Horror Story

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FriedFlowerHornFillet

Piranha
MFK Member
Aug 26, 2014
868
315
77
Toledo Ohio
Found some weird bug and put it in my tank. Then I forgot about it. A month or two later I had a weird dream I was being attacked by a small alien. It bit into my arm and was really painful. I crushed it and went back to bed. I woke up in the morning and was going to tell my girlfriend about the crazy dream I had -when she exclaimed loudly that there was a weird looking alien thing crushed up on the floor...That's when I noticed I had 3 round welts on my arm in the shape of a triangle.
I examined the crushed "bug" and was only left with more questions...
It was actually a common insect.
Any guesses MFKers? I'll give you 3 before I spill the beans
 
kissing beetle.

The members of Triatominae /traɪ.əˈtɒmᵻniː/, a subfamily of Reduviidae, are also known as conenose bugs, kissing bugs, assassin bugs, or vampire bugs. Other local names for them used in the Latin Americas include barbeiros, vinchucas, pitos and chinches. Most of the 130 or more species of this subfamily are haematophagous, i.e. feeds on vertebrate blood; a very few species feed on other invertebrates (Sandoval et al. 2000, 2004). They are mainly found and widespread in the Americas, with a few species present in Asia, Africa, and Australia. These bugs usually share shelter with nesting vertebrates, from which they suck blood. In areas where Chagas disease occurs (from the southern United States to northern Argentina), all triatomine species are potential vectors of the Chagas disease parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, but only those species (such as Triatoma infestans and Rhodnius prolixus) that are well adapted to living with humans are considered important vectors. Proteins released from their bites have been known to induce anaphylaxis in sensitive and sensitized individuals.[1][2]
 
I found one of those, it was BIG, and I tried pulling it off the soffit over my porch (so I could hulk smash it on the sidewalk) but the little claspers on its feet made it impossible to remove, so I sprayed it with insecticide. I recently moved into a wooded area in SE Pennsylvania and I hope I don't see more of them. Haven't found one yet since the warm weather break.

That's insanely bizarre you had the dream about it too. It's like it bit you in your sleep and entered your mind, haha.
 
Very good guesses everyone. Dead wrong though;)
I'll give you one more

The bug is actually more common than the nightmare that is the kissing bug. Our native (ohio) assassin bug doesn't parasitize thankfully I believe it's just a really scary ambush predator.
 
Very good guesses everyone. Dead wrong though;)
I'll give you one more

The bug is actually more common than the nightmare that is the kissing bug. Our native (ohio) assassin bug doesn't parasitize thankfully I believe it's just a really scary ambush predator.

Ahh, another Ohio member! I should know this since I'm down here in Dayton. I'm going to go with a stink bug, or maybe a grasshopper. Preying mantis is also on my list but I hardly find this to be common.

Was it an insect or spider?

Also, you definitely need to post some pictures of the bug, and of the welts on your arm.
 
Dragon Fly Nymph
they make terrible pets indoors

If your dragonfly nymph finds that it's food source is too difficult to exploit- it will climb out of the tank in the middle of the night grab you with it's crazy spring loaded pincers and pierce you with it's beak thing. The resulting injury looks like 3 raised red bumps in the shape of a triangle. Their mouths are alien to say the least -The incident happened a few years ago and I didn't take pics of my arm but they're easy to find (any pond bigger than a large puddle and some large puddles as well) -and if you don't believe me I assure you they don't mind biting anyone anytime they get to close to the business end. Lol don't do it
 
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