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Wasps are forming massive “super nests,” (Hail the new insect overlords) with thousands of insects ready to sting, according to agricultural experts in Alabama. These super nests can be attached to cars, inside garages and sheds, in or on the ground, or on homes. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System warned of nests the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, with as many as 15,000 wasps inside ― up to four times the size of normal nest. Imagine a colony of yellow jackets the size of a car, filled with thousands of stinging insects. Now, imagine more than 90 nests in the state. It happened in 2006 and an Alabama Extension entomologist says 2019 may mirror 2006. The winter freeze usually kills off most colonies. But that doesn’t always happen ― and when a colony survives the winter, a super nest can form. “The queens are the only ones who have an antifreeze compound in their blood,” Charles Ray, an entomologist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, told The New York Times. He said climate change is one reason for the survival of so many colonies: So normally, a surviving queen will have to start a colony from scratch in the spring. With our climate becoming warmer, there might be multiple surviving queens producing more than 20,000 eggs each.

“Any place where it’s good shelter, where it doesn’t freeze, the colony probably won’t die off,” Clint Hester of Stark Exterminators told the station. “So you have the new ones, plus the old workers and double the size of the colony in just one year.” The Alabama Extension said this year is already outpacing 2006, when some 90 of these massive super nests were found in the state. WFSA, the NBC station in Montgomery, said 15 have been found this year so far. WSB, the ABC station in Atlanta, said Georgia officials are already watching out for these super nests, warning in particular of yellow jackets, an aggressive wasp that often forms nests in the ground. Stark warned people not to mess with the massive nests themselves, but to call in an expert. UGA expert says if you see 2 in your yard, there may be 2-thousand nearby. And while Alabama seems to be where the nests are concentrated ― so far ― neighboring states are also concerned. “Yellow jackets will defend the nest to the death, fighting tooth and nail,” University of Georgia agricultural agent James Murphy, who is investigating the Alabama super nests, told the station. “And unlike bees, they can sting multiple times.” The Alabama Extension said every sting increases your chances of becoming sensitive to the venom and suffering a reaction, which in some cases can be fatal. If you are confused about the different types of wasps and what to do when you find a nest, The Alabama Extension shared a primer: Knowing the basic information about these insects may reduce your chances of getting stung. #Wasps #Summer #WaspStings #YellowJackets #Hornets

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Wildlife authorities in Northern Australia probably did a double take after this sighting along a highway: a three-eyed snake. Rangers discovered the 16-inch baby carpet python in March, just outside of a town called Humpty Doo, according to a Facebook post. It was generally agreed that the eye likely developed very early during the embryonic stage of development. It is extremely unlikely that this is from environmental factors and is almost certainly a natural occurrence as malformed reptiles are relatively common. An X-ray of the creature showed it was especially unusual in that it had one skull with an additional eye socket and three functioning eyes, not two separate heads forged together. Prof Bryan Fry speculated the third eye might have been “the last little bit of a twin that’s been absorbed.” The three-eyed snake was nicknamed ― what else? Monty Python.

Snake expert Prof Bryan Fry of the University of Queensland told the BBC that mutations such as an extra eye are a natural part of evolution. “Every baby has a mutation of some sort ― this one is just particularly coarse and misshapen,” Fry said. “I haven’t seen a three-eyed snake before, but we have a two-headed carpet python in our lab ― it’s just a different kind of mutation, like what we see with Siamese twins.” “It’s remarkable it was able to survive so long in the wild with its deformity, and he was struggling to feed before he died last week,” Ranger Ray Chatto told News.com.au. Although the Facebook post showing the three-eyed snake attracted lots of attention, at least one commenter didn’t think the animal was the weirdest part of the story. “Not even disturbed by the three eyed snake … just incredibly amused that there’s a place called Humpty Doo,” Alysha Day wrote.

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‘Terror in Davie’ “Dude, he’s big ― real big,” That might sound like the title of a B movie, but it’s a real-life nightmare for a family of four in South Florida who are being harassed by what looks like a prehistoric reptile. Zach Lieberman, 33, told HuffPost of the massive creature that’s been slinking around his house. “He’s every bit of 6-feet and every part of 100- to 150-pounds. He’s a monster.” I thought, ‘Wow, we got quite the lizard problem.’ “My wife was walking by our sliding glass door and let out a pretty loud scream,” he said. “I ran over and looked out the shades on the door and, lo and behold, Godzilla’s smaller cousin was right there. It was alarming to me and terrifying to my wife and kids.” At one point, Lieberman said, he decided to lure the monitor away from his door. That’s the moment, he said, that he realized just how big of a problem the lizard could be. “I was trying to lure it into my garage, so I could contain it, and it got a little aggressive,” he said. “He apparently got hip to my idea, turned on me and took off running.

Davie isn’t Tokyo ― and the lizard in question isn’t related to Godzilla (that we know of), but to show they weren’t losing their minds, the Liebermans took several videos of the giant lizard. It’s since been identified as an Asian water monitor. I thought this was a slow creature. Man, it’s not! That really frightened me because we have two small kids, 2 and 4 years old. They can’t go in the backyard now because this thing could dart out in an instant.” The Liebermans contacted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, so far it has proved to be one slick lizard. “It’s not falling for the dead rats they’re using as bait.” The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has been trying for the past several days to capture the slinky monitor. “Originally, they were going to euthanize the animal, so that’s why I got involved,” said Mike Kimmel, owner of Martin County Trapping & Removals and Martin County Wildlife Rescue, who’s known as Trapper Mike, “I knew I could find a home for him, and I really wanted to preserve his life.” “There’s been some discrepancy as to whether it’s a Nile or Asian,” Kimmel explained. “I think the media wants it to be a Nile because then it’s a little scarier, but it’s an Asian water monitor.” On Tuesday, a neighbor claimed it was his lost pet, according to Lieberman and Kimmel. “I spoke with the supposed pet owner,” Kimmel said. “He told me its name is Bamboo and it escaped a few weeks ago. He said he kept it in his pool and that he has three others as well.

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An amateur wildlife photographer took some photos and now the internet, and the rest of the media world just can’t get enough of the waterfowl, a mama duck took some babies for a swim on Lake Bemidji in Minnesota, the photographer, Brent Cizek, who captured the image of the adult common merganser taking dozens of ducklings, “(the number of ducklings:” 76). for a swim also has something to do with it. Cizek told The New York Times that he didn’t know that a duck could care for that many chicks, he first spotted the ducks in late June. “It was mind blowing,” he said. Actually, it’s not so uncommon, the National Audubon Society says on its website, if ducklings get separated from their mothers, they will instinctively follow another hen. Ducks often lay eggs in other nests in addition to their own, said Kenn Kaufman, field editor of Audubon magazine. The mother duck will probably care for this crèche for a couple more weeks, the Audubon Society said. Wildlife photographer @brentcizekphoto recently captured this incredible photo of a Common Merganser mother with an adopted brood of 50+ chicks! here are a few pictures this species:

David Rave, a wildlife manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, told The New York Times that the common merganser is one of a number of birds that employ a sort of day care system known as a crèche. Essentially, hens leave their ducklings in the care of an older female duck that has experience raising babies. In the meantime, hopefully Cizek continues posting photos of this extended feathered family. And Cizek teased on Twitter that there might be a sighting of the mama duck on “The Tonight Show” on Friday night. “Can’t get enough of Mama Merganser”? Be sure to watch @jimmyfallon Friday night! I’ve heard she makes an appearance.

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A Texas woman, Jane Dinscore, her sister and her niece were bitten on the hands while trying to feed the felines.  Dinscore says that she took two kittens into her home after finding them in an alleyway she told officials only to discover that they were not housecats but wild bobcats. When Dinscore started doing a bit more research and educating herself, she started thinking: ‘You know what she thought, these don’t look like your standard house cat.‘” San Antonio Animal Care Services spokeswoman Lisa Norwood told local TV station KSAT 5. She told KSAT 5“Maybe we should call somebody.’ Thankfully, she did.” New information has come out indicating the young cats were actually found by her brother, James Dinscore in Atascosa County, before they were apparently brought into the local home by the bite victim. However, she maintains that she believed the kittens were domestic cats.

“My brother called and said he had some Bengal kittens at his house in McCoy,” Jane Dinscore told San Antonio TV station KSAT 5 on Wednesday. She said she took the kittens home and called ACS after they behaved aggressively, biting and scratching her and her relatives. She lied at first about the origin of the kittens because she didn’t want to possibly get her brother in any trouble. ACS and Texas State Parks and Wildlife are working together to determine if the situation merits any criminal charges for disturbing wildlife, according to USA Today. The animals are now in quarantine under the care of Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation in San Antonio. The group wrote in a Wednesday Facebook post

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