canon if ya get what I mean? Know the difference between canon and fanon and don't try to conflate the 2 is what I'm trying to say. Canon Homelander is a misogynist who does not give a fuck about these women but your fanon Homelander can be whatever you want just don't try to say he's canon. Also don't victim blame. Please.).

And please don't victim blame.

[heyitsnyixie]

Speculative bio vampire time: in which I try to make a convincingly functional vampire species with a little fuck you it's magic, just to maintain the spirit.

Here's the changelog:

Things from common folklore I will be keeping:

Hematophagous (eat blood)

Nocturnal

Immortal, NOT invulnerable

Turn into bats

Reproduce by biting

Silver sensitivity

Things I'll be mildly changing/are uncommon traits in folklore:

No solar disintegration, just sensitivity

Garlic allergy not disitegration

Do not need to be invited in but often polite and will ask

Don't rely solely on humans as prey (just an inefficient survival strategy for such large animals), but they only feed on endothermic animals (mammals, birds, certain reptiles, and fish)

Low body temperature

Live in small groups (we'll call them clans)

Able to consume non-blood foods but won't gain any nutrition from them

Retractable fangs

Venom

Swift healing/heightened durability

Things I'm adding/straight-up removing:

Eusociality, think bees, ants, termites

Not undead

Have reflections

Most superpowers, they will have heightened senses, but that's about it. (Better hearing, vision, smell)

More details below the cut

These speculative vampires originated from a fungus related to cordyseps that evolved to use human hosts for reproduction. Unlike in other species, this parsitism is mildly mutualistic, extending the lifespan of human hosts, allowing them to transform into bats and heightening their senses. However, there are drawbacks, such as an increased sensitivity to sunlight, silver, and a reliance on blood meals.

There are four classes of vampires in a clan

Royals who carry reproductive spores that can turn other humans into vampires as well as having mild control over subordinates in the clan (think of it as being really convincing).

Hunters who carry venom, which numbs prey and causes brain fog in humans. They are responsible for gathering food for the clan, having blood repositories that can store excess to be transported back to other clan members.

Elates who are royal vampires that have not started a clan of their own yet. While they have reproductive spores, they do not have control over their "siblings" as their "parent" royals do. They can only become royals after dispersing to form another clan.

Thralls who are "infant" vampires who have yet to develop into a caste type. Most thralls become hunters unless there are too many members in the clan, then they will develop into elates and set off to find their own territory.

Vampires are slow to reproduce and territorial due to their method of reproduction and feeding habits. Elate vampires are often kicked from the clan once they develop. A human can only be turned into a vampire if bitten by a royal or an elate, and only if that individual decides to spread their spores, elates are more likely to do so as they won't survive long without a clan.

Bites appear like bat bites, and their venom is both nonleathal and breaks down in blood fast. These are adaptations gained with the purpose of avoiding detection from humans, specifically as things that prey on humans don't usually have a good time of it.

They often do not eat their fill from one object of prey and instead feed off of many different animals during one hunting session. As for hunting methods, vampires tend to hunt in bat form near sunset and return to their clan around midnight. Hunter vampires will often spread out over their territory in different directions.

Let's talk methods of defense. Vampires, as previously started, are long-lived, they won't die of old age, and their low body temperatures make for horrid hosts for most viruses and bacteria that affect humans. A human looking to kill a vampire could go about it in a few ways:

Anaphylaxis, via garlic or silver.

Starvation/dehydration, depriving them of blood for up to 7 days depending on when their last meal was.

Sun exposure, which will make them weaker and more vulnerable to attack.

Detoxification, in which one attempts to return a vampire to a human by killing off the cordyseps. This has a low success rate as often, fully developed vampire bodies will be codependent with the fungus. Thrall vampires may be more likely to find success, but clans tend to guard thralls quite fiercely.

Those are all the ideas I have at the moment, but I love thinking about speculative biology. My favorite pastime is making up creatures and putting them in environments.

[tenpintsof-sundrop]

A thought before I go to bed:

Yeah, cannibalism sucks because it's really brutal and all, but I have never seen anybody talk about the fact that Terminus was a shitty community because they chose the most fucking unsustainable lifestyle when they chose to center their community around cannibalism.

Not only does cannibalism give you diseases if sustained over a long period of time (like it might be okay if performed once as an absolute last resort during an emergency) but long term, animals cannibalizing each other will cause disease. And this doesn't just go for human to human cannibalism, this does for cows and other types of animals as well.

And it is ironic that Gareth and his crew ended up eating "tainted meat" when they consumed part of Bob - because it does bring up the question of what would happen if you ate an infected person - and I am kind of upset that they were killed before we could actually see the affects of that play out. I want to know if they were right about it - that cooking "the meat" would have killed off the infection or if they all would have actually become infected from it.

Especially considering that it didn't seem like they inspected people for bites before they put them into the trailers to hold them hostage. Which poses two huge problems - one, a person could be infected like Bob was, therefore making them "tainted meat" or worse, the person who goes into the storage container to be held prisoner has a bite on them and turns into a Walker before they are bled by the Termites in their routine, and they become a time bomb that turns the entire container of a dozen or more people into Walker food or yellow Walkers by biting them - making all those people non edible.

Not to mention that after a plague like the one that hit The Walking Dead Universe, humans are literally the least sustainable food source ever. At the beginning of S3, Rick says that he estimates that "at least half" of the population has been wiped out, but it's likely more than that, and it's already made clear that the Termites don't eat Walkers because of their disease. And even if cannibalism is dumb and unethical, you would have to be infinitely stupider to eat rotting flesh.

So they only eat live people.

But literally - how many living people are there to kill and eat?

They are counting on people seeing the signs - and the signs sprawl out for miles, so how much time and resources did they waste, sending out people to walk the tracks and camp for nights in order to put up the signs? And then they are counting on people seeing the signs, trusting that what the signs say are real, following the signs, and stumbling into their trap. Which - is already based more on coincidence than an actual hunting strategy.

And from the looks of the storage room that Carol comes across, they have already killed hundreds of people (which, I am surprised that so many people have fallen into the trap, but hey, it's for a horror effect) - so they have to be running out of people to kill. Realistically the tracks and the signs don't run all across the entire state of Georgia, and somehow, even if they do, with the population drastically lowered from the initial plague spreading and people being distrustful of the signs (and people also dying from killing each other - like when the Governor murdered people) realistically, how many people are left alive who are going to follow the tracks in order to be murdered and eaten by you?

And yes, they had a small garden that Glenn and Maggie pass on their way in - but it was small. And it was made up of seedlings with short leaves, as if it was new. (And as if it was mostly for show, to show that they have other food sources.)

With the way they lined up the men at the trough to be bled, it seemed like they were serious about the yield because cannibalism is their primary food source. Which makes them scary, but it also makes them incredibly stupid - because eventually, people would stop showing up at their gates and they would just starve.

Or - as someone pointed out - another group like the initial group of rapists that took over could come along and rock their shit. (Which, in this case, was Rick's group - without the rape part.) Having signs pointing to your home when you have no clue what kind of people will be reading those signs is also not sustainable.

Overall - a scary group in theory but just really stupid people

[yanderespamton78]

RARE CHARLIE OC POSTING?!?!??!???

My babies :3 the tall one is Willow (she/her) the short blue one is Termite (it/it's) and the small green thing is Gleebo (it/it's) oh and btw if you use he or they on termite or gleebo i will come to your house and steal your organs :3

LORE TIME BITCHES

So willow is just some 7ft tall forest woman idk how she got there I haven't gotten that far yet. She lives alone and has for as long as she can remember and can't speak English nor really communicate in general due to the fact that she never needed to (also her vocal chords are blocked by the mushroom thing I'll get to in a min so she can't make sound in the first place) but she is still very clever. In the human au I made with my friend she went to like Oxford or Cambridge or smth idk but ANYWAYS thing with willow is she is immortal BUT she has a disease that causes mushrooms to grow in and on her body, which will one day kill her. She has a few hundred years before this happens tho so she's fine for now since she's only in the early stages but for now it causes pain and also means that she is blind in her right eye since a mushroom grew there. But anyways willow is very jumpy and timid like she is CONSTANTLY anxious. She is pretty lonely and also loves snails because they are the onely things she could pick up and take around with her that wouldn't run away or bite her. She is also not very strong because she doesn't have the guts to kill anything and eat it so survives off of nuts and berries meaning she's kinda malnourished

SECONDLY termite so termite is less fleshed out because it hasn't existed for as long (I've had willow for YEARS) but it is this like 4"10 creature thing. It has roughly the intelligence level of a border collie and has also, like willow, lived alone it's whole life. It's also like fucking rabid it survives solely off of meat and could kill a village in cold blood. Now you might be wondering "how it's like 8 years old" WELL it can kinda transform into this much stronger being if it's trying to kill smth big. I have a drawing of this but I haven't posted it I will when I'm finished :3 but in this form it has quadriplegic legs and claws and spidery legs on its back which it uses to tear apart prey plus a tail with a spike on the end which it can stab things with. Like it is fucking terrifying. Also the lil green thing gleeb is a weird lil alien thing termite adopted :3 because termite saw it and was like "hold on a second that thing doesn't look edible and also doesn't look like it's from earth. Twinningggg mine now bitch" and adopted it. Gleeb isn't very intelligent. It can recognise termite and follow it around but other than that it kinda just exists and doesn't do much.

So termite and willow do meet eachother at some point because termite was injured or smth I haven't decided that yet and willow was like "shit something that isn't a small mammal or an insect this is groundbreaking" and took it in. They are cutie patooties :3 neither of them really know how to deal with other beings so their relationship is kinda unnatural but they like eachother. But like for example termite would bite willow affectionately and then nearly bite her arm off. It doesn't help that neither of them can really communicate as termite just isn't intelligent enough to really and willow can't speak at all but a lot of how they communicate is through clapping and other things like that. In the aforementioned human au willow adopts termite and termite has some kind of learning disability that I will research and name ✨later✨.

The thing is willow and termite have such good potential for angst because willow will end up succumbing to the mushroom disease and termite will have no idea why its only carer is dying and isn't able to do anything about it but watch her slowly waste away. Y'all watched ep1 of sweet tooth??? Or when the wind blows??? Yea that kinda thing. And termite would likely just sit next to willows body like a dog sitting near it's owners grave waiting for her to wake up. But you know what we can ignore that and just look at the sweet nice family fluff parts :3

As for willow and termites environment uhm uh. Minecraft. Like they literally live in the world of minecraft. Termite got it's clothes through Minecraft achievements.

LOOK termite was originally a drawing of my Minecraft avatar then it turned into a whole story leave me alone

But anyways for the few people who read it I hope you enjoyed my incredibly long winded ramble about my OCs :3

[viciousgeodedream]

From Ants to Mosquitoes: The Essential Benefits of Choosing the Best Pest Control Near You

Introduction

When you suspect of dwelling safeguard and comfort, the remaining component that could come to brain is pest management. Yet, pests like ants, mosquitoes, spiders, bed bugs, termites, fleas, and rodents can wreak havoc on your own home and wellness. It's no longer virtually keeping your private home taking a look brilliant; it’s approximately making certain a secure setting in your own family. This article dives deep into the crucial blessings of choosing the ultimate pest manage features close you. Whether you're going through an ant infestation or attempting to hinder mosquitoes at bay, knowing how one can take on those issues appropriately could make all the change.

Pest Control: Why It Matters What Is Pest Control?

Pest keep watch over refers to the law or control of a species described as a pest. This encompasses a considerable number of options aimed toward preventing pests from causing smash to human wellbeing and fitness, property, and food supplies.

The Importance of Pest Control Health Risks: Pests can elevate ailments that have an impact on human beings and pets. Structural Damage: Rodents and termites can compromise the integrity of your own home. Food Safety: Pests can contaminate meals sources, top-rated to potential future health disadvantages. Understanding Common Pests Ants: Tiny Invaders

Ants are social insects prevalent for his or her complicated colonies. They often https://web.springfieldhba.com/directory/results/directions.aspx?listingid=7471 input residences trying to find foodstuff and water.

How Do You Identify an Ant Infestation?

Look for those indications:

Trails of ants moving closer to nutrition sources Small piles of dust or debris (principally for chippie ants) Visible nests in partitions or beneath floors Bed Bugs: The Sneaky Bloodsuckers

Bed bugs are notorious for invading residences and inflicting itchy bites.

Symptoms of Bed Bug Infestation

You might sense:

Red, itchy welts in your skin Dark spots on bedding (bed bug droppings) A musty odor on your room Rodents: Unwanted House Guests

Rats and mice can reason critical spoil once they invade buildings.

Signs of Rodent Infestation

Keep a watch out for:

Gnaw marks on furnishings or wires Droppings in cupboards or along walls Nesting parts like shredded paper or fabric Fleas: Tiny But Mighty

Fleas are broadly speaking added into homes by using pets yet can become a family nuisance easily.

How Can You Tell If You Have Fleas?

Look for:

Bites for your ankles or legs Flea filth (tiny black specks) on puppy bedding Excessive scratching from pets Mosquitoes: The Summer Menace

These flying nuisances now not in basic terms chunk but additionally transmit illnesses like West Nile Virus and Zika.

Identifying Mosquito Breeding Grounds

Mosquitoes breed in status water:

Flower pots with extra water Clogged gutters Bird baths with out normal maintenance Spiders: Nature's Pest Control?

While a few could view spiders as useful as a consequence of their role as ordinary predators, many nevertheless fa

[go-go-devil]

BIOLOGY FACTS ABOUT MY CHIMERA OC: HASHBROWN SUPREME

Is 6'5"

DNA spliced from an aardvark, green tree python, and human (in a much smaller amount)

Scientists still do not understand where their mane came from nor why it has those exact pink & blue colors

Slithers slowly when in upright position, but when moving on their belly can reach speeds of 40 kilometers per hour if proper motivated

Possesses four digit claws including opposable thumbs to grasp vinyl records, cassettes, laser discs, and cds with; can also write on paper and type on a computer

Has an IQ

Their main diet consists of ants and termites, but also often needs to consume meat and various potato dishes in order to stay alive (though like humans they are omnivorous)

Has a bite force of 420 PSI

Needs to listen to prog rock for survival; if they go more than two days without hearing any prog rock songs they will DIE

Always admires the beauty and wonder of this amazing planet we live on <3

[solar-sunz]

Gabe,

Can you hear me?

Cause.. I think I need you to hear me right now. Even if you can’t, I’m going to pretend like you can right now, because I need you to be able to hear me.

I fear that I’ve lost the point. I know that if you were here, you’d tell me just want to do, and how to do it. I know you’d care enough to stay, but so many haven’t once they’ve learned the truth.

The second they get close enough to see that I’m not entirely the same as them, they run. They gather their men, and their torches or pitchforks and march to my door prepared to flush me out of my own town like some pest. Like a rodent. They see me as nothing more than a termite in the walls of the great house they call a city. But I am no more than a mold inside of the foundation, rotting away at the supports until it comes crashing down upon them.

I know you’d tell me not to think of myself like that, but I can think of myself as only inanimate when put face to face with their ever-clear mortality. Just like when I was put infront of yours and I ripped it so strongly from your wide open hands. Hands that saw me in nothing more than the most feral and bloodthirsty form, and turned wide open palms towards me. You allowed me to so easily bite through cartilage, bone, and rib to eat through your sugary sweet heart like it was nothing more than candyfloss.

You’d laugh if you saw me now, I know you would. You’d say I was an idiot for thinking I could change everything on my own, when I couldn’t change anything even when I had you by my side. But I know you’d commend me for trying. I hope you’d greet me with wide open arms and that sweet smile that I haven’t seen in too many years. But really I hope you’ll be upset. You didn’t deserve what happened. I wish every day that it had been me instead of you, but I cannot change the past. You would have known what to do if you were the one who had been bitten. I don’t even know where to start.

I tried to do good, Steph. I did. But it wasn’t good enough, and all they saw were fangs, and wings, and claws. Like they always do. And in calling themselves human, I have been deemed as less than. Was I ever truly worthy of the title “human”?

I know what you’d say now, if you saw me. You’d tell me to get it out, and then to get back up, dust off my wings and keep fighting. But I’ve been fighting for so long, Gabe.. I’m so tired of fighting. I want to be done fighting. But I cannot be done until they are done fighting, and so I must get back up and resume the fight even if I’ve not much fight left in me. You were the fight I had left in me, you were my flame, you were my battle axe, the extinguishing rain on the raging fire in the forest of my soul. The nourishing sunlight after a harsh winter.

It’s been so long since I’ve seen you last. It’s been over a century, Gabriel Stephen.

Almost two centuries, since we spoke last. Since I kissed you goodnight a final time.

It hurts, still. Have you ever considered that maybe all the ‘eternal life’ does if give you more time to dwell on things you’ve done wrong?

And I know you’d say something like ‘but it’s not your fault’, or ‘you weren’t in control of your body’. But.. It was, wasn’t it? Isn’t it my fault that I’m like this? And if I am the root cause for my condition, then wouldn’t it be my fault you died so gruesomely? You should have lived until you were beautiful, streaked with grey and freckled with age. But I ripped that chance straight from your throat with nothing but savage teeth and claws. I ate the life force from your palm like a starving dog left to die on the street, nurtured back to health with nothing but your gentle hand. But I destroyed you, and myself alongside.

I don’t really know what you’d say if you were next to me right now, but I know that you wouldn’t let me give up. I know you’d force me to keep going. So allow me this small reprieve, a short grace in between the fighting to sit myself next to your grave and read out one more goodbye to you.

Goodbye, goodbye.

Goodnight, sleep tight, and allow me to sing you to sleep one last time. I lay this final rose on your grave, and I know that I will see you once more next year. But for now, allow me to say goodnight. Let me honour you as you rest.

Goodnight.

Goodnight.

Goodnight.

[computers-world]

T.O.E animatronic AU

I thought it would be cool if the Locust was an animatronic. His character species is supposed to be a bug human hybrid. I planned out for him to be an unfinished animatronic. A kind of side attraction like Foxy. Teaching kids things, using his long fingers to even crotchet sometimes.

👇🏼 broken version (also I thought maybe I could add the "melting mask" phenomena to all of the animatronics worn out versions, making their faces longer and some mechs visible but I didn't add it because I forgot and I don't think it would fit here)

He is supposed to be clumsy, pretty uneducated and innocent it's why he gets bullied sometimes. He is also supposed to be a southern farmer. His name is Michael, and he is obviously a locust human hybrid. He had his teeth manipulated so that he couldn't accidentally bite children.

Now, onto the other original characters.

Thomas who is actually the evil one, he glitched out and attacked a worker. He is a termite human hybrid. Lead singer. Oftentimes, the parents complained his stare was creepy. Unlike Michael, his teeth were kept the same because he wouldn't really interact with little kids. Originally, all the animatronics had their teeth sunk in when touched but his teeth were broken and couldn't do that.

Madeline, silverfish human hybrid. Tenor voice and guitar player. The friendliest one. She is a teen (17). Also the most sane.

Danielle who is a drummer. He has a kingly aesthetic and is smug. He is a cockroach human hybrid.

Saschas insect side is also a locust. He uses the metal taps of his fingers as an instrument. Second least dangerous.

Their broken/old versions are the same but just a few errors, noticeably the long facial cosmetic. All of them are 10 ft tall. And all are possessed by different people of different ages.

Micheal has only been out in the public for 5 years. The establishment lasted 7 years. So he was in storage for two years.

And uuhh that's about it for now. I need to work on the story.