Coyote Peterson Hospitalized After Eating Bugs: Free-Handling Scorpion, Tarantula, and Centipede

Post-Illness Encounters with Thailand's Creepy Crawlies

• 🤒 Coyote Peterson recounts being bed-stricken with severe stomach virus symptoms after eating insects in Thailand, suspecting the food poisoning was from consuming a scorpion, tarantula, and centipede.
• 🦂 Despite his illness, he free-handles the same three creatures: a giant Asian forest scorpion, a tarantula, and a giant centipede, to test their defensive reactions.

Scorpion's Defensive Behavior

• 🤏 The giant Asian forest scorpion showed no defensive reaction when pressure was applied to its body or tail, indicating it relies on its pincers rather than its sting as a primary weapon.
• 🛡️ It was noted that the scorpion would likely only sting if it felt extremely threatened, and its exoskeleton is incredibly durable.

Tarantula's Reaction and Bite

• 🕷️ The tarantula was jumpy and attempted to escape, but eventually bit Coyote's arm when he applied pressure to its thorax.
• 💨 The bite felt like a bee sting, and the tarantula's primary defense mechanism is urticating hairs, with a bite usually reserved for prey.
• 🤢 Coyote suspects the tarantula, or its internal contents, may have contributed to his illness due to its taste and texture.

Centipede's Escape and Behavior

• 🏃 The giant centipede was incredibly fast and evasive, making free-handling challenging and causing Coyote to panic when it ran up his neck and disappeared into his shirt.
• ⚠️ Despite its speed and the potential for a severe bite, the centipede was more interested in escaping than attacking, demonstrating that these creatures typically avoid humans.
• 🧠 The centipede's head and tail look identical, a tactic known as defensive mimicry to confuse predators.

Health and Recovery

• 🏥 Following the encounters, Coyote booked an appointment in Bangkok and was prescribed three medications for what was likely extreme food poisoning, possibly from bacteria on the insects' exoskeletons.
• 💡 The moral of the story is to be humble and respect wildlife, as bugs are friends, not food, and will only bite as a last resort.