Spiders

[sandrewn]

I know it is not a spider, but I was impressed by its' size. Let us all be thankful

it isn't, because that would make it an under water spider with a leg span of 13 feet.

I for one am most grateful(relieved)!!

 

 

 

 

The whole new level of scaring

 

 

[Bill W]

12 hours ago, sandrewn said:

 

A great pet for kids.  They don't have to worry about feeding them on a regular basis or taking them out for exercise, as long as they're not squeamish around eight-legged furry creatures. 

 

 

[Bill W]

13 hours ago, sandrewn said:

If there was anything that could make me believe that spiders were transported here from another planet, it would have been these pictures. 

 

The whole new level of scaring

 

 

 

[sandrewn]

Kaua’i Cave Wolf Spider

WHERE: Kaua’i, Hawaii

It might be devoid of eyes, but you aren’t, and you can clearly see the Kaua’i Cave Wolf spider. Locals refer to this cutie as the “blind spider” and although it can’t do much damage and doesn’t lay nearly as many eggs as a typical wolf spider, I’m still not a fan. It’s something about the legs and the lack of eyes.

 

 

The Giant Huntsman Spider

WHERE: Laos

The Giant Huntsman spider was discovered in 2001 and is the largest on Earth in terms of diameter with a leg span of up to one foot (which also makes it very fast). I wonder if it can catch me sprinting away from it?

 

 

Giant Camel Spiders

WHERE: Middle Eastern deserts

Have you ever heard of the Giant Camel spider? It might sound familiar, thanks to an image captured by a few soldiers that misrepresented its size (a depth of field deception that caused it to appear gargantuan), leading the Internet to panic. The urban legend was later dispelled, but the arachnids can reportedly grow up to six inches in size, legs included. Also known as Solifugae, their bite is no joke.

 

 

[sandrewn]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2023 by sandrewn

[sandrewn]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Sorry, was not a good day)

Edited May 29, 2023 by sandrewn

[sandrewn]

 

 

 

 

 

• There are approximately 38,000 known species of spiders. Scientists believe there are probably as many more to be discovered.
• Spiders are found on every continent except Antarctica.
• An estimated 1 million spiders live in one acre of land. The number might be closer to 3 million in the tropics. It is estimated that a human is never more than 10 feet away from a spider—ever.

 

 

[sandrewn]

Flower Crab Spider mimics flower to attract insect preys

Flower Crab Spiders (Family Thomisidae) do not build webs to catch their prey, instead, they are ambush predators. They usually sit motionless in flowers and grab visiting insects such as bees, flies or butterflies with their crab-like front legs. Some species can even change color to match the flower they are on. But this species with the scientific name Epicadus heterogaster from the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador can be found on green leaves and mimics itself a flower by reflecting ultraviolet (UV) light, just as flowers do, in order to attract pollinating insects. Even its movements are jerky, like a flower swaying in the wind. It produces silk for safety lines.

***

A couple of days ago, my daughter asks the rest of us “Has anyone else been bitten lately?”  She showed us her arms and they were all marked up with several red bites.  I just assumed they were mosquito bites, since I had a couple on my legs after eating dinner outside one evening.  No one had as many bites as poor Les, though.  She’s not one to hang outdoors, so unless she’d been attacked by a really stealthy mosquito who sneaked into the house, we couldn’t figure out what bit her.

Then… last night I hear a shriek.  She calls her husband and I hear him hurrying down the hallway.  The door slams and she comes hurrying into my bedroom where I’d been watching cartoons with my granddaughter.  The beast she described was horrific.. “Jet black, fat, with bright green eyes and it was FOLLOWING ME!”  Yikes!  She said when she first looked up and noticed it, it was poised to jump, so she immediately rolled off the bed.  The stinkin’ spider scurried after her, all the way to the door!  You could see she was really creeped out, poor baby.

After a few minutes, James comes in.  He’d managed to kill it, but not before it stalked him too!

So, it turns out, this is what’s been munching on my daughter this past week!  It was in hunting mode,  getting ready to pounce on her when she rolled off the bed and ran to the door.  Guess he wasn’t going to let his dinner get away too easily.

This is what the nasty little critter looked like – and guess what?  I think it’s the same kind of spider I wrote about in the first post!  By the way, what my daughter thought were green eyes were actually fangs! Yuck…

I don’t care if they’re supposed to be good for the environment.  I don’t care if Pheebs likes to watch Miss Spider on Nick Jr.   I say squish ’em all.

***

 

Peacock Spider – Australia’s Show Off Super Hero Spider

When he wants to catch the fancy of a female the male spider will dance, wave and finally raise his gorgeous abdominal flaps, much in the same way that a peacock raises his dazzling feathers in an altogether quite overt come hither action.

 

 

[sandrewn]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research shows that spiders can 'hear' you coming from across the room

They don't have ears - but it turns out spiders use special hairs on their legs to 'hear' you coming from far away

 

 

[Bill W]

1 hour ago, sandrewn said:

Actually, after reading these facts about spiders over the past few months, I'll admit that I'm not as quick to kill them any longer - as long as they stay in the corners of the room and don't come close to me. 

 

 

[sandrewn]

Australian Scientists Discover More Than 50

New Spider Species on a Single Expedition

Australian Scientists Discover More Than 50 New Spider Species on a Single Expedition : ScienceAlert

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bill W]

3 hours ago, sandrewn said:

Australian Scientists Discover More Than 50

New Spider Species on a Single Expedition

Australian Scientists Discover More Than 50 New Spider Species on a Single Expedition : ScienceAlert

Damn, Australia must be the spider capital of the world.  I know they have some really poisonous spiders, but now they're even finding new species on one expedition - that's more than anyone was expecting - or even wanted.  I'm glad I don't live there. 

 

[sandrewn]

Spiders produce different types of silk in different glands. Here, we show six types of silk, the name and location of the gland that produces it, and what the spider uses it for

 

Harvesting silk from a spider – video

Spider Silk Harvesting - YouTube

Fritz Vollrath's silk group at Oxford has been going for about 15 years and has perfected a technique to reel silk directly from the spider. At the start of this film a spider is pinned down after being sedated with carbon dioxide gas. The silk being pulled from the spinnerets consists mainly of major ampullate silk which forms the main structure of the web (like scaffolding) and minor ampullate silk, which is used to form the main spiral of the spider's web. The silk thread is pulled over on to the spool and attached with a dab of glue, and the motor is then run to start collection on to the spool. The species of this spider is Nephila edulis. It's possible to harvest between 30-80 metres of silk in one go, after which the spider can be released back to its web to feed ready for reeling another day

 

Trying to unravel the secret of spider silk - video

Unraveling the Genetic Secrets of Spider Silk - YouTube

Five times tougher than steel, spider silk is virtually indestructible. Labs in Britain, Germany and America claim to be on the verge of unlocking the secret of this super material, but what spiders do naturally is proving to be a tough act to follow on a commercial scale

 

 

Edited June 3, 2023 by sandrewn

[sandrewn]

This Spider Makes Fake Spiders

Scientists returned to the Amazon rainforest in December to collect data on one of their biggest finds of 2012: a spider that uses insect corpses and jungle trash to build big, spider-shaped decoys in its web. But these Peruvian spiders are not the sole sculptors of false arachnids. A second decoy spider lives in the Philippines, on the island of Negros.

 

 

Nom, Nom, Nom for spiders

 

 

 

 

 

[Bill W]

4 hours ago, sandrewn said:

This Spider Makes Fake Spiders

Scientists returned to the Amazon rainforest in December to collect data on one of their biggest finds of 2012: a spider that uses insect corpses and jungle trash to build big, spider-shaped decoys in its web. But these Peruvian spiders are not the sole sculptors of false arachnids. A second decoy spider lives in the Philippines, on the island of Negros.

 

 

Nom, Nom, Nom for spiders

 

 

Who'd have guessed that spiders have their very own Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and other great artists?  

 

 

 

[sandrewn]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sandrewn]

Hyllus giganteus

Hyllus giganteus, commonly referred to as the giant jumping spider, is a jumping spider native from Sumatra to Australia. It is best known for being the largest jumping spider species known to science, ranging from 1.8–2.5 centimetres in length

 

 

Biggest Jumping Spider EVER DOCUMENTED ON CAMERA!! Massive male Hyllus Diardi jumps on the camera!! - YouTube

 

 

Eight-Eyed Horror: Peering Into Jumping Spiders' Explosive Brains - YouTube

 

 

 

[Bill W]

6 hours ago, sandrewn said:

Hyllus giganteus

Hyllus giganteus, commonly referred to as the giant jumping spider, is a jumping spider native from Sumatra to Australia. It is best known for being the largest jumping spider species known to science, ranging from 1.8–2.5 centimetres in length

 

 

Biggest Jumping Spider EVER DOCUMENTED ON CAMERA!! Massive male Hyllus Diardi jumps on the camera!! - YouTube

 

 

Eight-Eyed Horror: Peering Into Jumping Spiders' Explosive Brains - YouTube

 

When I first glanced at the photo, I thought the twig/branch was part of it's body, and this lead me to think it appeared as if it was an alien form of a King Cobra. 

Besides being able to jump, however, it is a truly horrific looking creature that may have once come from the deep voids of outer space. 

 

 

[sandrewn]

I wonder how much this one is worth today?

 

 

 

36in. Deluxe Lightup Spider Halloween Decoration - Walmart.com

This Spider will make you scream! Features a big round furry body with red light-up eyes, long legs with fur tufts at the knees, and creepy mouth parts! Includes a hang loop for ease of hanging on your door or the wall! This furry spider will scare the crowd this Halloween! Has approximately 53 inch leg span. Requires 2 C batteries which are not included.

 

 

 

 

[Bill W]

1 hour ago, sandrewn said:

Yes, spider decorations are always a great way to scare kids at Halloween, except then you have to clean their crap off your doorstep and sidewalk after they leave. 

 

 

36in. Deluxe Lightup Spider Halloween Decoration - Walmart.com

This Spider will make you scream! Features a big round furry body with red light-up eyes, long legs with fur tufts at the knees, and creepy mouth parts! Includes a hang loop for ease of hanging on your door or the wall! This furry spider will scare the crowd this Halloween! Has approximately 53 inch leg span. Requires 2 C batteries which are not included.

 

 

[sandrewn]

According to a new study, spiders living in cities are notably bigger

than those living out in the bush.

 

 

The Tiger Spider, Bolivia's Own Ferocious Striped Predator

This is Linothele fallax, which I have dubbed the Tiger Spider due to its coloring which resembles that of the infamous ferocious cat.

 

 

Warning over rise in UK's most dangerous spider due to warmer winters

It may be no bigger than a pea, but its bite can put grown men in hospital. And thanks to global warming, the false black widow spider is on the march across the country, posing a threat to gardeners and anyone else spending time outdoors

 

[Bill W]

2 hours ago, sandrewn said:

According to a new study, spiders living in cities are notably bigger

than those living out in the bush.

                         

                                And the rats are larger in the city as well. 

 

[Bill W]

2 hours ago, sandrewn said:

 

The Tiger Spider, Bolivia's Own Ferocious Striped Predator

This is Linothele fallax, which I have dubbed the Tiger Spider due to its coloring which resembles that of the infamous ferocious cat.

           Now we just have to make sure they STAY in Bolivia.

2 hours ago, sandrewn said:

 

[Bill W]

3 hours ago, sandrewn said:

 

To my beloved friends that live in the UK, I pray this isn't a problem for you, but now we have to work on climate change and the problems it creates. 

 

Warning over rise in UK's most dangerous spider due to warmer winters

It may be no bigger than a pea, but its bite can put grown men in hospital. And thanks to global warming, the false black widow spider is on the march across the country, posing a threat to gardeners and anyone else spending time outdoors

 

 

Edited June 8, 2023 by Bill W

[sandrewn]

 

The Araneus praesignis spider

It looks like it has an alien on its abdomen! It is native to Queensland, Australia.

 

 

(Gelanor) Pirate spider

Class Arachinida, Order Araneae (Gelanor sp), adult female with FALSE eyes (yellow spots) in the abdomen. The four pairs of TRUE eyes are small and are found in the cephalothorax.

 

 

Lynx Spider