Spiders!

[Kilarin]

A whole bunch of Yellow Garden Spiders (Argiope aurantia).

Two (or more) webs in the sun:


Hanging in the sky:



Spinnerettes:


Supper time:


Just me and my shadow:



Higher res versions of the above:

[CDN_Merlin]

Nice pics. But man I hate spiders. But I'd still take pics of them if I had the chance.

[Pandora]

Great photos, Kilarin! How large are they in real life?

[Spooky]

░

[Kilarin]

Thank you for the kind comments! I'm not much of a photographer.

But man I hate spiders

I still have to psych myself up to let them actually touch me, but I'm getting better at that.
My 8 year old son considers all the spiders in the yard his pets, he likes to feed them grasshoppers.
What's really cool is the huge female wolf spiders running around carrying their egg sacs.

Stalks Unsuspecting Computer Users while using CAD Programs

Nice CAD work!

How large are they in real life?

And for our European friends:

[Pandora]

Neat! - and thanks for the european version
So they are quite large, actually. The white stuff coming out of the head is a strand of the net they are spinning?

[Blue]

Wow they're big.

[Tunnelcat]

Good god! In what part of the world are these monsters located?

The biggest ones we have are Wolf Spiders and they can get to about an inch and a half in size. Damn near had a heart attack when I came face to face with one that was on a wall in my house, and they can move fast!

[Dedman]

When I lived in Florida those things were everywhere. The first time I saw one is when I darn near walk through the middle of it's web. Freaky.

[Kilarin]

So they are quite large, actually.

Wow they're big.

The first time I saw one is when I darn near walk through the middle of it's web. Freaky

Yeah, they can be a bit intimidating at times. Especially when you blunder into one at eye level unexpectedly. Been there, done that.

The white stuff coming out of the head is a strand of the net they are spinning?

The big white zig-zag was spun when they first made the web. The spider is sitting on top of it, not spinning it at the moment.

The zig-zag is called a stabilimenta because biologists originally thought this was used to stabilize the web. But that theory is now in decline while the new popular theories are that the zig-zag is either to reflect ultra violet light and attract bugs, or to camouflage the spider when it sits in the center. There are a lot of other theories about it as well. Which boils down to, no one really knows why some species of spiders build big zig-zags into their webs.

The spiders pictured sitting in the center of the webs are sitting right over the zig-zag, that's why it looks sort of like the web is coming out of their heads, but spiders don't actually spin webs from their heads. The webs come out of the Spinnerets on their abdomen. You can just barely make out a thin thread of web coming from the spinnerets of the spider in this picture:

The spinneret is the 5 lobed vaguely flower shaped structure near the end of the abdomen. There is a very thin thread stretching from the spinneret to a branch on the bush. You can just make it out as it crosses the green leaf.
Check it out in the high res version and you can see it much more clearly:


orb weavers almost always have a safety line like this, just like mountain climbers do. If anything happens and they drop or are knocked out of the web, instead of just falling to who knows where, they are anchored to a solid known spot that they can climb back to.

And the spider silk can certainly take the load. It's five times as strong as steel of the same density.

In what part of the world are these monsters located?

These are from Texas, South of Ft. Worth. Big State, Big Spiders.

[Top Wop]

Holy crap thats ugly.

KILL IT!!!

[DigiJo]

eeek, level 12 endboss... *must charge fusion*

[Tunnelcat]

Damn, those things will require multiple Shaker missiles at least.

[CDN_Merlin]

eeek, level 12 endboss... *must charge fusion*

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA

100% True Descenter.

[Capm]

wolf spiders get bigger than inch and a half here, they're normally just as big as that garden spider here, I've seen them up to 4 inches

[Kyouryuu]

The last couple years, we've had these bizarre mutant spiders in Washington State. Big black spiders that are about as big as these and lurk around in corners. It always startles me to see them. >_>

[grizz]

My son worked here http://www.spiderpharm.com/ for a couple of years, up until he left for college last week.

It's an interesting feeling walking through the place, with nearly 100,000 spider in racks stacked higher than your head.

Everything from brown recluse to tarantulas from Martinique bigger than your hand that hiss at you.

[CDN_Merlin]

Kilarin, what lens did you use for these pics? I'm assuming you used a DSLR with a Macro lens?

[SuperSheep]

Not sure what kind of spider this is, but I found this just hanging out on a post in our entryway.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1311/121 ... 2942_o.jpg

Kilarin...

I've personally come across those spiders when I was a kid and almost ran headfirst into one in a field. The spider was as large as my head.

[MD-2389]

All thats missing from this thread is roid's cat.

Capm: I've seen them as big as 2 1/2 inches here. Brave suckers too! They'll jump right on your arm and just stare at you. They're all over the place out here too!

[JMEaT]

Got one of them living in my bushes out front. Creepy lookin critters.

I have pics somewhere in my massive collection of digital camera pics....

[Kilarin]

My son worked here http://www.spiderpharm.com/ for a couple of years,

That would be incredibly cool!

Kilarin, what lens did you use for these pics? I'm assuming you used a DSLR with a Macro lens?

I've got a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10K. It's only 4 megapixles, so a little behind the times, but its a nice camera. No special lens needed for macro shots, just put it into macro mode, zoom all the way out, and get as close to the subject as you can.

Sometimes it works, like with this interesting spiky little brown spider (no clue what kind it is):


And sometimes it doesn't, as with this closeup of a wasp and nest. I had to reach way up to take the shots, so I couldn't see how it was focusing. I took like 12 shots and in every one got a really nice view of the nest and eggs, blurry wasp. <sigh>

Not sure what kind of spider this is, but I found this just hanging out on a post in our entryway

Dang, but he looks a LOT like the spider I just shot this evening (above). Who knows, might be the same mystery species.

wolf spiders get bigger than inch and a half here

I've seen them as big as 2 1/2 inches here. Brave suckers too! They'll jump right on your arm and just stare at you.

Yeah, Wolf spiders are incredible. My son catches them and keeps them for a few hours to watch before he lets them go again. Sometimes they look as big as your hand. I was hoping to catch a picture of one of the big females with her egg sack, but I couldn't stir any of them up this evening.

There was also a cute little salty (jumping spider), fuzzy black with jewel like green markings. Unfortunately, but the time I got the camera out, it went hunting after other prey.
The salty's are a bit intimidating at times. They may be tiny, but they have excellent eyesight. They will stare at you, shake their front legs in the air, and you can just see in their attitude that they are thinking, "yeah, I could take that..."

[Grendel]

Yeah, Wolf spiders are incredible. My son catches them and keeps them for a few hours to watch before he lets them go again.

Ugh -- watch it, some species may bite and cause necrotic lesions through sepsis.

[Kilarin]

watch it, some species may bite and cause necrotic lesions through sepsis.

Oh yes. He doesn't like to touch them, or even get too close to them. He just collects them in a jar, drops them into his mini terrarium. Feeds em bugs for a few hours, then dumps them back into the yard.

Wolf Spiders are about as dangerous as wasps or bees, but less likely to bite since they don't fly around all over the place.

Actually, while I know that they do bite, I don't think I've ever heard of anyone who was actually bitten by a wolf spider here in Texas. When I was a kid we used to poor water in their holes until they came to the surface, then flip them out with a stick and catch them in a jar. Was kind of a contest to see who could catch the biggest. And I don't remember ANYONE ever being bitten. Whereas, we didn't mess with wasps or bees on purpose, but I remember lots of us getting stung. Wolf Spiders must be VERY non-aggressive, because we certainly provoked them.

[grizz]

I grew up in a rural area of north Texas, and there was still quite a lot of superstition / misinformation about spiders in general, and tarantulas in particular.

I can remember watching adults, terrified, yelling as they tried to kill a tarantula with a long handled hoe, certain they could jump 20 ft, and had a deadly bite.

I let them crawl onto my hand all the time, handle them gently, and even scratch their back. Haven't been bit yet.

There are only a few species that have the potential to be deadly, and with tarantulas the biggest worry is infection, as the venom is no worse than a bee sting.

[MD-2389]

Actually, while I know that they do bite, I don't think I've ever heard of anyone who was actually bitten by a wolf spider here in Texas.

I actually got bit by one, but that was only because I had stepped on it by accident. I had just started to put my foot down when I felt this slight stinging sensation. I picked up my foot and watched one take off running. Funny thing is, I let it crawl on my hand and it didn't do a thing. I took it back outside and found it a nice quiet place to make a web. I really don't think it injected much (if any) venom. All I had was a small pink bump the size of a day old zit which was gone in an hour.

[TIGERassault]

Nah, spiders are fine, even cute! I'm a lot more cautious about the big grey moths around my area. Mainly because I saw one spray a window pane with venom while in a fight with another moth, and man that was a lot of venom! Bright orange too!

[Grendel]

o_O

Must have been Mothra..

[Tunnelcat]

Eeeeeeek! Just found a Hobo spider today that was almost two and a half inches across, a new record for any I've found in my yard. It took off before I could get my camera.

Hobo spiders are poisonous and they will bite when threatened. The bite will swell and then can become necrotic, VEEEEERY nasty!

Unfortunately, they look very similar to the common house spider, so you don't want to make a mistake when getting near one and the #$%@ Hobo spiders will get into the house on occasion!

I've had Bull snakes get in my garage and they will bite if you try to grab them, but they're not poisonous at least.

[Grendel]

Just found a Hobo spider today that was almost two and a half inches across, a new record for any I've found in my yard.

Most likely not a hobo

Furthermore, identification of spiders is a specialist skill and an average hospital doctor cannot be relied on to make an accurate identification of a spider species without a good microscope, some specialist spider literature, and considerable experience. A diagnosis at-a-glance by a non-expert, comparing a spider with a photo, is almost completely worthless.

[Kilarin]

a good site with lots of info about spiders, in particular about spider myths, is The Spider Myths Site by Rod Crawford of the University of Washington.

[TIGERassault]

a good site with lots of info about spiders, in particular about spider myths, is The Spider Myths Site by Rod Crawford of the University of Washington.

Nice site you got there, Kil!

"Camel spiders" in Iraq are a foot long, lay eggs under camels' skin, and run 25 miles per hour screaming like a banshee.

Heheheh! I wonder who the hell actually believed this stuff...

[MD-2389]

Most likely not a hobo

Theres plenty of those suckers around here too. They're damn quick too.

[Grendel]

Huh ? You are in the northwest ?

[Tunnelcat]

Grendel,

I was referring to the total leg span when I said two and a half inches, but you may be right about it not being a Hobo.

There are three types of spiders that look very similar to each other around here in Corvallis, Oregon, House (eeeewwwww), Hobo (maybe?) and Wolf, and I'm not a specialist on spider identification. There is also some controversy about the toxicity of Hobo spider bites among doctors, so it's best to be safe around these spiders. They all can move very fast!

I've also read conflicting information about the range of Hobo spiders. Some say they live in the Pacific Northwest, some say they don't, so I can't be sure if they even live here. Need to do more research.

[Grendel]

Hey, I'm in Cv too.. We could meet over a coffee at the Beanery

[MD-2389]

Huh ? You are in the northwest ?

Southeast actually.

[woodchip]

Well you Arachniphobes ought to like this:

\"An enormous spider web has been found at Lake Tawakoni State Park, Texas, US.\"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6972062.stm

[Kilarin]

sorry for necroposting, but I just ran into this vid:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/816530/sc ... iders_web/
The spider looks like the same kind of yellow garden spider that is living all over my yard.

THIS particular spider though, has something interesting happen to it. A scorpion falls into it's web...

[Kiran]

Ran into this thing a few moments ago. I was reaching for the paper towel when I noticed it.



Imagine my reaction afterwards
I didn't know if it'll bite or if it's just another of those nuisances that likes to make me scream bloody murder each time I see one, but I took a picture of it and hopped on Kali hoping that someone would be there to tell me that the spider isn't harmful. Luckily, MD-2389 was kind enough to look at the picture and tell me that it'll be okay. Isn't he such a sweet man? (sometimes ). Eventually, with a broom, I got up the nerve to try to carry it outside. I got as far as out the door when it jumped out and I unleashed another scream, which brought out my neighbors. The guys were kind enough to take care of the spider and get it out of my apartment... and killed it unfortunately.

Men can be such wonderful people when a girl needs them