[mjg]

spiders are good creatures, they destroy all kinds of insects, including dangerous or poisonous ones. SOme are poisonus and awful, but i still cannot kill a spider without feeling some guilt. If it's tiny and harmless looking, and i see it busy at work, i usually admire the crazy web, and leave it be. Yet on my walk yesterday there was a huge web and a gigantic spider blocking my friend from walking up, i had to destroy its efforts and get rid of it.


Why is everyone all archanephobic? It's just the same as another creature, but more helpful... Just like a praying mantis. Would you kill one of those? That's illegal.

 

[kwkarth]

When I was a kid growing up in DC, our house had a large rock garden behind it. In 2nd and 3rd grade, I collected over 2 quart jars packed full of black widow spiders. It amazes me that I never got bit. I kept them in alcohol and after a while their pretty red hourglass marking would gradually fade to orange and then yellow as they soaked in the isopropyl.

 

[psyco1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kunwar bringing up an old thread but you all buggers are lucky . I just found a nest of redback spiders in my shed and those buggers are a lot more poisonous than your average Black widow spider. If you hate arachnids then don't move to Sydney please.

Yea, you Aussies have some damn fine examples of "Holyfu@#Spiders!".

People, take a look at the funnelweb, it's fangs can poke into bone....bone dammit, that means it'll make short work of just about anything you put on your feet. Oh, and then there's the venom. If he decides to bite, it's time to go to the hospital asap, because you're going to be in pain with severe spasms in a short time. If he gets you good, it's either anti-venom or death.

http://www.avru.unimelb.edu.au/avruweb/Fws.htm

 

[kunwar]

the sydney funnel web variety is not the most poisonous variety either. there is another paritcular critter here found near Brisbane which is also sometimes referred to as the Northern Funnel Web which ml for ml is 10 times as poisonous as the most poisonous land snake, the Australian Taipan.

 

[Tuberoller]

Spiders don't scare me but snakes scare me ****less. I stepped over a Cobra once and never realized I did until I drove back over the same path a few minutes later and saw it slither away.

 

[mbriant]

The same perspective trick has been used for years with photos of fishermen holding small fish made to appear huge in the photo. Still they are UGLY

 

[KR...]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuberoller Spiders don't scare me but snakes scare me ****less. I stepped over a Cobra once and never realized I did until I drove back over the same path a few minutes later and saw it slither away.

Well, I think you are suppose to be scared of Cobras, those things can kill you. Heck, any animal that can kill you should scare any sane person, unless they are an animal expert.

Now, being scared of harmless animals is what people need to try to get over.

I am not a big fan of Spiders that are huge or deadly spiders, but harmless ones are no big deal with me. If I find one in the house, I just pick them up and put them outside.

Now, I really hate centipedes... they freak me out everytime...

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kunwar the sydney funnel web variety is not the most poisonous variety either. there is another paritcular critter here found near Brisbane which is also sometimes referred to as the Northern Funnel Web which ml for ml is 10 times as poisonous as the most poisonous land snake, the Australian Taipan.

LOL, I always believed that Australia has some of the most vicious and deadliest animals to balance out the cutest ones there. Koalas, wallabies, so many cute marsupials.

The Sydney Funnel Web Spider may not be the most venomous, but it's type of venom and extreme aggressiveness really give some bite to it's reputation.

Keep on your toes, kunwar. Good to hear you didn't get bitten.

Got any pics of those lil' buggers?

-Ed

 

[roadtonowhere08]

I saw those Camel Spiders on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Some animal lady brought them to show. Folks, they are as mean as they look. She brought two of them in the same container... they were really going at it. Those jaw things are bigger than they look. God MUST have been in a bad mood when he made those

 

[kunwar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuberoller Spiders don't scare me but snakes scare me ****less. I stepped over a Cobra once and never realized I did until I drove back over the same path a few minutes later and saw it slither away.

wait till you meet a Sydney Funnel Web spider in mating season. you will know what fear is, mate
these suckers come for you, you don't even need to disturb them.
worst part is they actually can bite right through your shoes so stamping on these buggers is a no-no. Of course if the shoe has a steel sole then that helps.
they have a way around that too, they just jump up onto your leg.
By comparison the spiders from Arachnophobia were harmlesss little Huntsmen which wouldn't hurt you much.

 

[kunwar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood LOL, I always believed that Australia has some of the most vicious and deadliest animals to balance out the cutest ones there. Koalas, wallabies, so many cute marsupials. The Sydney Funnel Web Spider may not be the most venomous, but it's type of venom and extreme aggressiveness really give some bite to it's reputation. Keep on your toes, kunwar. Good to hear you didn't get bitten. Got any pics of those lil' buggers? -Ed

mate it is not what is on the land you have to worry about.wait till you encounter some of real nasties on the beachside.
Blue Octopus, Box JellyFish, Irrukandji, Salt Water Crocs, etc etc
As for pics here are some

http://www.avru.unimelb.edu.au/avruweb/Fws.htm#top some nice pics on this page.

http://www.rochedalss.eq.edu.au/spider/spider3.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/science/slab/shorter/story.htm
http://www.termite.com/spider-identification.html

I am sorry but I don't have any pics that I have taken because you are more worried about this sucker's fangs then the photos

 

[erix]

Back in the early Nineties I worked as a custodian at an elementary school in Las Vegas, NV. I used to catch these little rascals about once a month. I also caught some particularly large scorpions. I had a terrarium in my office for my little tan pets.

My favorite was a huge (3+") female scorpion. I used to feed her crickets and watch how she would sneak up, grab them, and bring the singer down for the kill. Then she'd turn it around and slurp out it's guts like a burrito leaving the empty carcass. It was cool.

One day I put a sun spider in with the scorpion, thinking I'd see some good action. They stayed away from each other. The next day the scorpion was dead (lying on it's back legs up) and the sun spider was still running around the terrarium looking for a way out. I would have loved to see that battle.

I was a little pissed that this ugly beast killed my pet so I put it in a smooth-sided plastic cup that it could not climb out of. Then I put it in the path of some particularly viscious ants. The sun spider put up a fight at first, neatly slicing them in half as they got near it. Then they swarmed it and the next morning all that was left was the 4 empty shells of those freaky fangs that make up it's head.

Ah, the good ol days of non-resoponsibility...

ok,
erix

 

[dhwilkin]

Ah, I remember the first time I ever read about camel spiders on another forum... so many memories*.



* HORRIFYING ARACHNID NIGHTMARES!!!

 

[Audio Redneck]

I can really relate to this one. My cousin was on duty in Iraq last year, got bit my a spyder and got a 6month trip stateside until he could regain use of his hand....

[size=large]BUT[/size]

The little bugger that got him was a bout the size of a quarter and was not a hairy camel spider. Chris is back up to about 85% use of his hand but the scare looks like he had a chunck of his hand bit off by a rabid squirl.

Oh, and I hate 'em too.

 

[intlplby]

about 4 weeks ago one of my co-workers got bit by a brown recluse and didnt know it, he waited on going to the hospital .... had he waited another two days he would have had to have his leg amputated


then a week or so later another co-worker got bit by a black widow and waited a bit too long and it spread from his arm to his back and he was in the hospital for a week and a half and go pneumonia too