[WARNING: contains text and images about spiders] In light of all the anti-spider comments on listverse recently, I started thinking of a few facts of the order Araneae, and then, of course, a list about them. For the Spider-phobes among my fellow readers, it may be better that you head over to Disney.com. (or chose another list from archives here 
Cyn)
First a few basics: the Class that spiders belong to is Arachnida, which also includes scorpions, ticks and mites. So from a taxonomy / linguistic point of view at least, an arachnophobic would include the panic and fear of these creatures as well. It’s just as well not to think about this too much, as mites (mostly microscopic) live just about everywhere – including in just about all upholstery and plush toys. Of spiders (order Araneae), there are about 110 families and about 40,000 species. Keep in mind that this classification, probably, is not complete and there may be more families and species yet to be found. I am calling this list “Talking Points’ because these entries are somewhere between fact and opinion. I am counting up, as these are in no particular order.
Tarantula spiders are a delicacy in several parts of the world. They are eaten by the indigenous Piaroa tribes of Venezuela, as well as in Cambodia. Remember though, the hairs of the tarantula are an irritant and must be removed first (for those wanting to try the recipe). A news article I read quoted a Cambodian local, “They taste a bit like crickets, only much better”. I have not tried them and cannot verify this claim. If you have tried them, please mention in the comments how they taste.
Well, not the spiders themselves, of course. However in a relatively new development, certain spider venom is being investigated as an eco-friendly insecticide. In synthetic or natural form it can, potentially, target crop destroying insects with little or no effect on non-target species (e.g. birds, humans, other mammals, etc.) An additional benefit is that many scientists believe that the target insects may not become naturally resistant.
Spider silk is amazing and humanity can benefit from studying, and perhaps synthesizing, its properties. Pound-for-pound this protein fiber (or silk) is stronger than steel. It is reputed to be as strong as the Aramide filaments (E.g. Kevlar). It is also extremely ductile and can flex and stretch up to 30% (or in some cases 50%) of its length. As a fiber for protective clothing it may prove invaluable. Spider silk is also very light weight. 40,000 Kilometers (25,000 miles) – the circumference of Earth – of a single fiber would weigh about 450 grams (about 16 ounces). [Image Source]
Spiders love to eat insects. In fact, in absolute terms, spiders eat more insects than birds and are better at pest control (they chow down on the little insects that are too small for birds and young insects that haven’t bred yet). In spite of having 8 eyes (though some have different amounts) they do not see very well and will rarely attack without provocation. Jumping spiders, one the other hand, have a better visual acuity than almost anything else its size. Human eyes are only about 5 times better than a jumping spider. On the plus side (for people) is that though they can jump 20-60 times their body length, they prefer to jump at their insect prey.
Most spiders are skittish creatures, and really do not like to bother people. If a spider is on you, it probably just wants off you as much as you want it off. A flick is probably better than a squash.
Spiders are, naturally, good luck symbols for weavers and spinners, and by extension, those in the fabric and garment industry. The word ‘spider’ is derived from “spin”. According to some sources spiders also bring good luck in money matters. My research indicates that as a spider attracts and traps prey, so a spider amulet should attract and hold wealth. In the tradition of the Pueblo Indians (South western North America), the creation goddess was called Spider Woman. Also known as Creation Thinker Woman she spins life and all creation out of her thoughts as a spider spins from her body substance. She is a powerful and loved goddess.
Of all the approximately 40,000 species of spiders, only one (so far) has been found to be a non-predator. All the others are hunters. Less than 50 are known to have venom harmful to humans. There are two main classifications of spider venom: necrotic that attacks the soft tissue around the bite and neurotoxic that attacks the nervous system of the victim. For the spider bite to be harmful or fatal to humans several factors must all be taken into account: (a) the size of the fangs (properly, the Chelicerae) – they must be large enough to break the skin, (b) the venom compound – it must be toxic to human physiology and (c) the quantity of venom used. Because a spider can control the amount of venom used, and (because they do not see us as ‘food’) almost all bites are defensive, most spider bites are dry or contain a reduced amount of toxin. The aggressive Brazilian Wandering Spider is a notable exception.
Almost all spiders are solitary hunters. However a few species are social and form colonies. And whereas most of these colonies are only between 500 and 1000 individuals, an Anelosimus eximius colony can be the home of more than 20,000 spiders. It is a good thing that these are scarce (the forests of north-western South America). A single nest was reported to be over 25 feet in length, 6-8 feet wide and 4-5 feet high – perhaps the home to 50,000 spiders. [Video - A news report of a social spider colony in Texas, USA.]
Well, that’s not entirely true. The truth is: they like our environment. Unlike many other poisonous creatures that live on this planet, spiders can live very well in the same habitat as humans. In the world there are various poisonous snakes, two species of poisonous lizards (Gila monster and beaded lizard), two species of poisonous birds (Hooded Pitohui and Ifrita), and many species of amphibians, fish and jellyfish – and, for the most part, few of them tend to come into our homes, walk on our ceilings or sleep in our beds. In the USA, the Black Widow and the Brown Recluse can be found in homes. In Australia, the Redback can be found just about everywhere, and especially loves dense urban areas. The Sydney Funnel-web spider (see picture) can be particularly nasty. They like water and often fall into swimming pools. They survive in the water for quite a bit, and will bite when fished out. They are not known for their gratitude. There is an anti-venom, thankfully, so there have been no reported deaths since 1980.
Arachnophobia is officially known as: DSM-IV –TR: 300.29 Specific Phobia (subtype animal, specifically spider), at least in the United States. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth Edition (Copyright 2000 American Psychiatric Association) is, I think, the authoritative source of these things. This list, by the way, is not intended to be diagnostic or to provide medical advice.
A. Marked and persistent fear that is excessive or unreasonable, cued by the presence or anticipation of a specific object or situation.
B. Exposure to the phobic stimulus almost invariably provokes an immediate anxiety response.
C. The person recognizes that the fear is excessive or unreasonable
D. The phobic situation(s) is avoided or else is endured with intense anxiety or distress.
E. The avoidance, anxious anticipation, or distress in the feared situation(s) interferes significantly with the person’s normal routine
F. In individuals under age 18 years, the duration is at least 6 months.
G. The anxiety, Panic Attacks, or phobic avoidance associated with the specific object or situation not better accounted for by another mental disorder…
Contributor: stevenh
Another spider lover here. In fact I share my home with a family of them. I figure if they can get in, other insects can as well.
Spiders are very beneficial little creatures and I will go out of my way to not kill a spider. I find some way to get it outside safely. But they have way too many legs and that in and of itself just plain freaks me out!!!
The only bad experience I ever had with a spider was in a fantasy baseball league about twenty years ago. One of my players, Glenallen Hill, had a nightmare about them and ended up crashing through a glass door.
119. stevenh – SAUUWWEEEEEEEEEEET
jfrater (22),
“Archangel: I have heard of the trick where spider webs are good for Small cuts – I haven’t tried it because the webs in my house are full of dust but I would love to hear other’s experiences”
Bear with me, this quote will take a bit of time to read and a lot more for me to type, but is fascinating:
‘The World of Spiders’ (New Naturalist series) W. S. Bristowe (revised ed. 1971). Page 5.
“One of Ben Johnson’s characters says he ‘sweeps no cobwebs here, but sells ‘em for cut fingers’ and Shakespeare, in *A Midsummer Night’s Dream*, makes Bottom say, ‘I shall desire you of more acquaintance good master cobweb. If I cut my finger I shall make bold of you’. These quotations introduce us to the use of spiders’ webs in staunching the flow of blood, which was advocated as early as the first century A.D. by Dioscorides. The use of web for this purpose was widespread in Britain and elsewhere in Europe during past centuries and friends tell me it still lingers on in country districts in Cheshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire and Sus***** as well as in Italy and elsewhere on the Continent. The staunching effect is due to physical and not chemical proerties.”
As I type here and now, I have a house wren a foot or so away outside, doing the rounds of my office window for a spiderly snack. Topical and delightful!
Bristowe (ibid.) adds:
“Eleazar Albin (1736) seems to have introduced an unusual refinement when he beat web up with frogs’ spawn and allowed the mixture to dry on a pewter plate before applying it; and, he says, ‘with this remedy I saved a gentleman of worth in Lincoln Inn Fields who had bled at the nose several hours, when all applications failed which were used by two eninent surgeons’.”
All the rest of Bill’s medical references are useless superstitions.
When I was young I believed the hoax story of the spiders that were about to explode from a plant onto a family, before the local authorities took a flamethrower to it. Horrifying!
TEX: You @$$…
Yeah, I saw those… Plus, there was another one where the bite was on the thumb… A nice close-up nausea-inducing, juicy-looking bite. My entire body is starting to crawl and I´m getting twitchy just thinking about it…
108. copperdragon:…well…i tried to answer you but my comments are in moderation…(hint, hint)
btw…had someone I worked with who got bit by a brown recluse. They had to remove his toe. It was quite gross actually. Since then I will always shake out my shoes before I put them on. just in case.
“3 am…I wake up and feel something on my face…sleepily, I reach up and it must have seen my hand moving towards it in the dark and it started to move. Naturally, I am now wide awake and moving fast. Jumping up and beating myself around the head like a lunatic just to find out where that sucker went to. That was my ultimate goal, but it must have flown off me at that point so of course I have to look for it. Spent the next hour looking and couldn’t find it. Now that I am in full panic heart racing and adrenaline pumping…I have to go back to bed, because I have to work in the morning. I lay down and try to go back to sleep…that mother f***ker hid out on MY BODY and as soon as I was almost out…went in my ear.
Another sleepless night……….”
ok I literally spent the whole time I was reading that rubbing my face and slapping my neck where I could swear something was crawling. ohhhh the power of suggestion
Interesting list stevenh – the input on this subject and comments from L servers replying made it a well worth read.
In Africa we call the Tarantula a Baboon spider, the last two legs segments resemble the finger of a Baboon – hence its name.
For those that want to know – there are about 612 species world wide.
*shudders*
I’ve hated spiders all my life, but I think #5 is sort of cute. XD
Also, I have greater hatred on the insects which they (thankfully) eat.
Okay, I know this list was about spiders, and the information regarding them was very enlightening. However, the fact that has interested me the most is the apparent existence of poisonous birds? Really? I never knew about that! Now I’ve got to read up on that!
stevenh, (39),
There are two basic types of spider venom (a) Neurotoxic and (b) Necrotic.
Our southern or Patagonian black widow, mentioned above, is neurotoeix, hence the ***** effect.
The housebound corner spider is necrotic, and kills when the bite is deep and the necrosis continues to spread until the victim dies of gangrene. Death is unusual and mostly occurs in young children and people not in rude health. It may also be affected by the site of the bite. On the face is particularly nasty. My bite in the belly cane from moving a bale of straw. Obviously fairly superficial, it left a small red patch which hurt a little at first, but soon left no feeling. The necrotic spot, on the other hand, lingered for about two years. I’m not sure, but seem to remember that the males can’t bite humans.
@135 Miss Destiny: Yeah, I thought that was really cool also, so I snuck it in
. But now that you mentioned it, I realized that I made an error. Apparently there are three (not two) type of poisonous birds, the third one is a Little Shrike-thrush.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Shrike-thrush
Thanks for this.
stevenh:
Feh. Egg cream. A lot of shmontses, that stuff. Like runny soft-boiled. But yeah, I’ll take a Manhattan Special. There’s something sweet about rank coffee in a bottle.
TEX:
Yeah, no offense TEX, but we’re in New York over here. An RC cola and a moon pie? We’ll send out to the Pennsylvania Dutch for those, how’s that?
stevenh:
And thanks for picking me up the bagel. Next time maybe a blintz with a slice of apple and a nice glass of tea.
Randall:
glass of tea with a cube of sugar. bite & sip. damn, I haven’t done that in a long time.
smurff, (133),
“For those that want to know – there are about 612 species world wide.”
WHAAATTT????
Bristowe (ibid., 1971):
“The present list of British and irish species now stands at 584, and others will be added as the years go by.”
and:
“There do not seem to be many estimates for the total number of spiders in the world, however Coddington and Levi (1991) predicted that there may be as many as 170 000 species.”
Apropos to my 142, I’ve just read the topic heading estimate of currently known speices worldwide as 40,000. Sorry stevenh.
Can’t find the bit on birds. Would you mind repeating? Poisonous? I.e. you suffer if you eat them or their products? Or venemous? They use chemical substances to kill or assist in killing?
I have to say the stories submitted in the comments are just as interesting(and more creepy) than the list itself. I am a afraid of spiders but I was able to read through the list up until that spider colony video: Urgh!!! A single spider is bad enough but dozens of then in the same spot with a ton of spider-web hanging from and around the trees *shudder* stuff of nightmares!
I know that those spiders are not going to harm me or anything and I admire all their good traits but it still didn’t keep me from wishing someone would take a high powered jet spray and blast through all that web.
They are already harvesting and using spider silk for material. They put the protein making gene of the spider into goats, harvest the protein from the milk, and then spin it into silk. Very interesting story.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/889951.stm
I’ll admit. I did what a few people did and skimmed the comments rather than look at the article. Someone mentioned you can turn off the pictures. sad..I don’t have that option here are work. So…I decided to be brave and read this list (through my fingers). I am still waiting for the chest pains to go away but I made it without fainting.
Very good and the most frightening list.
@143 Anon: Clarifiaction
from list item #9, “…two species of poisonous lizards (Gila monster and beaded lizard), two species of poisonous birds (Hooded Pitohui and Ifrita), and many species of amphibians, fish and jellyfish…”.
@135 made mention of that I said “two species”. There are, in fact, three secies of birds to avoid. The poison resides on/in the feathers. Sort of like a poison frog, only flying. There are no known venomous birds.
See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitohui
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ifrita
Bless you for sticking it out, oouchan!
Anthropophobia:
We detest and stamp on spiders.
vs.
They may be about to save many of our lives with bullet-proof vests. Most of us are probably here today because they have kept our lethal invertebrate pests down to reasonable proportions.
Randall,
I cherish an image of an entry we once made to a Chilean country restaurant. On our approach we noticed the proprietress gently wielding a straw broom to evict something, and crooning to it lovingly to go away and play somewhere else. No sign of a kitten or puppy though. As we passed through the patio, we saw it was a tarantula.
When elder daughter visited, she insisted we stop the jeep and back up, so she could assist one crossing the road.
So okay, if spiders eat insects, would they eat something as hideous as a cockroach ? If so, I ll keep them as pets !
#103 sheltiesan- A fiddleback spider is another name for Brown Recluse.Stay away,kill on sight.
spiders rock! i have had two pet spiders to date. one was a banana spider that lived in the garden, the other was a common little field spider that lived behind my fishing rods in a corner of my bedroom. the first’s name was annie, the second’s name was damien.
as to the taste of tarantulas, i found it to be something like tangy peanut butter, but that might be a result of the way it was cooked.
@149 Anon
In Chile your biggest concern shouldn’t be the tarantulae, but the Chilean recluse spider, or Araña de Rincón. This little fellas are quite poisonous and, if not agressive, really prone to climbing into beds and the like.
Now I have the creepy crawley feeling on my skin. They scare the crap out of me. I am okay with them as long as they stay AWAY from me.
Oh, I am so glad I live in England as I read this!
I have gone all itchy all over my body now!
A great list, stevenh, thanks. I have always liked spiders, as I knew about their taste for other insects. I usually leave them alone, but if I found one in the bedroom, I would help it outside. I remember street vendors in SE Asia selling spiders for food, along with dogs, monkeys, etc. I decided to not try any of that stuff. I think you have to be raised on it to enjoy, or even get it down.
153. POTSW
“@149 Anon
In Chile your biggest concern shouldn’t be the tarantulae, but the Chilean recluse spider, or Araña de Rincón. This little fellas are quite poisonous and, if not agressive, really prone to climbing into beds and the like.”
I have posted quite a bit here, but please also read my posts 110 & 136 (my typo in the latter should have read neurotoxic).
Our house if full of arañitas de rincón, but we always check clothes, towels, etc. and I’ve only ever been bitten by one outside in the garden sheds. I usually capture them in a glass and exile them to the woodshed where there are plenty of pests for them to feed on.
I used to be terrified of spiders, but for some reason I decided to join the wikipedia spiders project. I read a bunch about spiders to research them, and slowly my hate turned to affection. Now I love spiders; they’re amazing.
Re: Spiders shedding – My uncle had a tarantula when I was a kid, and that’s how I learned about them shedding. You don’t think about spiders shedding, really, but it’s pretty neat.
Also, anyone know what the spider in pic 5 is? (Provided it isn’t a shopped pic, of course.)
16. neddie-
those avondale buddies of yours did indeed star in arachnophobia. did you know they are also social spiders? how lucky there wasn’t a den of 300 of them under your sink!
i’m very proud of you letting one walk on your hand (despite commonly having legspans of up to 8 inches (20 cm), they’re considered harmless and not aggressive -that’s what made them movie stars
)
oh Randall- damn!
TEX- brown recluses are everywhere where i live (there’s been a dead one between the storm window and top inner window of my bathroom all winter), people who work unpacking dry goods (like my neighbor at a liquor store) just call them “box spiders” as they find them every day in boxes that have sat in a warehouse somewhere! isn’t it weird how small they are?
*i used to be “run from the room screaming, then force someone else to kill it, then avoid that room for up to a day” scared of spiders myself. weirdly i always thought the little colorful jumping spiders that often live on flowers were cute.
i’ve gotten better, now spiders can be in a room with me as long as it’s not over my bed, and i can catch and release them instead of smooshing (usually).
i did see a brazilian wandering spider live and in a building i was staying at in the amazon -it was killed. but i saw a different huge spider on the back of a chair at a dinner table there too (buildings in the jungle typically have roofs over platforms with minimal walls) the people who lived there just said “oh, no one sit there, that spider has a bad, painful poison” and ignored it.
but the spider that could scare even an arachnologist must be Heteropoda maxima the giant huntsman of the greater mekong in laos. with its 12-inch (30cm) legspan, great vision, super-spider-speed, and aggressive demeanor it horrifies me! this spider DOES NOT have a dangerous bite, but it hunts by running up to food (or perceived threats) based on seeing them move, then jumps on them and clings tenaciously! so if there’s one in the corner and you reach out and tap the wall its instinct will be to run up (really, really fast) jump on your hand and wrap its legs around your hand! and probably while biting you. did i mention it’s the size of a dinner plate!!!
ONLY CLICK THIS IF YOU WANT TO SEE A BIG SPIDER:
http://clumpy.blogspot.com/2008/12/heteropoda-maxima-spider-from-hell.html
-the spider in the picture is most likely NOT H. maxima, as it lives in caves and was just discovered about 4 months ago, but it is a big huntsman, somewhere -so imagine one like that but bigger than your face….
Size doesn’t matter.
A question out of curiosity to all you arachnophobes. Is that true? Is a recently hatched spiderling or a tiny adult money spider as terrifying as any other? After all, magnify them to the same size and they all look about the same. Or do other factors such as speed, hairiness and webbiness come into play? And if it is size, what is the ‘critical limit’?
160. Anon: I am ok with the baby ones to look at, but not on me. As for size…about the size of an eraser head on a pencil will do it. Anything bigger and I start to sweat! Other factors don’t come into play as I can’t get past the spider size.
If there was ever something bigger than the tarantula I saw on the highway once, I would need medical attention.
I read a story of a paraplegic man who had been so for 20 years. He was bitten by a brown recluse that caused convulsions in his leg… now he can walk. Awesome.
for me it s the combination of size and speed what does it, although hairiness does not help either ! They can just be so fast, and just run at you ! Freaks me out each time.
I am only afraid of the little ones in a web, meaning I ll freak a bit if they are on me, but won t really panic.
(i am in general afraid of all unpredictable, reasonably fast insects that can run up to you, if they look ugly enough – such as moths. Butterfly s are much more predictable and look nice, so don t cause me any worries. But a moth – god !!!)
Regarding the cobwebs as bandages thing, that trend actually began with the Romans (possibly even Greeks).
Wadded up cobwebs act the same way as gauze- lightweight yet extremely absorbent.
@ Anon 157
Now that’s what I call the words of the wise, the voice of experience.
I’ve never had such intimate contact with these spiders – I’ve just seen them in trips to the countryside (they are called brown spiders where I live).
A relative of mine – quite the aracnophobe, I shall add – lived in Chile for some years, and the rincon spiders literally drove him out of sleep.
If picture 9 is a Funnel Web then Ill eat my hat. That is the puniest Funnel Web Ive ever seen.
@167 Wally: You are probably right about that. The photo was switched by the editor (Jamie?? CYN???)
Funnel Webs are fireplugs compared to the Twiggy in photo #9. I can’t believe that I’ve been on this site all day and I didn’t catch that!
A more accurate picture may be found at :http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/spider/funnelweb.gif
Wally, Thank you for spotting that!
167. Wally-
i agree. it looks more like the much smaller (and harmless) north american funnel webbed spiders.
so googling a comparison i found 2 amazing spots for spider pics:
Field Guide to Venomous and Medically Important Invertebrates Affecting Military Operations: Identification, Biology, Symptoms, Treatment -this one is international and details many dangerous critters:
http://www.afpmb.org/pubs/Field_Guide/field_guide.htm
this one is north american spiders, harmless and harmful, but nice pics:
http://www.cirrusimage.com/spider.htm
wally, i had a link for us too, but i put 2 links in one post, so now it’s in moderation (i thought it kicked in with more than 2 links, not just 2, sigh).
@158 Marina: The picture in this item was swapped by the Jamie or Cyn(my submission had a rather smaller spider on an arm). Alas, I do not know the source or validity of that photo.
Ah, the trials of an author. Always at the mercy of the editor
Wally, (167),
“If picture 9 is a Funnel Web then Ill eat my hat. That is the puniest Funnel Web Ive ever seen.”
I just checked out images of Atrax robustus (FWS) and you are spot on. The one at 9 looks remarkably like one of the common house spiders to me.
Bristowe wrote how those were so bloody fast, that if you made them the same size as someone like Usain Bolt, you could give Bolt an 8.5 seconds start and the spider would still beat him over 100 metres!
I think the Incredible Shrinking Man was pretty lucky. I wonder how a digital remake of that might pan out?
that posey parker guy ruins lots of facades with his mental protein jizz they say
definitely… something must be done with that silk and only 450 gram for 40 000km… that’s awesome.
@170. stevenh – Thanks.
Ah, yes; my parents ran a newspaper, and we did a lot of editing ourselves (we tended to leave our own writing intact, though; the luck of BEING the editor.)
I did find this: http://www.ngsprints.co.uk/South-America-Animals-Insects/c18_19_734/p102896/Large-Tarantula-Spider-on-a-Mans-Arm./product_info.html
Apparently it’s a real picture by a National Geographic photographer, though that doesn’t help on species. Oh well, time for research, I guess.
I am not at all afraid of spiders. I usually do the “catch and release” thing when they get into my house. I was feeling a bit sanctimonious reading about all the silly arachnophobes, when I remembered my own irrational fear – cockroaches. Eeeeeewwwwww!!!! They give me the screaming heebie-jeebies! So, my heart goes out to all of you who don’t like our 8-legged friends. I know how you feel.
When we were in Costa Rica, we saw only one tarantula-type spider, but we saw many Golden Orb spiders – their webs are actually gold-colored! They’re beautiful in the sun.
We also saw a cockroach, but only one, and it was very small. I didn’t even scream.
i ate a tarantula while i was living in china. the taste was nothing great, but what was great was seeing the expressions on everybody else’s faces when they saw a white guy walking around eating this thing on a stick.
151. bigski… Thank you. I did not know they were one and the same. I think I’ve heard a few people say they were, but most of them say they are different. I wasn’t raised where I live, so I must be nice and not say anything.
160. Anon-
i think what scares me most is speed. size + speed makes it worse, but the whole irrational terror thing seems directly tied to how they move.
i became aware of this when i first met some pet tarantulas (i’ve thought of getting one, the ultimate f-you to my residual arachnophobia). there are terrestrial and arboreal tarantulas with different habits, and a few -like the asian ornates- are fast and aggressive, but most of the “beginner pet” species are huge, but slow. a huge, fuzzy, SLOW(er) spider, especially with a more squat compact body plan is hardly scary. but even a much smaller wolf or fishing spider (or huntsman! eek!) with long legs and a super-fast crawl still gets me.
orb-weavers and little jumping or crab spiders also seem pretty harmless to me. this is probably different for everybody, so i’m curious if anyone else thinks that a spider’s style of movement is key to the scare.
176. BooRadley: I would allow a cockroach to crawl around on my face before I would use one finger to touch a spider. Hows that for a visual?
179. lo: nope. they all pretty much scare the bejeezas out of me.
a) so youve tasted crickets?
b) so how will #2 work exactly? modified crop dusters have in their cargo millions of venomous spiders that are all part of some sort of juicing machine?
c) cool picture in #3. wonder if it looks like that for real. it’s probably all grey and made up of a computer program and/or photoshop equivalent. just like the surface of mars.
haha. stupid mars.
I would *****ing love a spider silk sweater!
d) about #4–ever see those pictures of the spider eating a bird?
all my actual viewing of spiders that are eating seem to come mainly from childhood, where my connections to the surrounding outer world seemed , by my view today, much closer and inspective–then again, I have been living in a concrete jungle for years.
e) if freaked out by spiders, remember that if that cave or dank basement or abandoned mine, that you venture into decides to toss onto your naked body a vast amount of arachnids (ok, i wont go into the back story here–way off coarse) then flick.
dont stomp.
because stomping really *****es them off.
f) i had ***** with the spider woman and believe me…DAMN! around the room I spun, let me tell yah.
just foolin.
g) I think the supposed bossman at my job fits into the 39,999 category.
hold on…who am i kidding.
I don’t have a job.
h) well gee, thats why. we humans must know that the spider can learn from us.
lonely hunters that gather together form a bond, also known as “get a load of his/my fangs” complex, and that one % becomes the hunted.
I) aaahh, the Anelosimus eximius. yes of coarse, the Anelosimus eximius! ( i had to copy and paste that. I’m a poor actor)
ok. so a 25 foot nest would equal to something like a major ***** fest with the potential of kudzu? I’m just kidding, but still. Anelosimus eximius, if you can hear me…i know you can do better.
j) had an experience of filling bathtubs and sinks with water because of being evacuated, due to acts of god, and then returning later to find the tub had attracted and drowned a large number of them.
k) I think all spider warnings on this list should now say :
Warning: contains stuff that my freak out those with DSM-IV –TR: 300.29 (please refer to this list if you dont understand)
xxxxoooo: enjoyed the read. thanks stevenh