Results: Strangest Animal Found in Each State (Part Ten)

Virginia: Assassin bug - This is the kind of insect nightmares are made of—narrow heads, wide abdomens that generally flare upward, "butts" that tip into the air, black bodies with bright red markings, and a terrifying fang that can inflict an intense bite on humans. They earned their names because they move nimbly and rapidly when on the hunt. Powerful front legs pin down insects while a strong beak emerges from its hiding place under the head and repeatedly stabs it like a serial killer. Once dead, it sucks out the insect's insides. Have you heard of this animal before this survey?

Washington: Geoduck - The largest intertidal and biggest burrowing clam in the world (as well as one of the longest-living animals) makes its home in the chilly coastal substrates and silts of the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. The valves stay open in adult geoducks because the body and siphons are too large to retract. This defining feature inspired the Chinese to refer to them as elephant trunk clams. It can stretch its neck 24 inches from its body. Geoducks, considered a delicacy in culinary circles, position themselves about 3 feet in the sand and then hang there for 100 years. Have you heard of this animal before this survey?

West Virginia: Puss caterpillar - Looks can kill in the case of these wooly slugs. It may look furry and soft, but the long brown silky hairs of the puss caterpillar hide hollow poisonous spines that can cause intense pain, swelling, itchy rash, anxiety, fever, muscle cramps, swollen glands, and vomiting, according to the University of Michigan. This makes them the most poisonous caterpillars in the United States. Have you heard of this animal before this survey?

Wisconsin: Craspedacusta sowerbii - Warning: You might never look at lakes in the same way again after reading about this globular creature Popular Mechanics reports has been sighted numerous time in the fresh waters of America's Dairyland despite being indigenous to China. But you can exhale as the one-inch Craspedacusta sowerbii, a freshwater jellyfish or hydra relative, has stingers far too small to pierce human skin. If you want to witness them, the best time is August or September in calm shallow waters although inexplicably their numbers vary wildly from season to season. Have you heard of this animal before this survey?

Wyoming: Wolverine - No, Hugh Jackman doesn't finish out the list. I'm talking about the largest terrestrial member of the Mustelid family with its broad head, beady eyes, and minor underbite. These beasts are survivors adapted to take on polar vortexes with no need to hibernate thanks to their dark oily fur that withstands frost. Wide feet act like natural snowshoes and upper molars at the backs of their mouths are rotated 90 degrees to allow them to rip meat from frozen-solid carrion. They also have the energy to travel some 15 miles a day in search of food and females practice embryonic diapause, a delayed implantation of the embryo to the uterus months after breeding. Interestingly, when their bundles of joy finally make an appearance, they are pure white. Have you heard of this animal before this survey?