Nova Scotian hornets are not nearly that large :-D they're only a bit bigger than a wasp and live in nests in the ground, typically near trees and shrubs. Makes them easier to get rid of because there's only one entrance to the nest.

There has been a lot said already on this topic, but from a strictly environmental standpoint, we live in a world that is bathed in microorganisms. If you were to swipe any surface and culture it out, you would find a host of bacteria, and maybe even some molds or fungi depending on the local environment.

We have staph commonly found everywhere, there is aspergilus and even anthrax found in the soil, and in our own intestines we house several species of bacteria which, when thrown out of balance can become serious pathogens.

So the bites were the setup. You just happened to get unlucky with the localized infection. Its really a scary world if you look at it in too much detail!

Yeah! For the skeptics, may I suggest looking at you carpet or bedding under a low-magnification microscope? :eek:

Speaking of Aussie spiders...


http://tools.cairns.com.au/images/ga.../23/117821.jpg

Holy *****!

:) To be fair that sort of behaviour isn't normal for an orb spider but they do get freakishly big in the tropical north.

Here's the rest of the story Spider eats bird

Wow. Thanks for the link to the article.

Ya know, I believe I've seen a Chestnut-breasted Mannikin before.

Victoria's Secret window at the mall...

:)

OH MY! I would get my 12 gauge is I saw that spider

Something like this?

I haven't seen any spiders come in this winter from the cold. I think it got so cold so all of the sudden that a lot of them probably froze to death.