Local Beasties

Hi there! I've been living on the Island for some years now and have come across a fair amount of fauna. I'd like to share a few photos with you.

**This little guy is one of my favourites.** He is a juvenile green iguana, females are less colourful. Not poisonous, vegetarian but beware, adult iguana poo is really stinky. From personal experience I can tell you it is most unpleasant. They live in the trees almost everywhere and are indiscriminate with their poo. An adult Green Iguana can grow up to about four foot long, including tail and run extremely fast. They are beautiful though aren't they.

And here's an adult sunning himself by the pool.

**These scorpions** seem to illicit fear in locals. I kinda get it but every time I've encountered one they only want to escape and hide as quickly as possible. Though in years gone by I was death to wild life of many forms, these days I go out of my way to avoid killing anything, except Mosquitoes of course, those little f***ers can die! These Scorpions pack a sting somewhat akin to a bad bee sting I'm told though if care is taken when gardening or clearing outdoor junk they are easy to avoid. They look quite mean though eh!

This dude is a cricket. I looked for its Latin name but unfortunately there is a dearth of scientific information about fauna native to Margarita. Any Entomologists out there?
I took this picture just because this little guy looked kinda cool. It was a bugger to catch as they jump really high but with a little effort I encouraged it to hop its way out the door.

**Apart from the Tarantulas** living on the mountain in the middle of the Island, there are no dangerous spiders on Margarita. All the same, when I looked up from the wash basin in the bathroom and saw this 4 inch wide monster staring at me with all eight eyes I took a moment to breathe deeply. I have an irrational fear of spiders, they just make me nervous. I couldn't rest with this geezer in my home, I swear he had tattoos and a gun stuffed into his belt. Lacking the ability to use a glass and paper to trap him in the usual way I reached for my vacuum cleaner and..... It didn't feel good to end the poor guy this way but I'm sorry, this room ain't big enough for the two of us.

This is your common Garter Snake. I love snakes and this individual lived in my door frame for quite some time. Opening my door to find this one sunning itself on the step was a common occurrence. Such a beautiful scale pattern, non venomous and they provide a useful service by keeping insects to a minimum. This one was a little over two foot long and about as thick as a finger at its widest point. After a while it would not scarper when I opened the door, it would tense a little but keep right on sunbathing. As I said, I like snakes so I just let it be.

**Ok, i finally found the correct name for this one.** It's called a **Black Witch Moth,** *Tara Bruja* in Venezuela or the Latin *Ascalapha odorata.* In local folklore they are considered harbingers of death but I found them to be quite beautiful. This particular one I found on the wall just outside my front door. It is female; identified as such by the band of white which traverses the wings. This one was about 5 inches across and stayed absolutely still even when I leaned in very close for a good look.

Now these guys are the baddest! Fortunately I have never been bitten by one but, following the fear driven advice of those who have, I have killed a few. More recently though I just let them be. It is not unusual to find one in my workshop but since they feed on Cockroaches and other bugs, and they make a hasty retreat if I get too close, I don't mind them too much. They look mean though don't they. Some years ago I woke one morning and could hear a scraping sound. I looked about my room and my eyes fell upon the dog's food bowl where there was one of these fellows, about a foot long, tucking into the dog's breakfast so what I was hearing was this creature's jaws chewing away on dried dog food. Impressive creature worthy of respect.

**And finally** *The Rattlesnake* known locally as a *Culebra* is pretty much the only dangerous reptile on the island. I found this one in my garden and thought it was beautiful. I have no fear of snakes and know that they are more likely to hide when they feel the vibrations of a large animal (i.e. me) approaching so as long as you're wearing shoes and trousers you're pretty much safe. They don't grow particularly large down here by the sea but I'm told that much bigger ones can be found at the foot of the mountain inland a bit. I always thought these snakes were a brown/tan colour but this one was white with a beautiful pattern on its back. Over the months it lived in my garden it grew to about a foot long and I was saddened one day to find it laying on the patio with its head crushed. I don't know for sure what killed it but I suspect it was a bird.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this foray into the natural world of Margarita island.