Foo - Arachnophobia !!!

Just kidding... I love spiders.

It is that time of year when we start to see Jewel spiders here and there are now at least a dozen of them living around my garage with the queen of them all taking up residence just above the door.

Her body is nearly as big around as my thumb and she has built an impressive web that is at least 18 inches across and when I checked some poor little grasshopper seems to have blundered into her kitchen.

She has started to stir and I don't think the grasshopper has much longer to live.

The girls are fascinated with them and don't have a lot of fear since they know the spiders are beneficial and do spin the most beautiful webs.

The Alberta Jewel Spider... so pretty.

http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/natural/insects/bugsfaq/pics/img0020.jpg

All the rest are just little fellas but one did snag a fly that had to be 5 times it's size was was chowing down when I was looking around.

Gotta take some pics...

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll118/mofo_X360/Posters/CamelSpiderPoster.jpg

I would rather kill 100 bugs that got into my home (because there was no spider to eat them) than 1 single spider.

Greetings and Salutations!

I came inside to grab the camera and when I returned the grasshopper was already dinner... I figure the hopper was an inch long and was dwarfed by the spider.

No macro but this should give you an idea of how big she is...

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/jewel1.jpg

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/jewel2.jpg

I'm glad that guy's wrist/cuff is there for scale.


http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll118/mofo_X360/Posters/CamelSpiderPoster.jpg

I just torched a big ol' Black Widow with a butane lighter. It had spun a web in the window directly above my bed. This window is typically open when I sleep. I don't mind spiders but that was just too close to be beneficial.

http://www.spottpestprevention.com/images/black_widow_spider.jpg

I just torched a big ol' Black Widow with a butane lighter. It had spun a web in the window directly above my bed. This window is typically open when I sleep. I don't mind spiders but that was just too close to be beneficial.

http://www.spottpestprevention.com/images/black_widow_spider.jpg


that's the only spider in the East that bothers me, and I've found too many of them in my back yard to be comfortable with them. Not real interested in a possible trip to the ER with stomach cramps, heart palps, and muscle cramps due to a spider bite....no thanks.

http://www.camel-spiders.net/images/camel-spider.jpg

Camel spiders aren't really spiders and are not venomous.

Black Widow spiders on the other hand... there's no mercy for those if they are around humans.

Don't let Shadiyah see this thread. She no likey piedahs.

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll118/mofo_X360/Posters/CamelSpiderPoster.jpg

Its fake, the spider was held closer to the camera to make it look bigger, I've seen adalt camel spiders up close, they're big, but not that big!
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KCm8fGFe0J8/SR5FM96Q0YI/AAAAAAAAGys/g-ULuubhOZg/s400/pider.jpg&imgrefurl=http://jimmeads.blogspot.com/2008/11/arachophobia-camel-spiders-sarah-called.html&usg=__Ow8L2UM4jZn1Vmc6C91E_VCz0vk=&h=295&w=360&sz=14&hl=en&start=3&tbnid=ZghpJhoMe_Jv0M:&tbnh=99&tbnw=121&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcamel%2Bspiders%26hl%3Den

i hear they can jump out of bananas and kill you

Its fake, the spider was held closer to the camera to make it look bigger, I've seen adalt camel spiders up close, they're big, but not that big!

It's also 2 of them together, and not just 1. But that picture is still good and funny/creepy. :lol:

Besides the Black Widow, the other spider to avoid is the Brown Recluse. Both of these can cause some serious tissue damage (necrosis). I'll refain from posting pics of the tissue damage, cause it aint pretty.

The Black and Brown Widow are common in FL, but although the Brown Recluse has been reported in FL, its claimed that they are usually introduced in moving boxes, etc. from northern states.

Otherwise, spiders are very cool. Except at night when I feel one tickling me in bed.

Besides the Black Widow, the other spider to avoid is the Brown Recluse. Both of these can cause some serious tissue damage (necrosis). I'll refain from posting pics of the tissue damage, cause it aint pretty.

The Black and Brown Widow are common in FL, but although the Brown Recluse has been reported in FL, its claimed that they are usually introduced in moving boxes, etc. from northern states.

Otherwise, spiders are very cool. Except at night when I feel one tickling me in bed.

I'd take a black widow bite over that of a brown recluse any day. And my barn is chock-full of brown recluses. :(

Little spiders don't bother me, but for whatever reason large spiders kind of freak me out. I love animals, and try to look at spiders in a scientific manner, but big ones just give me the willies. In fact, there's a fairly large one that's made a web just outside my bedroom window, and I don't like it one bit. Still, I avoid killing spiders at all cost (except for the venomous ones) because they generally do more good than harm. And even when I come across a brown recluse I hate to kill it, but if it's in my house I will. I just don't want to risk the kind of tissue damage I've (unfortunately) seen pictures of. :twitchy:

I hate spiders. On the rare occasions when I see them in my house, I look for the nearest shoe.

insects and arachnids can grow really large if there's a ton of oxygen. like in the prehistoric days, 300 million years ago.

if we work hard enough at reducing the oxygen percentage in the air, they'll become even smaller.

300 million years ago, around 32~35% oxygen in air, dragonflies as large as hawks and millipedes as large as humans.
today, around 20% oxygen in the air, dragonflies around the size of your hand and centipedes around a foot long.
logically, if we reduce oxygen content to around 5~8%, they'd be the size of your nails. :innocent:

logically, if we reduce oxygen content to around 5~8%, they'd be the size of your nails. :innocent:

Hopefully deforestation will take care of that!

Hopefully deforestation will take care of that!

http://image.truckinweb.com/f/8321212/0508_01z+custom_pink_hummer_h2_sut+side_angle_view.jpg

This is a thread that Jeff Daniels would not like....

http://www.starz.com/titles/Arachnophobia/PublishingImages/arachnophobia_1990_685x385.jpg

What would less air do for this little guy?

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m267/Michiganderbiker/bikeforums%20pics/1Bear17months4.jpg

make the dog on his lap appear even more ginormous?

Also, AEO, do all things get smaller with less oxygen, or just Jurassic age insects?

http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/venoms/images/00_final/sydney_funnel_web_spider.jpg

This is a spider to be very afraid of... the Sydney Funnel Web spider.

Death can occur in 15 minutes after a bite and even better... these little bastards are also very aggressive.

make the dog on his lap appear even more ginormous?

Also, AEO, do all things get smaller with less oxygen, or just Jurassic age insects?

well, us humans averaged a height of 4'7~5'0 a few hundred years ago, and that was due to lack of nutrients. so I think if you take enough Vitamin V, you won't have to worry about it. :innocent:

We're down to 8 tarantulas (from a high of 14). Here are pics of two of them:

We'd just dropped 3 crickets into her tank. She's eating two of them.
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff80/monogodo/2e3a3ac8.jpg

He's also eating 2 or 3 crickets.
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff80/monogodo/85057b7b.jpg

I don't like it when the spiders bark. They have bad breath.

And don't forget the deadly squirrel spider!

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x279/j3scandon/spidersquirell.jpg

This thread makes me want to go find the biggest heaviest book I own...

I don't like it when the spiders bark. They have bad breath.

A co-worker/friend of mine always had a problem with those barking spiders after his morning coffee.


This thread makes me want to go find the biggest heaviest book I own...

Why ruin a perfectly good book when shoes/boots are available?

We're down to 8 tarantulas (from a high of 14). Here are pics of two of them:

We'd just dropped 3 crickets into her tank. She's eating two of them.


He's also eating 2 or 3 crickets.


Thanks, now I am hungry for crickets.

I've seen about 5 wolf spiders in and around my house in the last week or two. All the same kind, and I'd say mid-sized.

Inside ones get whacked. I no like spiders either. I'm not sure why I'm finding so many of them.