This has got to be one of the creepiest looking bugs I have ever seen! I was pulling weeds in the front yard when my boyfriend came and told me to get my camera if I wanted to get a picture of a really interesting bug (he knows me well!). So I go out there and see this horrendously scary bug -- aargghh! His body alone was about 3.5 inches long.
Those front pincers looked so threatening I was almost afraid to get close enough with my macro lens and wished I had brought my zoom lens instead :-) I did manage to overcome my trepidation enough to get a few shots, then went on the internet to get an ID. Turns out this is a completely harmless fellow called a vinagaroon. Evidently when they are threatened they squirt a vinegar smelling liquid, hence the name. Learn something new every day!
Harmless my big toe. That thing is lethal looking. Kinda a cross between a beetle, a scorpion, and a hornet. Left unchecked, it would probably carry off small domesticated pets and small infants. I commend you for getting close enough to capture it "on film." Nice shot.
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