Spider under glass (spider warning)

[shadowplay]

Found this guy in the garage Sat. night. He was very lively, but cooperative, and thankful to be let go.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8Nda0fcey0

[kkrapf]

Was it really as big as it looks? Jebus.

[shadowplay]

He was plenty big, nearly too big for the glass. I could not believe how confident he was, until I started moving the glass.

Just giving props to an apex predator when due.

[MountainMoon22]

That's a giant wolf spider, right? There's one who hangs out near our fishpond. I posted your link on my FB, no one believes me about the giant spiders.

[TheChipmunks]

I studied spiders in college and in my guesstimate, it looks like a Dolomedes tenebrosus- I JUST carried an enormous one out of MY basement in a laundry basket not even ten minutes ago!!

Maybe these two will find each other. :) And move far, far away. :)

[Kensey]

Maybe these two will find each other. :) And move far, far away. :)

I just got the wedding invite -- ceremony tomorrow night, and this weekend they're setting up housekeeping in MountainMoon22's kitchen. :) Not to fear (http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/fishing-spider), though:


Although a large spider such as D. tenebrosus is able to bite humans, it is a shy spider that will run from people. Bites are typically no more severe than a bee or wasp sting. Exceptions do occur for individuals who are sensitive to spider venoms.

They're apparently present in the entire eastern US, from Canada to the Gulf Coast.

[TheChipmunks]

no one believes me about the giant spiders

So true! A year or so ago my friends who also live here were having their deck rebuilt. They had hired a group of Jamaicans to do the work and one day one of the men comes running around to the front of the house, out of breath and wide-eyed.

He looked at my friends and said, "Hey Mon you guys be gotten the BIGGEST spiders I've ever seen and I be from Jamaica!!" Classic. And true.

[rooneymom]

We had a big one in our strawberry patch a few weeks ago. It looked just like a fuzzy moldy strawberry and when I reached for the perfectly ripe one next to it and it moved, well, I jumped back pretty quick. Turns out it looked fuzzy because she was covered with her little babies. The kids wouldn't go strawberry picking anymore after that......

[MountainMoon22]

"Why does it have to be follow the spiders?! Why can't it be follow the butterflies?!"

I always think of Harry Potter when I see the giant spiders.

[kemeigen]

just got the wedding invite -- ceremony tomorrow night, and this weekend they're setting up housekeeping in MountainMoon22's kitchen. :) Not to fear (http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/fishing-spider), though:



Although a large spider such as D. tenebrosus is able to bite humans, it is a shy spider that will run from people. Bites are typically no more severe than a bee or




not to fear?!?!?! the heart attack i'll have will likely kill me. we had one on our porch last year, i saw it and immediately burst into tears and started hyperventilating, i had no control over it. and i'm not a wussie girl. it was horrible. and y'all saw the pictures of the one in our yard with the babies! now pat doesn't tell me about them until he gets rid of it. spiders! (shiver, shiver). give me anything else in the yard and i'm fine, snakes, frogs, lizards, bats, whatever. just no spiders.

[Kensey]

spiders! (shiver, shiver). give me anything else in the yard and i'm fine, snakes, frogs, lizards, bats, whatever. just no spiders.

I remember reading a theory that humans have that particular reaction to spiders (as opposed to other bugs) because way back in the past early humans may have had to deal with some sort of highly deadly venomous arachnid -- so much so that it actually exerted natural selection pressure on our DNA. The end result is today humans get really squicked out by even harmless spiders and don't know why.

[kkrapf]

I remember reading a theory that humans have that particular reaction to spiders (as opposed to other bugs) because way back in the past early humans may have had to deal with some sort of highly deadly venomous arachnid -- so much so that it actually exerted natural selection pressure on our DNA. The end result is today humans get really squicked out by even harmless spiders and don't know why.

I know why. They're bloody creepy.

[MoeMoe]

are they harmless? they sure are scary..

[ribbon]

cook em up. good eats

[cjb]

Drop them in a pot of boiling oil and EAT!! LOL

[shadowplay]

Drop them in a pot of boiling oil and EAT!! LOL

I will say this much. He (or she) would've made one heck of a good-sized mouthful. :ready1:

[kemeigen]

why are there spiders out there that are even this big? they eats BUGS not raccoons.

[Kensey]

why are there spiders out there that are even this big? they eats BUGS not raccoons.

If the one in the video is a Dolomedes, that's the "fishing spider" genus. They sometimes eat not just larger bugs, but small fish.

Spiders are fascinating -- for about a week there was one that spun a web every night between my car and a tree, then was gone by morning. Next night, there he'd be again. Apparently orb weavers do that a lot. Another time I saw a large spider and a small spider on my car. The large spider was running past the small one and the small one turned to always keep him in sight, as though watching for an attack.

[shadowplay]

Yes, I do believe that was a fisher or fishing spider in the video. I read about a study done with wolf spiders where they put wax on their fangs so they couldn't bite and let them loose in a terrarium with pregnant crickets. They could stalk and terrorize the crickets but not really hurt them. When the crickets had their eggs they were born with a natural fear of spiders that normal young crickets don't have. As a result it is believed that there is some sort of chemical messenger involved in our reaction to spiders also.