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Thread about spiders (not for the arachnophobic!)

My bridge spider was eating a grasshopper last night - fuck knows how that got caught in a web this high off the ground, they can only fly for short distances! Maybe a bird dropped it off the roof and the spider was the lucky recipient.

Just seen a false widow in the kitchen up above the window - I'm going to have to try to catch it and put it outside as the cats will try to eat it.
 
Cheers fbm, I will have a look at that. (ETA I have had a look, and the surveys are for tegenaria sightings so not applicable in this case - however if I see any tegs in the house before they get chewed up I will be sure to report the sighting!)

Since the temperature dropped on Monday she has been active for fewer hours and has been building a web only half the size of her usual effort :( I found little information about bridge spiders and their habits via google (just enough to identify markings that denote her species), so I do wonder if my observations and records of her behaviour might prove of interest to anyone involved in research of arachnids or conservation, as it's not usual that one gets to see up close and in so much detail the daily (or nightly, in this case!) activities of a native spider.

My parents were round on Sunday and I ushered them to the kitchen when the spider had woken up and positioned herself on her web. My parents live very rural and are used to all sorts, but my dad (who rarely swears) took one look at the size of her and said "bloody hell, you don't see that every day". Nate (my OH) took a photo which came out pretty good considering the light conditions, I am just waiting for him to send me a copy so that I can post it here.
 
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I think the obs you have carried out might well be of interest to a group dealing with conservation, if not this one as this is dedicated to house spiders. Might be worth having a look at what organisations are out there and see if they are interested. :)
 
:) I've only just spotted this thread - I love spiders!

I have one or two around the flat and often one outside in the corner of my window - not sure what sort they are.

I held a tarantula once, at a butterfly farm. It was brilliant.
 
Now that is an impressive crater! Glad you survived though. :)

It looks like it dissolved the flesh but left the tendons unscathed by the look of it. How long did it take for it to heal and repair? :eek:
 
gentlegreen said:
We're so lucky in the UK not having to be frightened about any of our wildlife.
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It's not the wildlife that poses a risk, it's the livestock - you ever been charged by a group of young bulls? I thought I was a goner for sure, had to escape through a barbed wire fence and scratched myself up pretty badly :eek:
 
OK finally a pretty bad picture of my spider. Unfortunately the distinctive markings that identify her as a bridge spider (a pale 'V' marking on the front of her abdomen, pointing towards her thorax) is not visible in this photo. On her back she has similar markings to other related species of orb-web spiders that are commonly found in gardens - the bridge spider is of the same genus and mostly looks similar but prefers to live on man-made structures, hence its name. It's also sometimes called a 'grey cross spider' because it has similar markings to garden orb-web spiders but tends towards duller/grey colouring, presumably that is better camouflage for a species that is happier on metal, breeze-blocks, and upvc (and in its natural habitat, chalky cliffs), rather than vegetation!

It's not a great photo, bad lighting conditions and use of flash make her look paler and washed out, and my window isn't as clean as I would like! :(

BigSpider.jpg
 
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Epona said:
It's not the wildlife that poses a risk, it's the livestock - you ever been charged by a group of young bulls? I thought I was a goner for sure, had to escape through a barbed wire fence and scratched myself up pretty badly :eek:
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Me and my first GF were persuaded into the river by some bullocks !
 
gentlegreen said:
Me and my first GF were persuaded into the river by some bullocks !
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Worst thing is that I'd hate to end up as some statistic that people laugh over. As in 'I can't believe that many people have been trampled by cattle, you're pulling my leg'. So very nearly ended up as a comedic statistic. :eek:
 
gentlegreen said:
We're so lucky in the UK not having to be frightened about any of our wildlife.
Click to expand...

Our current wildlife, rather than in history. I'm pretty sure many people would be scared of packs of wolves roaming about, or something similar. I'd like them to bring wolves back. :)

I remember having to run for my life being chased by a group of what must have been bullocks many years ago as a kid (on holiday with the parents). The sound they make as they thunder across a field is amazing, and we all ran like the clappers, basically throwing ourselves over the fence. The dog cleared the fence in one clean jump so he was clearly freaked out too.

It really isn't wise to piss off an animal that weighs a great deal more than you do, and one which can run fast if it wants to. :eek:
 
farmerbarleymow said:
It really isn't wise to piss off an animal that weighs a great deal more than you do, and one which can run fast if it wants to. :eek:
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Yeah that. I manage OK with many animals, I'm able to move through a herd of adult female cows OK as long as I am alert (stay aware of any movement, go slowly, make no sudden movements yourself, much like with horses if you breath heavily through your nostrils they find that friendly/calming) but several hormonal bullocks are a different matter entirely!
 
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The key thing the experts saw about cows is to never put yourself between the mother and calf, which makes sense. And obviously avoid hormonal bulls! I find talking very gently works well with horses - and hold your hand out flat so they can sniff you/try to eat it to get your measure. An instant way to make friends with horses is to bring a bag of apples and carrots - then they love you! :D
 
I'm always of the firm belief that you should never feed domestic animals that are under someone else's care and being well looked after - you don't know if the animal in question might have a dietary allergy or a medical condition in which diet may be a factor. So I don't tend to feed animals that aren't mine.

Emaciated animal begging on my doorstep would of course get a meal and a call to a local shelter: horse in good condition in a field, no you're not getting food from me, you're obviously well looked after, I don't want to unintentionally cause any harm to you.
 
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I saw a horrific forensic science programme about a poor woman who was killed by an elk.
Her husband was initially suspected of her murder.

I believe wild boar are pretty dangerous.
 
farmerbarleymow said:
The key thing the experts saw about cows is to never put yourself between the mother and calf, which makes sense. And obviously avoid hormonal bulls! I find talking very gently works well with horses - and hold your hand out flat so they can sniff you/try to eat it to get your measure. An instant way to make friends with horses is to bring a bag of apples and carrots - then they love you! :D
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Epona said:
I'm always of the firm belief that you should never feed domestic animals that are under someone else's care and being well looked after - you don't know if the animal in question might have a dietary allergy or a medical condition in which diet may be a factor. So I don't tend to feed animals that aren't mine.

Emaciated animal begging on my doorstep would of course get a meal and a call to a local shelter: horse in good condition in a field, no you're not getting food from me, you're obviously well looked after, I don't want to unintentionally cause any harm to you.
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My mild dislike for horses comes from the fact there were horses in the field behind the house I grew up in. The field had a footpath through it which I used regularly. The horses had got so used to being given apples by other people they would pester you if you went in the field. Large horses can be very intimidating when your only little. :(
 
I only feed horses that I pass while out walking in the countryside, so not around where people live. I do remember one day walking across a field in Saddleworth with a friend, and a few of the horses came trotting over as soon as they saw us. It wasn't clear at first what they were thinking so we were prepared to leg it, but it transpired they had spotted the apples I had in a clear plastic bag so had come to get fed. Needless to say I left that field with no apples. :D
 
gentlegreen said:
I saw a horrific forensic science programme about a poor woman who was killed by an elk.
Her husband was initially suspected of her murder.

I believe wild boar are pretty dangerous.
Click to expand...

Both can be very dangerous, and not to be messed with. Even sheep can be dangerous en masse - there was a story fairly recently about a farmer who was killed when his sheep got spooked and charged through a fence and over the edge of a quarry.
 
Leafster said:
My mild dislike for horses comes from the fact there were horses in the field behind the house I grew up in. The field had a footpath through it which I used regularly. The horses had got so used to being given apples by other people they would pester you if you went in the field. Large horses can be very intimidating when your only little. :(
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See I really like horses - I know that they are viewed as quite a posh thing to be involved with, but growing up in rural Surrey, even poor like me, there were loads of horses and my first ever job was as a stable hand. My dad's a working class Surrey lad and he used to be a jockey. Horses don't scare me. If one comes up to you when you are on a footpath through the field it is in, either a) blow air out hard through your nostrils a few times, don't be too surprised if it follows you afterwards thinking you are now its best friend, or b) spread your arms wide out to the sides ('jesus on the cross' style - not that I'm religious, but that is the best way to describe) and calmly and quietly walk towards it - horses are not aggressive in the slightest, and it will likely move away from you. I prefer the former option as I like horses. Also try to keep in mind that you are going for a walk through his/her home!
 
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farmerbarleymow said:
Now that is an impressive crater! Glad you survived though. :)

It looks like it dissolved the flesh but left the tendons unscathed by the look of it. How long did it take for it to heal and repair? :eek:
Click to expand...


it happened 6 months ago , its healed u to a cigar stub burn mark about 2 cm across , and there is 1 of my fingers which is still numb but can live with it, ended up having 2 months off work due to physical ans psychological issues.
It was a necrotic spider , flesh eating bastard, I started feeling I was getting lock jaw, went to the hospital, was immediately put on a drip for 4 days completely off my tits on intravenous valium lol , I was told the venom had gone into my lymphatic system, 12 hours later I would have had to have my hand amp[utated, 24 hours later would have been dead up..

but all good now :)
 
Jesus, that sounds bad. Glad you came through it more or less unscathed. And as you said, you can learn to live with a bit of numbness in the finger - as it could have been much worse. Has this experience made you frightened of spiders (assuming you weren't already), or has it had no effect?
 
ruffneck23 said:
it happened 6 months ago , its healed u to a cigar stub burn mark about 2 cm across , and there is 1 of my fingers which is still numb but can live with it, ended up having 2 months off work due to physical ans psychological issues.
It was a necrotic spider , flesh eating bastard, I started feeling I was getting lock jaw, went to the hospital, was immediately put on a drip for 4 days completely off my tits on intravenous valium lol , I was told the venom had gone into my lymphatic system, 12 hours later I would have had to have my hand amp[utated, 24 hours later would have been dead up..

but all good now :)
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What type of spider was it? The only one I know of that can do that is the brown recluse, if it was that you were unlucky to get bitten. :(
Hope it all heals up OK. :)
 
Leafster said:
Why all the recent sensationalism over the False Widows at the moment? Have I missed something? :confused:

This is the worst one I've seen so far: "Killer spiders on the rampage in Britain" from the Star :facepalm:

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/341071/Killer-spiders-on-rampage-in-Britain

Oh and "The spiders are spreading from the capital to the suberbs" :D
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Oh for fucks sake, what a gormless article! :D

The headline doesn't quite square with the article, and they admit in the very last line that no-one has died from them in the UK. :facepalm:

But I do like their map which is quite good:

30483.jpg
 
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