This is different and worthy of note ...
http://features.csmonitor.com/globalnews/2009/10/13/bagheera-kiplingi-a-vegetarian-spider-joins-worlds-jungle-book/
... though it isn't a pure vegetarian; it backslides a bit with the occasional ant snack. :D
And, in further spider news, obsessive types make very expensive but nice tapestry out of spider silk:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113223398
What is it with you and creepies Malthus?
G.
Quote from: Grallon on November 25, 2009, 10:52:19 AM
What is it with you and creepies Malthus?
G.
I like 'em. I think they are fasinating. The fact that there are still new and bizzare species to be found makes me happy; that some people are so obsessed as to actually milk spiders for silk fills me with glee.
In a perfect world, I'd have been very happy as an eccentric 19th century naturalist. An independantly wealthy one, of course. :D
Plus you can chat to Carl about these things, nice to have a shared interest.
Damn PETAtards have even gotten to the spiders now. :ultra:
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on November 25, 2009, 11:03:15 AM
Plus you can chat to Carl about these things, nice to have a shared interest.
Yup.
He spotted this one (previously posted) at the cottage, and asked me to take a picture of it:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Flh6.ggpht.com%2F_3rl525N3Ig4%2FSr_dmji4OwI%2FAAAAAAAAADQ%2Fi2Ix8sK0UKs%2Fs800%2FDSC02975.JPG&hash=babbeb5c05a5df2c9aede1fb46289c5d0d44140e)
Nice, what is that? The biggest spiders we have at our house are corn spiders, the females of which get very large and colorful. :)
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm1.static.flickr.com%2F124%2F353225461_6a84da8a76_o.jpg&hash=00319a34604341f202d8202c95779452ed18b20c)
We had two females living on the outside walls of our house (one on the front, and one on the back) all summer.
Quote from: Malthus on November 25, 2009, 11:08:52 AM
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on November 25, 2009, 11:03:15 AM
Plus you can chat to Carl about these things, nice to have a shared interest.
Yup.
He spotted this one (previously posted) at the cottage, and asked me to take a picture of it:
Dear God. :bleeding:
:huh: Spiders are awesome. :cool: Dude, they eat mosquitoes and gnats and shit.
Quote from: Malthus on November 25, 2009, 10:32:52 AM
... though it isn't a pure vegetarian; it backslides a bit with the occasional ant snack. :D
Like those "meat is murder, fish is justifiable homicide" types.
Nice find, malthus.
The article, not the picture, I've seen it before.
Quote from: Brazen on November 25, 2009, 11:22:26 AM
Quote from: Malthus on November 25, 2009, 10:32:52 AM
... though it isn't a pure vegetarian; it backslides a bit with the occasional ant snack. :D
Like those "meat is murder, fish is justifiable homicide" types.
Probably gets holier-than-thou about carbon emissions and the recycling of old webs too <_<
Whilst running an Aga.
Give up that worthless law career and come to the University of Wyoming, Malthus - they do all sorts of spider silk research here.
Quote from: Caliga on November 25, 2009, 11:13:36 AM
Nice, what is that? The biggest spiders we have at our house are corn spiders, the females of which get very large and colorful. :)
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm1.static.flickr.com%2F124%2F353225461_6a84da8a76_o.jpg&hash=00319a34604341f202d8202c95779452ed18b20c)
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
Mal's looks like a type of wolf spider. Mrs. MIM would know for sure.
Quote from: Malthus on November 25, 2009, 11:30:53 AM
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.
Quote from: Caliga on November 25, 2009, 11:19:42 AM
:huh: Spiders are awesome. :cool: 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....
uh... they're large but perfectly harmless. The poisonous spiders we have here (the brown recluse, black widow) are actually quite small.
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.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi107.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fm316%2FGuttermouthSIN%2Fhealth_bar_spider.jpg&hash=3334c18160676136d7992216ffa388b8d04ac69f)
Actually unless it's in my home, first priority is escape.
Quote from: Tyr on November 25, 2009, 12:47:31 PM
Quote from: Caliga on November 25, 2009, 11:19:42 AM
:huh: Spiders are awesome. :cool: 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.
Quote from: Syt on November 25, 2009, 01:02:56 PM
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi107.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fm316%2FGuttermouthSIN%2Fhealth_bar_spider.jpg&hash=3334c18160676136d7992216ffa388b8d04ac69f)
Forget
vegetarian spiders; that thing's big enough to be a
humanitarian. :D
A video on the spider silk tapestry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z07dB3sKTs
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.
Quote from: Lettow77 on November 25, 2009, 03:57:15 PM
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.
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.
Quote from: Lettow77 on November 25, 2009, 04:02:49 PM
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.
Are they the secret weapons of the South...?
The South shall rise again - on eight legs.
Quote from: Caliga on November 25, 2009, 11:19:42 AM
:huh: Spiders are awesome. :cool: Dude, they eat mosquitoes and gnats and shit.
I like Raid. It eats mosquitoes and gnats and shit
and spiders.
Quote from: garbon on November 25, 2009, 05:07:48 PM
Quote from: Caliga on November 25, 2009, 11:19:42 AM
:huh: Spiders are awesome. :cool: Dude, they eat mosquitoes and gnats and shit.
I like Raid. It eats mosquitoes and gnats and shit and spiders.
I see you opened the thread - you must have on some level a curiousity about spiders. :D
Quote from: Malthus on November 26, 2009, 11:47:38 AM
I see you opened the thread - you must have on some level a curiousity about spiders. :D
It's like a horror film. :D :blush:
There's a reason I live high in a concrete tower: No spider can get anywhere near me.
Quote from: garbon on November 25, 2009, 05:07:48 PM
Quote from: Caliga on November 25, 2009, 11:19:42 AM
:huh: Spiders are awesome. :cool: Dude, they eat mosquitoes and gnats and shit.
I like Raid. It eats mosquitoes and gnats and shit and spiders.
Who the hell wants to spray poisonous chemicals around their apartment/house if it's not necessary though?
Quote from: Neil on November 26, 2009, 08:38:01 PM
There's a reason I live high in a concrete tower: No spider can get anywhere near me.
Untrue: I had a rather large one set up shop outside my window when I worked on the 44th floor.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on November 26, 2009, 09:05:53 PM
Who the hell wants to spray poisonous chemicals around their apartment/house if it's not necessary though?
If there are spiders, it is necessary.
Quote from: Malthus on November 27, 2009, 09:55:04 AM
Quote from: Neil on November 26, 2009, 08:38:01 PM
There's a reason I live high in a concrete tower: No spider can get anywhere near me.
Untrue: I had a rather large one set up shop outside my window when I worked on the 44th floor.
I wonder what it ate.
Quote from: Neil on November 27, 2009, 12:31:49 PM
Quote from: Malthus on November 27, 2009, 09:55:04 AM
Quote from: Neil on November 26, 2009, 08:38:01 PM
There's a reason I live high in a concrete tower: No spider can get anywhere near me.
Untrue: I had a rather large one set up shop outside my window when I worked on the 44th floor.
I wonder what it ate.
The souls of lawyers... poor thing ended up starving to death :(
Quote from: HVC on November 27, 2009, 12:45:02 PM
Quote from: Neil on November 27, 2009, 12:31:49 PM
Quote from: Malthus on November 27, 2009, 09:55:04 AM
Quote from: Neil on November 26, 2009, 08:38:01 PM
There's a reason I live high in a concrete tower: No spider can get anywhere near me.
Untrue: I had a rather large one set up shop outside my window when I worked on the 44th floor.
I wonder what it ate.
The souls of lawyers... poor thing ended up starving to death :(
heh there's an evolutionary dead end for ya.
Quote from: Neil on November 27, 2009, 12:31:49 PM
Quote from: Malthus on November 27, 2009, 09:55:04 AM
Quote from: Neil on November 26, 2009, 08:38:01 PM
There's a reason I live high in a concrete tower: No spider can get anywhere near me.
Untrue: I had a rather large one set up shop outside my window when I worked on the 44th floor.
I wonder what it ate.
Bugs blown upwards by the high winds tall buildings tend to generate.
Though HVC's answer is more poetic. :D
Quote from: Malthus on November 27, 2009, 01:46:58 PM
Quote from: Neil on November 27, 2009, 12:31:49 PM
Quote from: Malthus on November 27, 2009, 09:55:04 AM
Quote from: Neil on November 26, 2009, 08:38:01 PM
There's a reason I live high in a concrete tower: No spider can get anywhere near me.
Untrue: I had a rather large one set up shop outside my window when I worked on the 44th floor.
I wonder what it ate.
Bugs blown upwards by the high winds tall buildings tend to generate.
Though HVC's answer is more poetic. :D
My tower is more isolated. There is no wind-tunnel effect to knock the bugs upwards.
Quote from: DisturbedPervert on November 27, 2009, 10:15:49 AM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on November 26, 2009, 09:05:53 PM
Who the hell wants to spray poisonous chemicals around their apartment/house if it's not necessary though?
If there are spiders, it is necessary.
What he said. A life without spiders is worth shaving off a couple years.
Quote from: Neil on November 27, 2009, 02:08:07 PM
My tower is more isolated. There is no wind-tunnel effect to knock the bugs upwards.
You may have
less, but everywhere has at least
some.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroplankton
Neil lives in Tenpenny Tower from Fallout 3?
Until quite recently, spider silk had the highest tensile strength of any substance known to man, and the name Silksteel pays homage to the arachnid for good reason.
Quote from: Lucidor on November 27, 2009, 02:21:43 PM
Until quite recently, spider silk had the highest tensile strength of any substance known to man, and the name Silksteel pays homage to the arachnid for good reason.
What knocked it from its perch?