Arachnophobia anyone? - Page 5 - Never Forgotten: a Foster's Home Community

pitbulllady · 01-07-2007, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrickyDisco

Ooo creepy crawlies!

Now I love the spiders, people think I'm nuts when I see one and gently take it outside...everybody else usually freaks out!
We even have a bunch of various spideys all over my parents house and they cannot imagine getting rid of them.
Last summer we had quite a few, with some newcomers fighting the regulars over the best spots by the house. I of course got pics of one of the "fights" which were sometimes brutal!

The defending spider (the brown one) started getting attacked by that red one, and both they and the web dissapeared. We were getting worried but then the brown one returned a couple of days later and just spun a new web in like, minutes.

I have more pics of that "fight" here if you want to take a look. Photographing Spiders is fun!

Uhm, actually, what you photographed there wasn't WAR, but LOVE...well, the spider version of love anyway! That smaller reddish-colored spider is a male Common Orb Weaver(Araneus diadematus), and that big fat brown one is the female! They were MATING, not fighting! Of course, she most likely did wind up eating him after he'd accomplished what he'd set out to do, which is why she returned, and he was a no-show!

pitbulllady

Partymember · 01-08-2007, 01:05 PM

spidey smut...wonderful

pitbulllady · 01-08-2007, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Partymember

spidey smut...wonderful

Betcha never thought you'd be seeing THAT on a Foster's Home forum, now did you?

pitbulllady

Cassini90125 · 03-19-2007, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tonya

For the spiderphobic people, tell all about your encounters with spiders. And yes, the thread is even for the spider lovers as well.

Spider lovers should love this:

http://www.livescience.com/animalwor...t_spiders.html

pitbulllady · 03-21-2007, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassini90125

Spider lovers should love this:

http://www.livescience.com/animalwor...t_spiders.html

I'd never kept Whipscorpions together before(and this article is about Tailless Whipscorpions, which look like something H.R. Geiger would have thought up), but I have observed such interactions among Kukulcania hibernalis, or Black Crevice Spiders, many times. They live in colonies, and I've actually seen several females using what can only be described as "pack' behavior to take down really large insects, including a big Chinese Mantis. Some tarantulas in the genus Pamphoboteus will also do this, and have actually been documented ganging up on and killing half-grown chickens, earning them the local nickname of "Chicken Spiders"! I've seen my own tarantulas pick up an empty water dish in their fangs and strut around with it until they got my attention-and got the water dish re-filled-so there seems to be a bit more to the arachnid brain that most people previously thought!

pitbulllady

Fomalhaut · 03-26-2007, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pitbulllady

Uhm, actually, what you photographed there wasn't WAR, but LOVE...well, the spider version of love anyway! That smaller reddish-colored spider is a male Common Orb Weaver(Araneus diadematus), and that big fat brown one is the female! They were MATING, not fighting! Of course, she most likely did wind up eating him after he'd accomplished what he'd set out to do, which is why she returned, and he was a no-show!

pitbulllady

I have seen a similar scene in my grandma's garden, too... the female ended up chasing the male one away, but he kept on going back for like, days... didn't see how it ended, though... anyway I have read so much about how they try to mate, and it was so wonderful to see it live, I mean, how the male one started to pick at the female's web until she noticed! It was great to watch.

Fomalhaut · 09-24-2008, 06:13 AM

Drastic fears call for drastic measures...

Lynnie · 09-24-2008, 08:38 PM

Ay ay ay, I don't know if I'd have the courage to do that. Some guts you've got then, Fomal. Good for you!

I don't think I'd call myself an arachnophobe as I'm not really scared of them, I just don't like them all that much, and if one startles me I can have a near heart attack.

I remember once when I was 9 or 10, I was in bed and just about to doze off, when I felt something tickle my arm. I opened my eyes to see, in the dim light of my bedroom, a quarter sized spider crawling over my bare arm. Yeah, I nearly had a heart attack. There's few things as unpleasant as being aroused from slumber to not only see but feel a creature you know could have a harmful bite crawling on you. I remember throwing my covers over it, hoping to trap it there long enough for me to run to the restroom and get some tissue. I don't remember if I had plans to kill it or release it out my window, although I have to admit after being frightened to such an extent, I was probably planning on killing it so I wouldn't have to worry about waking up to find it touching me again. When I got back from the bathroom it was gone.

I then remember not sleeping much that night.

Another memory of spiders was when I was 11 and my family was camping in Colorado. There was a giant spider living in the ladies restroom at the campground. Seriously, I didn't even know such big spiders were in the US, I'm wondering if it was an escaped pet. It must have been 7-8 inches long. And yes, it was real and alive, I saw it walking. I was so creeped out by it I didn't want to go to the restroom after dark, and when I went during the day, I made sure I found where it was before I went about my business- always on the opposite side of the building if I could help it. It liked to hide behind the toilets, in the corner under the sinks and sometimes in the showers. It was light brown, thin and virtually hairless, unlike a tarantula which are stocky and covered in hair. I have no idea what kind it was, but it was big.

And yet another memory took place later that year, after my 12th birthday, when I was on a campout/field trip with my school. My friends and I were gathered around the campfire eating when I saw something move from behind one of my best friends. I looked closer and out from the shadows marched a tarantula. I screamed, and gave everyone else a heart attack. And again, the reason for my scream was merely because it startled me and I didn't like that in the least. It must have been drawn to the fire by the heat because it marched right into the firepit.

We saw a lot of dead tarantulas while on the outing too, after getting caught by birds or raccoons or something. They were all over the place in that park. I only saw two live ones, though. I didn't scream when I saw the other one because it didn't startle me so bad.

Now, I dislike spiders I suppose, but I respect them, and they can make cool pets. I greatly admire the beautiful webs they weave, and the beautiful colors they can be too. And if a small one crawls on me, I'll let it explore a little before letting it go outside somewhere. It's mostly just the big ones that I don't like, I guess, and I never like them startling me, which they seem to be very good at doing. But I'm not one to heartlessly kill them just because I don't like them. That's just plain mean.

They eat mosquitoes. Mosquitoes carry West Nile and Malaria. So spiders are our friends.

Scorpions though, no. Don't ask. I'm terrified to the depths of my soul of those things. No exceptions.

Fomalhaut · 09-25-2008, 01:58 AM

Thank you (and it's Fomal, without the R, I know I keep on ranting about this...), umm, the caretaker told me it couldn't bite, and it was tame. It was really soft and nice to touch, btw.

...live tarantulas? Giant spiders...? Do I really want to go to the US?

You know what is weird? The kind of spider I am the most afraid of are actually those horrid long-legged *things* we can see in our homes. I don't like those that have either disproportionately long legs, or too large abdomens, measured to the rest of their body. A tarantula or cross-spider at least (most of the time) looks like a spider, not a heap of legs or a huge ball with some little thingies.

Lynnie · 09-25-2008, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fomalhaut

Thank you (and it's Fomal, without the R, I know I keep on ranting about this...), umm, the caretaker told me it couldn't bite, and it was tame. It was really soft and nice to touch, btw.

...live tarantulas? Giant spiders...? Do I really want to go to the US?

You know what is weird? The kind of spider I am the most afraid of are actually those horrid long-legged *things* we can see in our homes. I don't like those that have either disproportionately long legs, or too large abdomens, measured to the rest of their body. A tarantula or cross-spider at least (most of the time) looks like a spider, not a heap of legs or a huge ball with some little thingies.

Oops. So sorry Fomal.

I fixed it.

We certainly have wild tarantulas here in the southern plains and deserts, and scorpions too. *shudders* But that one living in the ladies restroom I'm almost certain was an escaped pet, because I don't think any of our local spiders get that big. And even if by chance there is a species or two that gets up to 8 inches long, I doubt they'd be in the mountains or even high plains of Colorado, where it gets very cold in the winter.

Are you talking about "Daddy Longlegs"? Yeah, they're kind of creepy. And although I don't dislike them as much as others, after hearing that they have one of the most poisonous bites of any other spider in the world, I'm a little intimidated by them. Even if their mouths are too small to bite a human, I keep thinking there could be some way that little bugger can inject its venom into me.

01-08-2007, 01:05 PM	#42
Partymember super-scientist GO TEAM VENTURE! Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Lake George Posts: 1,500	spidey smut...wonderful __________________ Think you used enough dynamite there, Butch?

09-24-2008, 06:13 AM	#47
Fomalhaut Who speaks like Goo and sings like Eurotrish Sing with me, Eurotrish! Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: The world of dreams Posts: 935	Drastic fears call for drastic measures... __________________ "Up in the sky, there's a star for everyone" Last edited by Fomalhaut; 09-24-2008 at 06:14 AM.

09-24-2008, 08:38 PM	#48
Lynnie Lady of Brightwood Dream maker, wherever you're going I'm going your way Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: The Emerald City, in the Evergreen State, where everything is GREEN Posts: 2,419	Ay ay ay, I don't know if I'd have the courage to do that. Some guts you've got then, Fomal. Good for you! I don't think I'd call myself an arachnophobe as I'm not really scared of them, I just don't like them all that much, and if one startles me I can have a near heart attack. I remember once when I was 9 or 10, I was in bed and just about to doze off, when I felt something tickle my arm. I opened my eyes to see, in the dim light of my bedroom, a quarter sized spider crawling over my bare arm. Yeah, I nearly had a heart attack. There's few things as unpleasant as being aroused from slumber to not only see but feel a creature you know could have a harmful bite crawling on you. I remember throwing my covers over it, hoping to trap it there long enough for me to run to the restroom and get some tissue. I don't remember if I had plans to kill it or release it out my window, although I have to admit after being frightened to such an extent, I was probably planning on killing it so I wouldn't have to worry about waking up to find it touching me again. When I got back from the bathroom it was gone. I then remember not sleeping much that night. Another memory of spiders was when I was 11 and my family was camping in Colorado. There was a giant spider living in the ladies restroom at the campground. Seriously, I didn't even know such big spiders were in the US, I'm wondering if it was an escaped pet. It must have been 7-8 inches long. And yes, it was real and alive, I saw it walking. I was so creeped out by it I didn't want to go to the restroom after dark, and when I went during the day, I made sure I found where it was before I went about my business- always on the opposite side of the building if I could help it. It liked to hide behind the toilets, in the corner under the sinks and sometimes in the showers. It was light brown, thin and virtually hairless, unlike a tarantula which are stocky and covered in hair. I have no idea what kind it was, but it was big. And yet another memory took place later that year, after my 12th birthday, when I was on a campout/field trip with my school. My friends and I were gathered around the campfire eating when I saw something move from behind one of my best friends. I looked closer and out from the shadows marched a tarantula. I screamed, and gave everyone else a heart attack. And again, the reason for my scream was merely because it startled me and I didn't like that in the least. It must have been drawn to the fire by the heat because it marched right into the firepit. We saw a lot of dead tarantulas while on the outing too, after getting caught by birds or raccoons or something. They were all over the place in that park. I only saw two live ones, though. I didn't scream when I saw the other one because it didn't startle me so bad. Now, I dislike spiders I suppose, but I respect them, and they can make cool pets. I greatly admire the beautiful webs they weave, and the beautiful colors they can be too. And if a small one crawls on me, I'll let it explore a little before letting it go outside somewhere. It's mostly just the big ones that I don't like, I guess, and I never like them startling me, which they seem to be very good at doing. But I'm not one to heartlessly kill them just because I don't like them. That's just plain mean. They eat mosquitoes. Mosquitoes carry West Nile and Malaria. So spiders are our friends. Scorpions though, no. Don't ask. I'm terrified to the depths of my soul of those things. No exceptions. __________________ MySpace-Facebook-LiveJournal-Y!Profile-Dragon Cave Last edited by Lynnie; 09-25-2008 at 08:07 PM. Reason: I must spell her name right! ;)

09-25-2008, 01:58 AM	#49
Fomalhaut Who speaks like Goo and sings like Eurotrish Sing with me, Eurotrish! Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: The world of dreams Posts: 935	Thank you (and it's Fomal, without the R, I know I keep on ranting about this...), umm, the caretaker told me it couldn't bite, and it was tame. It was really soft and nice to touch, btw. ...live tarantulas? Giant spiders...? Do I really want to go to the US? You know what is weird? The kind of spider I am the most afraid of are actually those horrid long-legged things we can see in our homes. I don't like those that have either disproportionately long legs, or too large abdomens, measured to the rest of their body. A tarantula or cross-spider at least (most of the time) looks like a spider, not a heap of legs or a huge ball with some little thingies. __________________ "Up in the sky, there's a star for everyone"