False widow spiders
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is a false widow spider one which is still married and telling porkies ?1
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Sounds like he got lucky, and in more ways than just three times a night. Spider life can be absolutely brutal, it's not just black widows that kill their mates after the act. I don't think it's always that easy for the females either, many of whom die after egg laying so that their hatchlings first meal is mum.creepyaddick said:There was a cobweb hanging down the outside of my kitchen window the other day with a big fat female sitting at the centre. Along comes a randy male and starts plucking her web strings. After about 10 minutes of dancing he manages to climb on board, before legging it for a breather. Another 10 mins pass and the same again, he clambers aboard and wraps his legs around her. When he goes back for a third go, she goes for him, teeth and all so he runs for his life, so fast that he's hanging by a single thread, blowing in the wind. She casually strolls over and snips the thread and the poor sod drops into oblivion. (Well on top of my hosepipe) never to be seen again.
Those females are harsh.0 -
Love the piccies on this thread.
Also intrigued to find out how big Stig's cat food fed spider became....it must have become a monster, surely?0 -
It used his cat flap as well.bigstemarra said:Love the piccies on this thread.
Also intrigued to find out how big Stig's cat food fed spider became....it must have become a monster, surely?5 -
I bet it keeps the number of pigeons in the garden under control too!0
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Today's experiment: Crabsticks. We learnt that spiders with successful webs do not like crabsticks. A couple reacted quite violently as if they'd been offered poison. Hungry spiders will cling on to a bit of crabstick, presumably eating it. Only one spider made a half-arsed attempt at wrapping some up for later.
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You'll regret these experiments when they develop a taste for human fleshStig said:Today's experiment: Crabsticks. We learnt that spiders with successful webs do not like crabsticks. A couple reacted quite violently as if they'd been offered poison. Hungry spiders will cling on to a bit of crabstick, presumably eating it. Only one spider made a half-arsed attempt at wrapping some up for later.
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Stig. You do realise this is exactly how Dr. Frankenstein started ?2
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I got bitten by a Horsefly at the weekend, worse than any bee sting I've had.2
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more spiders, less flies!0
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Having lived on 5 acres backing a national park for the last 5 years, Ive become a little immune to being scared of Spiders.....Ive rescued 6 Sydney Funnel webs since being here, taking them off to a local hospital to have the venom extracted to make anti venom. Common Huntsman spiders are the span of my hand generally and there are 93 different species of this type of spider alone. This particular beauty in the photo was quite remarkable as my car had been parked up whilst I was in England, I came back, fired her up, went for a drive came back and she slid down the windscreen.2
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f**k that3
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TEL said:
Having lived on 5 acres backing a national park for the last 5 years, Ive become a little immune to being scared of Spiders.....Ive rescued 6 Sydney Funnel webs since being here, taking them off to a local hospital to have the venom extracted to make anti venom. Common Huntsman spiders are the span of my hand generally and there are 93 different species of this type of spider alone. This particular beauty in the photo was quite remarkable as my car had been parked up whilst I was in England, I came back, fired her up, went for a drive came back and she slid down the windscreen.
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Not mucking about with experiments today. Got a real life False Widow to show. Caught this one round by our wheelie bin:
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How do you catch a spider (sounds like the start of a joke but not intended)?0
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I shout at the Mrs get that thing out of here .Solidgone said:How do you catch a spider (sounds like the start of a joke but not intended)?
Works for me0 -
First one of the year. This one's a male.
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Anyone know what this was, lurking in a WWI bunker in Macedonia the other week, my local guide ran off which is never a good sign?1
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Looking closely, I reckon it's a spiderSE7toSG3 said:Anyone know what this was, lurking in a WWI bunker in Macedonia the other week, my local guide ran off which is never a good sign?
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That's a wheelie good photoStig said:Not mucking about with experiments today. Got a real life False Widow to show. Caught this one round by our wheelie bin:
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Without a better quality photo it'll be almost impossible to tell. My best guess based on it's location, dark colouring and large abdomen is that it may be some sort Cave Spider (Meta sp. from the family Tetragnathidae), but that doesn't narrow it down much and is just a guess. Could be anything really.SE7toSG3 said:Anyone know what this was, lurking in a WWI bunker in Macedonia the other week, my local guide ran off which is never a good sign?
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Great pics all. Checked out this thread after reading about the 30-odd year old spider reported in the Grauniad today.
That mystery Macedonian beastie looks like a latrodectus type; same abdomen shape as a black widow....0 -
I assume you immediately torched the car and moved back to BlightyTEL said:Having lived on 5 acres backing a national park for the last 5 years, Ive become a little immune to being scared of Spiders.....Ive rescued 6 Sydney Funnel webs since being here, taking them off to a local hospital to have the venom extracted to make anti venom. Common Huntsman spiders are the span of my hand generally and there are 93 different species of this type of spider alone. This particular beauty in the photo was quite remarkable as my car had been parked up whilst I was in England, I came back, fired her up, went for a drive came back and she slid down the windscreen.
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I did 2 tours with the military in Kosovo & Macedonia and can confirm that both black and brown widow spiders are present. NATO had a large ammunition depot high up in the Macedonian hills. Some fellers who stayed there for a while, really had to check and turn over their footwear every morning.SE7toSG3 said:Anyone know what this was, lurking in a WWI bunker in Macedonia the other week, my local guide ran off which is never a good sign?
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Lovely. Just lovely0
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RWR - It's a spider!SE7toSG3 said:Anyone know what this was, lurking in a WWI bunker in Macedonia the other week, my local guide ran off which is never a good sign?
I hate the things, but it is unnerving how the human eye is tuned into their movement. Caught one make a dash across the living room carpet the other night. Fastest I have moved in centuries, out of armchair, slipper off, wham! "Sayonara sucker"0 -
Please Don’t kill them. I don’t like them either but better to pop a glass over them and move them outside.soapy_jones said:
RWR - It's a spider!SE7toSG3 said:Anyone know what this was, lurking in a WWI bunker in Macedonia the other week, my local guide ran off which is never a good sign?
I hate the things, but it is unnerving how the human eye is tuned into their movement. Caught one make a dash across the living room carpet the other night. Fastest I have moved in centuries, out of armchair, slipper off, wham! "Sayonara sucker"
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwXkMAlTIgc
