What's that bug?

This is actually a photograph that Eric took, pre-digital cameras, quite a few years ago. He knew it was a red milkweed beetle at the time and it's actually quite a cute beetle portrait (compared to what these critters look like when you see them with their mandibles exposed).

Over the weekend, I had a chance to sit around and do nothing for a little while. "Doing nothing" in this case meant putting my feet up and reading three days worth of newspapers and the most recent issue of Real Simple magazine.

While perusing the magazine, I found this great link to What's that Bug? The site is run by two photographers, Lisa Anne and Daniel, and it originally started out as an art project of sorts. Over time, people have emailed in photographs of bugs that they'd like identified and the two consult entomologists to help figure out just what it is that just scurried away or that you might have squished.

Based on this site, I've seen some rather large house centipedes that were previously just called "Dear god what is that thing?!" in my mind:

It's good to know that these things are harmless at least, even if they don't look it. In any case, the site isn't for those who really don't like bugs. I don't like them, but my curiousity does get the better of me :) And at least now I have a name to that crazy fast-scurrying thing with multiple legs...