Continuing with the motoring theme –
Just look at the dreadful scuff marks on this guy’s Bumper Protector.
Clearly, he’s in the market for a Bumper Protector Protector.
I’m all over it, babe. Fire up those production lines! This could be even bigger than the anatomically correct, inflatable, washable, self-lubricating cabbage patch dolls.
Clip art mostly from Mark du Toit’s marktoon website.
In the battle of the sexes, size matters. Here’s a species where the male is about as big as a fruit fly, while the female is approximately the size of a banana. Oh, all right then, if you don’t count the legs, she’s only as big as an unshelled peanut. Anyways, I’ll leave you to do the proverbial math.
This little minx set up shop right outside our kitchen window. Which is fine with me because it means I can shoot her from pretty close up secure in the knowledge that there’s a reassuring pane of glass between us. I’m speaking from experience here: I once tried approaching one of these puppies outdoors and she spat something (silk? venom?) at me from out of her back(?) — or maybe it was ventrally launched? All I remember for sure is how she re-oriented herself, hunkered down and took aim before letting fly… Luckily I was using the old ‘hat on a stick’ trick, so she squirted the hat rather than my face, but hey, lesson learned.
This is more or less actual life size. The species is Nephila maculata, and they’re pretty common in forest areas all over the island, especially in the fall. They weave classic ’spiral orb’ webs about 4~6 feet across. Here’s another nice picture showing the underside on one of these things. And there’s a bunch more pictures and info here. Whoa, and some cool ethnozoology stuff here.
