The Vegetarian Spider

[Malthus]

Nice, what is that?  The biggest spiders we have at our house are corn spiders, the females of which get very large and colorful. 



We had two females living on the outside walls of our house (one on the front, and one on the back) all summer.

That's a great picture! Did you take it?

Mine is of a so-called "Dock Spider". Also known as the "Fishing Spider", they are as you can see very "muscular" in build and adapted for fast running, rather than web-weaving. As the name suggests, they are often found near water and can 'walk' on water or even submerge themselves in search of underwater prey (they keep an air supply in a bubble around their abdomens). Some species are said to make underwater habitats and fill them with air from their bubbles, but I've never actually seen this.

They are alleged to have a powerful and painful bite, but not particularly poisionous to humans. I've never been bitten by one.

They grow extremely large, as you can see; this is an average-sized one. Some have hand-sized legspans. Very startling when they scuttle across your torso while sunning on the dock.

http://www.ottertooth.com/Temagami/Nature/fishingspider.htm

[MadImmortalMan]

Mal's looks like a type of wolf spider. Mrs. MIM would know for sure.

[Caliga]

That's a great picture! Did you take it?

Nope, not my photo (but the two I had looked identical).

Ok, yeah, we have fishing spiders in Kentucky, too... but I've never actually seen one.

[Josquius]

Spiders are awesome. Dude, they eat mosquitoes and gnats and shit.

Regular temperate climate spiders that is.
Those beasts you have in warmer climates on the other hand....

[Caliga]

uh... they're large but perfectly harmless.  The poisonous spiders we have here (the brown recluse, black widow) are actually quite small.

[DisturbedPervert]

I kill any spiders I encounter.  At least, I'll tell someone else to kill them for me.  Insects can be killed with toxic poisons, geckos, and anteaters instead.

[Caliga]

I kill any spiders I encounter.

[Syt]

[DisturbedPervert]

Actually unless it's in my home, first priority is escape.   

[Malthus]

Spiders are awesome. Dude, they eat mosquitoes and gnats and shit.

Regular temperate climate spiders that is.
Those beasts you have in warmer climates on the other hand....

Heh, Dock Spiders actually live in (among other places) northern Quebec - a cold climate indeed; they still grow to an impressively huge size. 

[Malthus]

Forget vegetarian spiders; that thing's big enough to be a humanitarian. 

[Malthus]

A video on the spider silk tapestry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z07dB3sKTs

[Lettow77]

 I hate brown recluses. I have a bit of a phobia of those fellows, as they like to hide in the worst possible places- under towels in the bathroom, and the like. I have a kill on sight policy.

Their status as a 'Southern' spider has done little to preserve them from my wrath.

[Caliga]

I hate brown recluses. I have a bit of a phobia of those fellows, as they like to hide in the worst possible places- under towels in the bathroom, and the like. I have a kill on sight policy.

Do you actually know for sure you have them?  We have spiders that I at first thought were brown recluses, but did some research and then later realized they were actually grass spiders.  I've never seen a spider in my house that I was 100% sure was a recluse.  Princesca insists she saw a black widow once but I am skeptical.

[Lettow77]

 Oh, yeah. Done careful comparisons. They infest old sheds, abandoned clothes heaps, any sort of place they might be able to get me, which I am sure is their goal.

Definetely brown recluses. Memphis is pretty much the heart of brown recluse territory; I think we might have a denser population in west TN than anywhere else.