Spiders

[Bill W]

8 minutes ago, TalonRider said:

10 Top Defensive/Aggressive Tarantula's.

A couple of the tarantulas were very unique looking - you might even say attractive, but deadly, since their venom was listed as strong.  There were a couple of others that were even worse though.  .  

[sandrewn]

 

PEOPLE vs SPIDERS!! - Funny Scare Compilation

PEOPLE vs SPIDERS!! - Funny Scare Compilation - YouTube

 

 

[Bill W]

41 minutes ago, sandrewn said:

 

PEOPLE vs SPIDERS!! - Funny Scare Compilation

PEOPLE vs SPIDERS!! - Funny Scare Compilation - YouTube

There's nothing like watching a bunch of guys losing it and nearly killing themselves over a spider.  

[sandrewn]

ii

On 6/6/2024 at 11:05 AM, Bill W said:

An update: 

Joro spiders are back in the news. Here's what the experts really think about them

MELINA WALLING

Updated June 5, 2024 at 7:17 PM

 

A large, brightly colored invasive species called the Joro spider is on the move in the United States. Populations have been growing in parts of the South and East Coast for years, and many researchers think it's only a matter of time before they spread to much of the continental U.S.

But spider experts say we shouldn’t be too worried about them.

“My sense is people like the weird and fantastic and potentially dangerous,” said David Nelsen, a professor of biology at Southern Adventist University who has studied the growing range of Joro spiders. “This is one of those things that sort of checks all the boxes for public hysteria.”

Scientists instead worry about the growing prevalence of invasive species that can do damage to our crops and trees — a problem made worse by global trade and climate change, which is making local environmental conditions more comfortable for pests that previously couldn't survive frigid winters.

“I think this is one of those ‘canary in the coal mine’ type species where it’s showy, it's getting a lot of attention," said Hannah Burrack, professor and chair of the entomology department at Michigan State University. But the shy critter poses little risk to humans. Instead, Burrack said, introduced pests like fruit flies and tree borers can do more damage.

“This is a global concern, because it makes all the things that we do in terms of conservation, in terms of agricultural production, in terms of human health, harder to manage," she said.

WHAT IS THE JORO SPIDER?

The Joro spider is one of a group of spiders called orb-weavers, named for their wheel-shaped webs. They're native to East Asia, have bright yellow and black coloring and can grow as long as three inches (8 cm) when their legs are fully extended.

However, they’re pretty hard to spot at this time of year because they’re still early in their life cycle, only about the size of a grain of rice. A trained eye can spot their softball-sized webs on a front porch, or their gossamer threads of golden silk blanketing the grass. Adults are most commonly seen in August and September.

WHERE ARE THEY HEADED?

Scientists are still trying to figure that out, said David Coyle, an assistant professor at Clemson University who worked with Nelsen on a study on the Joro's range, published last November. Their central population is primarily in Atlanta but expanding to the Carolinas and southeastern Tennessee. A satellite population has taken hold in Baltimore over the last two years, Coyle said.

 

As for when the species will become more prevalent in the Northeast, an eventual outcome suggested by their research? “Maybe this year, maybe a decade, we really don’t know,” he said. “They’re probably not going to get that far in a single year. It’s going to take a bunch of incremental steps.”

CAN THEY FLY?

The babies can: using a tactic called “ballooning," young Joro spiders can use their webs to harness the winds and electromagnetic currents of the Earth to travel relatively long distances. But you won't see fully-grown Joro spiders taking flight.

WHAT DO THEY EAT?

Joro spiders will eat whatever lands in their web, which mainly ends up being insects. That could mean they'll compete with native spiders for food, but it might not all be bad — a Joro's daily catch could also feed native bird species, something Andy Davis, a research scientist at the University of Georgia, has personally documented.

As for some observers' hope that Joro spiders could gobble up the invasive spotted lanternflies destroying trees on the East Coast? They might eat a few, but there's “zero chance" they'll make a dent in the population, Coyle said.

ARE THEY DANGEROUS TO HUMANS?

Joro spiders have venom like all spiders, but they aren't deadly or even medically relevant to humans, Nelsen said. At worst, a Joro bite might itch or cause an allergic reaction. But the shy creatures tend to stay out of humans' way.

What could one day truly cause damage to humans is the widespread introduction of other creatures like the emerald ash borer or a fruit fly called the spotted wing drosophila that threaten the natural resources we rely upon.

“I try to stay scientifically objective about it. And that’s a way to protect myself from maybe the sadness of it. But there’s so much ecological damage being done all over the world for, for so many reasons, mostly because of humans,” Davis said. “This to me is just one more example of mankind's influence on the environment.”

This is some info from the article that Bill posted.

Specifically, the Emerald Ash Borer.

 

 

The City of Montreal is known for its landscape. More than 200,000 ash trees make up nearly half of the city’s treescape, and one quarter of those (or 50,000 trees) are on public lands.

Montreal Increases Pesticide Treatment by 6300% Annually - Eos

 

[Bill W]

1 hour ago, sandrewn said:

ii

This is some info from the article that Bill posted.

Specifically, the Emerald Ash Borer.

 

 

The City of Montreal is known for its landscape. More than 200,000 ash trees make up nearly half of the city’s treescape, and one quarter of those (or 50,000 trees) are on public lands.

Montreal Increases Pesticide Treatment by 6300% Annually - Eos

Yikes.  It's making me wonder if these species merely made it here under their own power or if some enterprising individuals brought them here hoping to make a small fortune selling them, without knowing what they were actually capable of.  I hope that's not the case - a disaster of our own making.  

[JamesSavik]

[Doha]

I would drop dead on the spot. 

[Bill W]

4 hours ago, Doha said:

I would drop dead on the spot. 

The guy better shut his mouth or the spider might go there next. 

[Valkyrie]

[Zombie]

wonders what’s stopped the lawnmower working…  

should I take a look?

*removes top cover*

What’s THAT??

*takes a closer look* 🧐 

OMG!!! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeekk!!   🏃 🏃 🏃  

 

[Bill W]

19 minutes ago, Zombie said:

wonders what’s stopped the lawnmower working…  

should I take a look?

*removes top cover*

What’s THAT??

*takes a closer look* 🧐 

OMG!!! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeekk!!   🏃 🏃 🏃  

 

Time to go grab a can of Raid before you start removing the web with a sturdy twig. 

Edited August 6, 2024 by Bill W

[TalonRider]

Time for some entertainment now.  Enjoy.

[Zombie]

11 minutes ago, TalonRider said:

Time for some entertainment now.  Enjoy.

Hate flies

..so why was I hoping the fly would escape??  

[Bill W]

50 minutes ago, TalonRider said:

Time for some entertainment now.  Enjoy.

If at first you don't succeed... 

[sandrewn]

 

5 hours ago, Mancunian said:

For some unknown reason, I can't see the images. 

 

Very strange, I wonder if anyone else or everyone else is having the same problem?

I need more responses to know what to do!

More reactions needed, anyone, please give me some feed back.

 

Thanks,

sandrewn

[Mancunian]

Just now, sandrewn said:

 

 

Very strange, I wonder if anyone else or everyone else is having the same problem?

I need more responses to know what to do!

More reactions needed, anyone, please give me some feed back.

 

Thanks,

sandrewn

What ever it was it appears to have sorted itself out, I can see the post! Yay!

[Rowdy Reader]

So this is 11 years of running spider jokes and images?  Very interesting. Is there a reason for this or just fun?  Just curious. 

[sandrewn]

 

13 minutes ago, Rowdy Reader said:

So this is 11 years of running spider jokes and images?  Very interesting. Is there a reason for this or just fun?  Just curious. 

If you go back to the very first page of entries, Zombie(16 Nov 2013) answered the very questions you are now asking.

 

take care,

[Rowdy Reader]

Of course by asking I angered the spider gods and found a huge garden spider in my shower.  If I only had my saddle I could’ve rode that sucker. 

[dannyportwersburghuk]

Spiders are cool I love them. They trap all the bugs and are well cute.

[Ron]

Love is in the air... da, da, da, da!

Meanwhile in Colorado. A free to read article found in The Boston Globe.

[sandrewn]

On 11/2/2024 at 3:13 AM, Bill W said:

I made this larger so we could read it.  But then it got shrunk down again when I posted.  

You may have noticed the size problem in many of my posts. Most often(almost always), increasing the size is not possible.

 

[sandrewn]

Female Darwin's Bark Spider

 

Despite being no larger than 4cm, the female Darwin's Bark Spider can create a web bridge spanning up to 75 feet across rivers by releasing several strands of silk which the wind carries to the other side. She then reinforces it, allowing her to hunt for insects flying over the river.

 

 

[Bill W]

1 hour ago, sandrewn said:

Female Darwin's Bark Spider

 

Despite being no larger than 4cm, the female Darwin's Bark Spider can create a web bridge spanning up to 75 feet across rivers by releasing several strands of silk which the wind carries to the other side. She then reinforces it, allowing her to hunt for insects flying over the river.

I don'[t know about the rest of you, but I'm only counting  6 legs, possibly 7.  But as long as she picks on insects and not humans, her scary look won't bother me.  

[Ron]

I went into my kitchen to get something to drink. Unfortunately, upon the wall by the refrigerator a tiny, medium sized, gargantuan black spider was crawling DOWN the wall (headfirst) thereby defying gravity... I think. It should have been falling! I didn't want to kill it (I didn't!) but I had to. It was in my home!!!