nighttime travel companions

On my nightly campus walks, I often run across some interesting fellow travelers. Here's one:


I couldn't even begin to tell you what kind of beetle this is, but it's huge. It reminds me of the gas-farting, fire-breathing super-scarabs from "Starship Troopers." When I tapped on its shell a couple of times, it reared up in a very recognizable Wanna fight? posture. I left it alone. Here are some more shots of it—a front view, then my hand for scale (hover your cursor over the images to see the captions):



I've written about my travel companions before. If I get a chance to take a pic of the tailless cat, I will. I've also run across a few gargantuan earthworms, each almost a foot in length. I might not see those worms tonight: they normally hit the asphalt immediately after a rain, when the soil is too waterlogged for them to breathe. Then again, one or two adventurous annelids might be out there, squirming their way to parts unknown. We'll see.

ADDENDUM: Well, I decided not to take a walk tonight. I had already racked up nearly 5,000 steps earlier in the day (had to go get a haircut), so skipping out tonight won't hurt my overall average much. No cat or worm sightings to report, as a result.





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