Big Bugs of the Rainforest

I am not a bug person. I am not a bug fan. I consider it a brave achievement when I handled a stick insect at the Vancouver Aquarium.  But the ones in the Amazon jungle didn't bother me so much simply because they were so FRIGGIN HUGE that I always knew where they were.  The lady tarantula below lived just down the path from us and we saw her every night.  We saw her in her hidey hole too. She is roughly as big as my hand.

We heard Cicadas often. They were hard to spot as they often rest high up in trees. This one was obliging and was at eye level just ouside the social area of La Selva.  They have beautiful wings. His body is slightly less large than a thumb but his wings add to that.

We saw several of these centipedes. I believe the scientific name is Scolopendra gigantea.  You can see how big they are. I poked it gently! I didn't have the courage to actually handle it. They curl into a ball when overly harrased.  This one didn't seem to mind and crawled over hand over hand over hand until it was let on its merry way.