View Full Version : Bugs on my Support Tree
I went on an overnight with Doctari at RRG, KY on our way back from TD. When I went to get in my hammock after dark I saw these little guys on my support trees. I saw 3 of these crawling on the tree on both sides of my hammock and tarp support lines. Thought it was kind of cool. I know that some centipeds can be poisonous, so I was not going to find out and touch these. They were around 3 inches long. I always try to leave things alone when I am hiking anyways.
This makes me think twice before I blindly adjust my hamock in the dark.
http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery/files/7/9/CentipedPic1.jpg
The ghosting is the glare from my headlamp.
http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery/files/7/9/CentipedPic2.jpg
Here is a close up.
not sure what type of centipeds they are but they are rather common around here in Shen NP
headchange4u
05-22-2007, 09:12
Yeah those things are pretty nasty looking. Just think if you were on the ground the would be crawling under you and possibly getting inside your tent (I don't know how but insects like daddy long legs always got in my tent). Imagine waking up with one of those things on your face.
Yeah those things are pretty nasty looking. Just think if you were on the ground the would be crawling under you and possibly getting inside your tent (I don't know how but insects like daddy long legs always got in my tent). Imagine waking up with one of those things on your face.
Yeah I was laying in my hammock thinking about those things crawling down the supports. They didn't and I do not think they would, thinkfully.
Just Jeff
05-22-2007, 09:28
In GA we had millipedes that looked just like these...if you touch them, they'll curl up into a ball and smell like stinky cherries. If they're the same kind, at least.
These curled up and had a lot of legs. They might be the same.
I'm not the biggest fan of creepy crawlies
I seem to recall reading that people in the tropics sometimes thread half a squash ball (racketball?) on the support lines to both act as a drip stopper and scary bug stopper. :)
slowhike
05-22-2007, 19:34
In GA we had millipedes that looked just like these...if you touch them, they'll curl up into a ball and smell like stinky cherries. If they're the same kind, at least.
yep, i believe those guys in the pictures are a type of millipede. couldn't say for sure but i suspect those are pretty much harmless.
slowhike
05-22-2007, 19:45
last year i sat up my hammock in the rain as it was approaching night fall & went right off to get water as it was getting dark.
next morn as i lay in my hammock enjoying the light rain, i noticed these guys (a kind of yellow jacket?) going in & out of the tree i had the foot of my hammock tied to.
no prob... they weren't at all agitated, even when i took several pictures.
last year i sat up my hammock in the rain as it was approaching night fall & went right off to get water as it was getting dark.
next morn as i lay in my hammock enjoying the light rain, i noticed these guys (a kind of yellow jacket?) going in & out of the tree i had the foot of my hammock tied to.
no prob... they weren't at all agitated, even when i took several pictures.
That's pretty cool. Knowing my luck I would have a swarm of bee's flying outside my bugnet that I would have to wait out.
Cannibal
05-22-2007, 22:55
Hard to tell from the pictures, but millipedes have 2 pairs of legs for each body segment; centipedes have only one pair per segment. Millipedes do not bite, sting, or anything bad and are not dangerous...at all.
Finally, that Biology degree is paying off. :)
Cannibal
05-22-2007, 23:02
My guess is that they are North American Millipedes (Spirobolid Millipedes; for the geeks out there).
Just Jeff
05-22-2007, 23:03
If it's the cherry-scented ones, it's definitely a millipede. And we used to pick them up and play with them...never had a sting or a bite.
If it's the cherry-scented ones, it's definitely a millipede. And we used to pick them up and play with them...never had a sting or a bite.
I'll smell them next time and let you know.:p
Now that I think about it, some millipede races would be a good way to pass the time in camp.
Just Jeff
05-22-2007, 23:16
It's a pretty strong smell that they give off when they're scared...just make them curl up and you'll smell it. If you pick them up, your hands will smell like that for a few minutes, too. Kinda odd...stinky cherries is the only way I can describe it. Not really a bad smell, but not really pleasant either.
Bird Dog
05-26-2007, 09:54
Could be some sort of mating scent. Did you have millipedes following you all day after holding them in your hand Jeff? :D BD
Just Jeff
05-27-2007, 08:44
Yeah, but I just thought it was my boyish good looks. Thanks for bursting my bubble.
HE - did they crawl on your hammock, or just on the trees? Might be worth considering this for bug protection that doesn't attach to the hammock, like Risk's flop-over method.
They didn't craw down. Like you said though, something to consider. Spiders might end up sleeping with you.
Shadowmoss
05-27-2007, 12:49
Step into my parlor, said the spider to the fly...
In this case, would it be the (hammock) fly saying that to the spider?
blackbishop351
05-27-2007, 14:24
yep, i believe those guys in the pictures are a type of millipede. couldn't say for sure but i suspect those are pretty much harmless.
Yep, those are millipedes for sure, not centipedes. You can tell from the shell - millipedes are mostly shell, with very short legs. They're harmless as far as I know - I wouldn't eat them, but I don't think they sting or bite or anything.
Centipedes, on the other hand, are NASTY. They have flat bodies and really long (proportionally) legs. Many of them DO bite/sting and can make you very VERY sick if they get you.
Yeah those things are pretty nasty looking. Just think if you were on the ground the would be crawling under you and possibly getting inside your tent (I don't know how but insects like daddy long legs always got in my tent). Imagine waking up with one of those things on your face.
And yet another reason to hammock! :D
slowhike
05-28-2007, 06:25
i wonder if treating the hammock support w/ permethrin would weaken the webbing or rope?
stoikurt
05-29-2007, 08:26
i wonder if treating the hammock support w/ permethrin would weaken the webbing or rope?
People treat the hammock body with it. I wouldn't see any difference in treating the webbing. If you trust it for the body of the hammock then why not trust it for the webbing?
slowhike
05-29-2007, 21:34
People treat the hammock body with it. I wouldn't see any difference in treating the webbing. If you trust it for the body of the hammock then why not trust it for the webbing?
good point.