Thread about spiders (not for the arachnophobic!)

[gentlegreen]

I knew a lady who got what she thought was a wasp sting on her mouth while sleeping. She went to the doctor to be told that it was a spider bite. Her lips swelled up completely changing her appearance for several days. That I conclude would have been a Segestria Florentina.

I was thinking of trying to feed mine up - perhaps attach a dying fly to a bit of cotton ...

I have dozens of false widows within a few feet of my head where I sleep.
Perhaps I should encourage the segestrias to breed to keep their numbers down ...

 

[Hocus Eye.]

I was thinking of trying to feed mine up - perhaps attach a dying fly to a bit of cotton ...

I have dozens of false widows within a few feet of my head where I sleep.
Perhaps I should encourage the segestrias to breed to keep their numbers down ...

Don't interfere with nature in that way. If you feed it on captured flies it will lose its own ability to be a hunter and killer and become dependent on human support. That is how previously ravenous wolves evolved into dogs that sit up and beg.

 

[billy_bob]

What the fuck is that?

Scutigera Coleoptrata - house centipede. Little bastards can go about half a metre per second, whilst somehow simultaneously waving every leg at you at once in a frankly threatening manner.

 

[fucthest8]

We need rat-sized spiders in the UK. That would be ace.

To be fair it wasn't a spider - too many tentacles for that. Also, much as I am infinitely better with spiders since I lived in Australia for year, I would not be cool with rat sized ones.

Scutigera Coleoptrata - house centipede. Little bastards can go about half a metre per second, whilst somehow simultaneously waving every leg at you at once in a frankly threatening manner.

As my old mum would say: Fuck. That. Shit.

 

[billy_bob]

As my old mum would say: Fuck. That. Shit.

Quite. I know they're completely harmless but they make my skin crawl. I much prefer something that's lethal and venomous but has a sedate and predictable stride.

 

[Epona]

I managed to get rid of (ie put outside) most of the false widows that were in my bathroom.

I still have one big bastard that is living on the outside of my kitchen window frame - it is welcome to stay, but it is nowhere near as big and interesting as the bridge spider that was there last year.

 

[gentlegreen]

I've just plotted my Segestria Florentina on the OU's iSpot.

http://www.ispotnature.org

The only ones recorded are in my area.

 

[Hocus Eye.]

Ah I found it on that site. What has OU got to do with iSpot?

 

[gentlegreen]

Ah I found it on that site. What has OU got to do with iSpot?

I was sure they had a connection with it ...

 

[Hocus Eye.]

I was sure they had a connection with it ...

Is this about Orang Utan the urbanite or OU the Open University? I am getting confused here.

 

[gentlegreen]

My photo seems to have captured the green fangs better than the other photos there.

 

[gentlegreen]

Is this about Orang Utan the urbanite or OU the Open University? I am getting confused here.

Open University.

 

[albionism]

Huntsman lurking in my letterbox ,
along with a few snails and a mountain
of snail shite.

 

[Chilli.s]

I've just plotted my Segestria Florentina on the OU's iSpot.

http://www.ispotnature.org

The only ones recorded are in my area.

View attachment 61887

Supposedly the bite from Segestria Florentina is loads worse than a false widow.

 

[gentlegreen]

Huntsman lurking in my letterbox ,
along with a few snails and a mountain
of snail shite.

Go away for a week or two and come back to find an important letter eaten - snails love paper !

 

[albionism]

Happens all the time!

 

[Chilli.s]

Useful spider info:

http://srs.britishspiders.org.uk/portal.php/p/Welcome

 

[farmerbarleymow]

And a spider quiz.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...a-harmless-uk-spider-take-our-quiz?CMP=twt_gu

 

[gentlegreen]

8/9

 

[Chilli.s]

8/9 too.

 

[gentlegreen]

My line manager who hails from NZ was somewhat alarmed when I explained the screensaver photo of my Segestria_florentina was of a spider living in my house.

 

[albionism]

Not a spider, but this ting was sniffing around our
back yard one time. Look at it's feet!

 

[fishfinger]

Not a spider, but this ting was sniffing around our
back yard one time. Look at it's feet!

View attachment 62014

An elephant weevil?

 

[gentlegreen]

Apparently it's a major threat to grape growers in Australia.
But it's so cute - I couldn't look one in the eye and kill it.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I've been looking for spider pictures and found this great pictures of spiders taking over a water treatment plant in the US.

From http://www.jcehrlich.com/blog/giant-spiders-are-taking-over/

I think Minnie_the_Minx wouldn't like to be in this building.

 

[gentlegreen]

I'm rather afraid my segestria has moved home.
I was all set to place a device under its hole to catch the food remnants it chucked out, but perhaps it's moved on because there wasn't enough food - or it couldn't cope with my disturbing it...

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

I've been looking for spider pictures and found this great pictures of spiders taking over a water treatment plant in the US.

From http://www.jcehrlich.com/blog/giant-spiders-are-taking-over/

I think Minnie_the_Minx wouldn't like to be in this building.

No I wouldn't! I think my spider is scared of me now. I decided to be nice and leave his spider up the other day, then the next day I sprayed it with a hose, just so I could see how big the web was.

He scurried straight up the thread today though before I even had a chance of a chat

 

[billy_bob]

found this great pictures of spiders taking over a water treatment plant in the US.

At least, we should all hope and pray that that's spiders plural.....

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Not a spider, but this ting was sniffing around our
back yard one time. Look at it's feet!

View attachment 62014

what is it?

 

[gentlegreen]

As fishfinger said, an elephant weevil.
Native of Australia so you're unlikely to find one in your garden.