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Boogiman1981
| | Posted on Thursday, December 29, 2011 - 07:16 pm: | 
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I knew I shouldn't have open this thread. My bp is up and my skin is now crawling |
Panhead_dan
| | Posted on Thursday, December 29, 2011 - 07:27 pm: |
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Generally speaking, microscopic spiders are newly hatched young. Their diet consists mainly of brothers and sisters if they can't score a gnat. That is the good thing about spiders. They eat all the bugs and when there's no bugs, they eat each other.
It was once said that if spiders were the size of house cats, humans would be extinct...
Also of interest is the fact that we eat an average of one spider a month. Think about it. You're laying there asleep, snoring away and the spider crawls across your bed, your face and into your mouth. Natural reaction is to swallow...
Don't worry. They are good eating. Birds and other animals gobble them right up.
Spiders don't bother me much. I read that if all the worlds ant population was above ground at the same time, they would be three feet thick.
Insects and arachnids are fascinating creatures. They may very well be the result of alien (off world) life forms. Virus' and such very likely are. |
Boltrider
| | Posted on Thursday, December 29, 2011 - 07:50 pm: |
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It's incredible how long some types of tarantula can live. If you get a young, female Mexican Redknee, it might outlive you. |
Gregtonn
| | Posted on Thursday, December 29, 2011 - 09:25 pm: |
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Tarantulas and tarantula hawks are pretty common here. If you don't like big spiders or wasps near the size of a humming bird you might get a little spooked. I think they're interesting. Most of the scorpions are pretty small. The centipedes can be well over six inches long.
G |
86129squids
| | Posted on Friday, December 30, 2011 - 01:18 pm: |
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Ken- LOL, you've brought back a favorite childhood memory of mine...
You're living with anoles... I used to keep them as pets in middle TN. In the summer, my best friend and I would walk about a mile and back to the store down the highway for junk food, candy, etc.- the bane of our existence then were the dang sweatbees.
One day I thought of making a "choke collar" for my anoles using some sewing thread, anchoring them to my shirt with a safety pin. It took a little while for the anole to figure out not to bail... we then went on our daily walk- when a sweatbee showed up, just put the lizard in front of it- shazam! No more sweatbee!
I had to buy a few more lizards to make this work however- one would eat so many sweatbees in a day that it wouldn't need to eat the rest of the week, so I had to rotate the hungry and gorged lizards...
Fun times! |
Rick_a
| | Posted on Monday, January 02, 2012 - 01:49 am: |
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I've seen some big banana spiders in Japan and a huge, black, aggressive tarantula in Australia. That thing had a group of grown men scared as it reared up me as I got closer. So-Cal had some of the gnarliest bugs I've seen, from huge centipedes, millipedes, and wasps. There were a lot of scorpions, too, but they don't bother much unless you mess with 'em. When I lived in Illinois there was a lot of different spider species around the neighborhood, with a lot of big, colorful garden spiders. My brother handled these a lot until one bit him and swelled his hand up good. That's the only state where I saw a lot of wolfs and funnels.
The only one I've been bitten by (aside from those that got me in my sleep) was a big daddy long legs that got me in my side while I was shirtless siding a house in Western NY. It was only mildly painful and it got flicked off for its offense.
I used to have a pink toe tarantula that I'd handle and let climb me. They tend to just head straight up! It was a little disconcerting the first time, having a tarantula on the back of my head. My rosehair is supposed to have the better temperament, but that is definitely not the case. The pinkie was a male that only lived about two years, and the rosie is still around nine years later.
Those cobalt blue's are pretty.
I've come across black widows in IL and Cali, and did smash them on sight. Have yet to come across a brown recluse, though I've had a big similar looking spider nestled in the Buell's cylinder head and not being very friendly about leaving. I figured it wouldn't last too long if it stayed and rode away with it on board.
The only insects I'm really apprehensive about are bees, wasps, and hornets. After having been stung so many times I started having terrible reactions. I attacked hives as a kid for fun and had a house with a lot of white clovers in the lawn that I'd walk barefoot over and get stung routinely. Doing construction for a couple years got me stung even more and that's when the problems started.
As far as lizards I've seen anoles, skinks, and geckos around here.
I think the most impressive animals I've seen in Florida so far are some big owls, snapping turtles, hawks, and the occasional eagle. Recently I've been witness to some huge groups of turkey vultures and crows. |
Thumper74
| | Posted on Monday, January 02, 2012 - 04:56 pm: |
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I lived on a lake in Tampa, FL and loved watching the gators...
I'm fortuneate about the spider in Ohio here. I have been bitten, but nothing poisonous. As a teenager, I was fond of catching snakes, until my dad pointed out that the funny looking garter snake was holding was a copperhead. |
Kenm123t
| | Posted on Monday, January 02, 2012 - 06:21 pm: |
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We have bald Eagles down the lake from our place had to Guard the beagle when she was a pup. The went after her a couple of times when she was tiny |
Blake
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 04, 2012 - 04:11 pm: |
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How'd they miss? |
Kenm123t
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 04, 2012 - 07:33 pm: |
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Maura was standing near by and went charging at the birds as they started to dive. Both time she saw the eagles circling. Lasix Worked ! |
Rick_a
| | Posted on Friday, January 06, 2012 - 12:12 am: |
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There was a smallish ~4ft gator near a pond at the in-laws. It had a bead on our beagle the entire time. We went close to the waters edge and it turned in our direction, got into the water, then disappeared. At that point the dog and I were outa there. |
Cityxslicker
| | Posted on Friday, January 06, 2012 - 06:10 am: |
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kill them, kill them all. I have no love for spiders; especially Camil Spiders. evil little f*ckers. |
Fast1075
| | Posted on Friday, January 06, 2012 - 06:31 am: |
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Gator = Lunch in a suitcase. |
Leftcoastal
| | Posted on Friday, January 06, 2012 - 11:14 am: |
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I've got the market cornered on daddy-longleg spiders here. They are the West-Coast type that make webs EVERYWHERE!
Any of you spider fans are welcome to them, you crate and haul.
I wouldn't mind them, if the little bastards would start eating some of these freakin' ants. |
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