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Communing With Spiders

rynner2 said:
Marseille's anti-poison unit told intensive care doctors that he had been bitten by the brown recluse spider, Loxosceles Reclusa – also known as the violin spider due to its shape and markings.

Rare in France, the species is native to the United States from the southern Midwest south to the Gulf of Mexico.
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I've been bitten more than once (at different times) by aggressive house spiders (also known as hobo spiders). They are as bad as brown recluse spiders and reside in the US northwest and along the west coast as far south as Santa Barbara.

However, they were brought into the US from Europe originally, so I wonder if the doctor was mistaken about which species. Not that it really matters, and I have the scar on my leg to prove it.
 
A news report recently on outlandish (and outsized-ish) spiders,
The orb spiders have been mentioned on previous occasions, but as this particular reports seem to be recent ones and of a new species i thought I should add it here.


'Giant' orb web spider discovered

A new and rare species of "giant" orb web spider has been discovered in Africa and Madagascar.

In the journal Plos One, researchers describe Nephila komaci as the largest web spinning spider known to science. ......
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Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8316720.stm


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Briton 'tried to smuggle 1,000 live spiders out of Brazil on aeroplane'
A Briton trying to board a flight out of Brazil was arrested with 1,000 live spiders in his luggage.
By Andrew Downie São Paulo
Published: 11:33PM GMT 12 Nov 2009

The animals were packed into individual boxes and locked in two cases that had been checked as baggage, a police official said.

The live cargo was discovered on Wednesday at Rio de Janeiro's Tom Jobim International Airport as it was being X-rayed for loading onto the plane, the official said.

He would not name the man or say where his flight was going to but a federal police statement said he could face a fine of up to £1.5 million for animal trafficking.

The spiders were taken by Brazil's environmental agency for examination.

Animal trafficking is a serious crime in Brazil and authorities frequently detain people for trying to smuggle live animals out of the country.

In the past, police have opened luggage and clothes to discover lizards, birds, spiders, beetles and all kinds of insects.

Brazil has the most diverse flora and fauna in the world, with 517 amphibian species, 1,622 birds species and 468 kinds of reptiles.

It also has 55,000 species of plants and thousands more that have yet to be catalogued, according to experts.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... plane.html
 
Huge UK cave spiders 'sent' home
By Jody Bourton
Earth News reporter

A colony of huge cave spiders are finally heading home after 10 years.

The spiders have been squatting in a disused building in the Yorkshire Dales after escaping from a nearby cave, hidden in scientists' equipment.

Volunteers and staff from the National Trust's Malham Tarn estate in North Yorkshire are now transporting the spiders back to their natural home.

Measuring seven centimetres across, the cave spiders are amongst the largest spiders found in the UK.

"The time has come for the cave spiders to be relocated back to their natural homes," says Martin Davies, National Trust property manager for the Yorkshire Dales in the UK.

The old house is due to be renovated for use by visiting schoolchildren and walkers, Mr Davies explains.

Ten years ago, a team of archaeologists from the University of Bradford carried out a major survey of the nearby Chapel Fell cave.

At the end of each day, they took their equipment to a nearby house to store overnight.

In doing so, they accidently carried with them spiders hiding among the equipment.

From then on, the spiders successfully set up a new colony in the small dark building.

The cave spiders Meta menardi and the related Meta bourneti are rarely seen beyond their natural habitat of caves and tunnels because of their aversion to light.

They are active hunters and normally feed on small insects.

Although harmless, they can occasionally bite if provoked.

The spiders are collected using a contraption called a 'pooter' which sucks the spider up safely into a container.

The spiders are then put into individual plastic boxes and released back into the darkness of the caves.

More than 150 spiders will make the short journey back to where they belong.

Once back in the caves, the spiders won't be forgotten, Mr Davies says.

"We have plans to use a small outbuilding as a spider house, with a window on their mysterious world."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_ne ... 393757.stm
 
Britain 'facing tarantula invasion', RSPCA warns
Britain could be facing a tarantula invasion after a number of the spiders were discovered in gardens in some parts of the country, wildlife experts have warned.
By Andrew Hough
Published: 7:00AM BST 28 Jul 2010

The RSPCA has issued an alert urging people to be on their guard amid fears a large batch of the spider has escaped in the north of the country.

The alert came after two separate incidents involving 10cm-wide Chilean Rose tarantulas in Bolton, Greater Manchester.

The rare arachnids, capable of blinding people by spitting hairs in their eyes, were both found in back gardens within two miles of each other.

Both spiders are the same age, breed and gender.

Experts said it suggested they could be part of a larger batch. The slow-moving large spiders from South America are a popular breed among collectors.

Lisa Broad, 20, found the first spider in her garden on the Oldhams Estate in Sharples.

She called the RSPCA, who re-homed the creature, named Fang, at Smithills Open Farm.

Three-and-a-half weeks later another woman from Lostock discovered another tarantula, which was sitting on her garden wall.

The woman, who did not want to be named, eventually trapped it under a plant pot on her path and alerted the RSPCA.

Derek Hampson, an inspector for the animal welfare charity, said: "We advised her to keep it under the plant pot until we arrived. They can quite happily go a week without food, so it was quite content.

"It got a bit aggressive when I picked it up. I wore safety goggles as these creatures can spit hairs which can blind you. :shock:

"It is possible there could be more out there, but unfortunately we havent got the resources to search for them."

He added: "It is up to members of the public to call us if they spot any."

Mr Hampson took the female, which is known to kill the male after mating, to Bugworld in Liverpool.

Jenny Dobson, the Bugworld curator, said: "It is rare for one of these to come in and we saw... there had been another with the same characteristics found outdoors.

"It is likely they came from the same place.

"It would be too much of a coincidence otherwise for two breakouts and they cant survive in the wild for long with the UK climate.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildli ... warns.html
 
I have little to add to this thread, other than the OP's story is really nice, despite my dislike of arachnids.

I originally read the thread title as "Commuting with Spiders", thinking I was about to read a story about a guy who brought spiders with him when travelling to work.
 
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crossetti said:
I originally read the thread title as "Commuting with Spiders", thinking I was about to read a story about a guy who brought spiders with him when travelling to work.
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LOLZ :rofl:
 
A friend of mine who works on a allotment was once bitten or nipped by a spider. He had to visit the doctor after his left hand swelled up - ouch!

I myself love spiders but have a terror for the large garden types if that makes sense(i once caught one in my hands and hated the way it rushed around trying to escape) . Theres one in our house that is pretty big and often crawls around even along the lounge carpet! All who see it kinda give respect out of amazement for its lack of fear. If we come across him in a location we need to use we wait for him/her to move off - funny thing being it nearly always knows we need its space and will move to a nearby location so we can get on with things.

If i see one in the bath tub i make every effort to free it. In the garden I leave them alone if i disturb them.

I love them in a strange way but also fear them which is wierd. :)
 
An arachnophobe's worst nightmare: Girl finds eight green-fanged spiders in her house (and yes, they do have a nasty bite)
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:26 PM on 4th October 2010

It's every arachnophobe's worst nightmare - spiders with giant green fangs who wait until its dark to pounce on unsuspecting passers-by.

But that's the terrifying scenario in one Devon home which has become home to a colony of rare segestria florentinas.

Jessica Buston, 13, discovered eight of the creepy crawlies - which measure up to an inch in body-length - living in holes at her house in Exeter, Devon.

'They are black all over and have two green fangs, which made them look really scary,' she said.
'We found them living in holes at the back of our house.
'I was a bit scared to start with but I've got used to them now and I'm happy for them to stay where they are.'

The spiders - part of the funnel web family - are said to be the second largest species in the UK and can deliver a nasty but non-venomous bite.

Jessica's dad, Mark, a 40-year-old plumber, added: 'They are a fascinating sight.
'The fangs are really luminous and when they are sitting in their holes, you can just see these two green fangs.
'They do look a bit scary but they are not dangerous so we are OK with them being there.
'And I think we are a bit big to be on their list of prey.'

Although they have been spotted in various locations around the South West, the segestria florentina is still an unusual sight for many.
The spiders are thought to have originated in the Mediterranean and North Africa and made their way across to the UK on cargo ships.

Kelvin Boot, a local naturalist and former presenter on BBC Radio 4's Natural History programme, from Kenton, near Exeter, said: 'This truly is a magnificent and quite beautiful spider with its chocolate brown body and bronze-green fangs.
'By any stretch of the imagination, this is an impressive spider.
'It sits at the mouth of its tunnel in old brickwork or behind loose bark or any other suitable hole, waiting for a hapless insect to stumble across the spokes - trip wires that alert the spider to its victim.
'Once detected, the spider moves like lightning. I defy anybody not to jump when this happens as it is such a surprise even if you are expecting it.

'The prey is dragged back into the narrow tube and eventually the spider's venom overcomes the prey.'
Mr Boot said the spider is not dangerous but has been known to bite people.
'Segestria florentina is one spider that can bite and does cause a slight irritation - like a bad nettle sting - in some people,' he said.
'It bites in defence so if you pick one up, or it gets caught in your clothing, you are likely to be nipped.
'But no British spider delivers a fatal bite, or even one dangerous to humans.

'It seems this spider was accidentally introduced into UK from its native Mediterranean and North Africa.
'One theory suggests it hitched a lift from the ports where it arrived on pack animals transporting goods.
'In the case of Exeter, this might have been as long ago as the woollen trade era, or when wagons were pulling building stone from Dartmoor.'
Anyone who spots the spider should leave them alone as they pose no threat if left undisturbed.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z11TAh0X5k
 
This isn't really communing with a spider but it is physically intimate!

For a couple of days there's been a mottled spider the size of a 20p on a web in the hallway above my door.

This morning, on leaving my room, I felt cobweb on my face, and a faint crackling sound in my left ear.

I looked up, but she wasn't there.

I continued with my morning ablutions, prepared breakfast (light rye sourdough toast, peanut butter and black tea) and every now and then I got the faint crackling sound in my left ear and the sensation of cobweb on my face and I tried to wipe it away.

On the third occurrence of this sensation, as I wiped my head, my fingers came in contact with the substantially bodied spider as I knocked it to the floor.

The bugger must've been scuttling about my head and shoulders for about 30/40 mins!
 
we keep getting this HUGE spider in our house, i have evicted it 3 times in two weeks, spiders dont bother me but the wife and daughter are somewhat reluctant to have it in the house. i have a picture of it somewhere on my phone - i will add it if i can do
the last time i had to move it (wednesday i think) i shoved it under my garage door, it can live in there as long as it wants - although i do joke that it opens the back door to let itself in its that big lol
 
plastic wiganer said:
we keep getting this HUGE spider in our house, i have evicted it 3 times in two weeks, spiders dont bother me but the wife and daughter are somewhat reluctant to have it in the house. i have a picture of it somewhere on my phone - i will add it if i can do
the last time i had to move it (wednesday i think) i shoved it under my garage door, it can live in there as long as it wants - although i do joke that it opens the back door to let itself in its that big lol
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I found a huge spider (and I mean huge) in the bath this week. I always leave a length of toilet roll over the side of the bath so that spiders can get out, so I presumed it had climbed down this way but was too thick to realise it had to go back the same way (plug hole and overflow I block off). Boy was it quick, I had the devil's own job scooping it up- trying to explain to it that it was better off on the floor elicited no response. Eventually got it and it scuttled off into a tiny gap under the bath. No doubt it will be back, not learning from experience.
 
following on from the 28/09/19
well i had to evict it again last night, there it was bold as brass in my daughters bedroom, it obviously wasnt too keen on living in my garage! (too cold?)
 
plastic wiganer said:
following on from the 28/09/19
well i had to evict it again last night, there it was bold as brass in my daughters bedroom, it obviously wasnt too keen on living in my garage! (too cold?)
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Ha funny that. The huge spider mentioned in the post above yours was back at the weekend only this time in the wash basin. How it got there is a mystery - I can only assume it climbed the wall and fell in. Again scooped it up and put it on the floor. I have now blocked off the plug and overflow in the sink and built an elaborate bridge out of toilet roll from the sink onto the side of the bath as another escape route. Persistent little devil it is.
 
IbisNibs said:
Spider appreciation from a scientific view:
https://www.sciencefriday.com/episodes/october-25-2019/
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No spider appreciation here.... I have overcome my real life arachnophobia over the years but still have a deep seated phobia of those giant spiders in films , I can't get past it even if it's those obvious VW beetles covered in carpet and with legs from the 50s. I know EVERY bloody film with a giant spider in it and avoid like the plague. I can't even.... But in the mid noughties I had a dream about another fear , flying and 9/11 that tied in . I had lots of dreams about flying to the states and in one , as I was taking off I looked out of the window and a plane was embedded in a skyscraper and at the bottom of the building a giant spider was there examining it with round spectacles on and weirdly it didn't freak me out , unlike the building and the plane. My brain is so bloody weird apparently
 
gojiramonkey said:
No spider appreciation here.... I have overcome my real life arachnophobia over the years but still have a deep seated phobia of those giant spiders in films , I can't get past it even if it's those obvious VW beetles covered in carpet and with legs from the 50s. I know EVERY bloody film with a giant spider in it and avoid like the plague. I can't even.... But in the mid noughties I had a dream about another fear , flying and 9/11 that tied in . I had lots of dreams about flying to the states and in one , as I was taking off I looked out of the window and a plane was embedded in a skyscraper and at the bottom of the building a giant spider was there examining it with round spectacles on and weirdly it didn't freak me out , unlike the building and the plane. My brain is so bloody weird apparently
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Maybe that spider looking on represented the World Wide Web... the Internet?
 
gojiramonkey said:
No spider appreciation here.... I have overcome my real life arachnophobia over the years but still have a deep seated phobia of those giant spiders in films , I can't get past it even if it's those obvious VW beetles covered in carpet and with legs from the 50s. I know EVERY bloody film with a giant spider in it and avoid like the plague. I can't even.... But in the mid noughties I had a dream about another fear , flying and 9/11 that tied in . I had lots of dreams about flying to the states and in one , as I was taking off I looked out of the window and a plane was embedded in a skyscraper and at the bottom of the building a giant spider was there examining it with round spectacles on and weirdly it didn't freak me out , unlike the building and the plane. My brain is so bloody weird apparently
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My mom was booked to fly out to the states sept 12 2001 and change in America for Canada .... Weird
 
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh a thread on SPIderrrssssssss.........I have a story to share

This was when I was in high school, so the late 80s. My sister's aversion to spiders had slowly come to envelope me and it wasn't uncommon in our old house for either her or me squealing "AAAAH A SPIDER" at any Daddy Longlegs that we saw. Until....that morning.

Alarm had just gone off, I was getting out of bed to head for the bathroom when, as I swung my legs towards the floor, saw a VERY LARGE SPIDER scuttle across the floor. I believe my screams woke the neighborhood. "A TARANTULA! THERE'S A TARANTUL LOOSE IN THE HOUSE!!" and everybody went oh ha ha ha yeah sure. That afternoon, my sister saw it. Again, "ha ha ha ho ho ho yeah sure" followed by various teasing and jokes over the next few days.

A couple of days later, my stepfather (who doesn't sleep well due to an ongoing medical condition) had the TV on in the wee hours of the morning when he saw A VERY LARGE SPIDER THAT LOOKED SUSPICOUSLY LIKE A TRANTULA scuttle across the floor. Lucky for us, he's a boomer and a war veteran, so he jumped up, grabbed a shoe and whacked it til it was dead and it was, in fact, an actual tarantula.

So how did it get in our house? Our best guess is it stowed away in a hamster cage my mother had bought for my brother's hamster.
 
Aydee_Aitchdee said:
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh a thread on SPIderrrssssssss.........I have a story to share

This was when I was in high school, so the late 80s. My sister's aversion to spiders had slowly come to envelope me and it wasn't uncommon in our old house for either her or me squealing "AAAAH A SPIDER" at any Daddy Longlegs that we saw. Until....that morning.

Alarm had just gone off, I was getting out of bed to head for the bathroom when, as I swung my legs towards the floor, saw a VERY LARGE SPIDER scuttle across the floor. I believe my screams woke the neighborhood. "A TARANTULA! THERE'S A TARANTUL LOOSE IN THE HOUSE!!" and everybody went oh ha ha ha yeah sure. That afternoon, my sister saw it. Again, "ha ha ha ho ho ho yeah sure" followed by various teasing and jokes over the next few days.

A couple of days later, my stepfather (who doesn't sleep well due to an ongoing medical condition) had the TV on in the wee hours of the morning when he saw A VERY LARGE SPIDER THAT LOOKED SUSPICOUSLY LIKE A TRANTULA scuttle across the floor. Lucky for us, he's a boomer and a war veteran, so he jumped up, grabbed a shoe and whacked it til it was dead and it was, in fact, an actual tarantula.

So how did it get in our house? Our best guess is it stowed away in a hamster cage my mother had bought for my brother's hamster.
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Was that in the UK ?? That's incredibly disturbing.... Strange how most adults dismiss a great deal of what children say as s flight of fancy
 
Aydee_Aitchdee said:
No, you're safe, it was in the US
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Hahaha, ok.... *Phew*. It's just that I thought the term daddy longlegs was a British thing , but now I've just remembered, that charming individual gene Simmons from Kiss tried to get one of my favourite guitarist's to rename his early band Daddy longlegs
 
Well, since the passing of Fluffy (my curlyhair tarantula - tlitocatl albopilosum) I've thoroughly cleared out the vivarium in readiness for it's next occupant.
Since I'm on holiday soon, and my arachnophobic step-son is house and pet-sitting, I'll get a new one in a couple of weeks. I think I'll try to get another tlitocatl or might opt for a common pink-knee.
 
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