This post does not involve arachnids, however it does involve a home invasion, squatting, and a critter with jointed legs, so I will regale you with the story and pics.
Story is short: A potter wasp tried to make a nesting cell in the base of my Saitek X52 throttle. It had lined the bottom of the hole with that paper-like substance to seal it (the joystick was on the table). This most likely happened while I was away from the room for several days, visiting my parents'. After I returned, I did notice some wasp activity - an occasional visitor - but paid no attention to it; such things sometimes happen.
This afternoon, though, I noticed something peculiar in the wasp's behaviour. It was carrying something - a morsel of some kind, and it walked head first into the hole on the base of the throttle, and when it came out it did not have it any more. I captured and evicted the insect, then proceeded to investigate the center of activity.
What I found was somewhat disconcerting - in fact one might say rustling was heard in the Jimmy deck - but on the other hand, this was fascinating! From the open top of the hole, I could catch a glimpse of seemingly immobile things which, in later investigation, proved to be small green caterpillars. After some containment measures (I closed the ventilation window) I lifted the throttle from the desk. There was a slight sound like very thin strip of paper being torn, and on the desk was a circular remain of the "bottom" of the nesting cell.
From the bottom of the hole, I could now clearly see small caterpillars. Many of them. I took pictures.
Click for full detail crop.
After verifying that there was no Mama Wasp lurking somewhere in the hole, I poked through it with a screwdriver, pushing the caterpillars out on a paper tissue, which I have at hand for just such occasions when I needed to squash a caterpillar. The caterpillars were totally out of it, they laid there mostly immobile - apparently, potter wasps paralyze the insects they bring for their larvae to feed on. I could see a momentary spasm of movement, but I suspect that was entirely involuntary. Before these victims of mother nature were euthanized, I took a picture of the grand total of the wasp's efforts:
The caterpillars were quickly and painlessly euthanized by sudden application of pressure on the tissue paper. Green goo came out.
Thus concludes my saga.
TL;DR: Was out of apartment for a few days, wasp infests my X52 throttle base, infestation continues unnoticed for a week, hidden in plain sight, while I use the throttle to play games.
