| Author | Message | ||
     Tootal |
 Well I'm a bit ignorant of the spider types and have no idea what this guy is so if anybody wants to enlighten me that would be great! I was taking out my trash and found this guy. I used to kill any spider but unless they are in the house I don't mind them anymore. When I was in my 20's I found a large black spider in my shower! I was about to step on him when I got the bright idea to shoot him with a 44 magnum! I just happened to be reloading some 44 shells and only had the primer in them. I put one in my Redhawk and got about 8" away and let him have it! It died instantly! Cool! But man are those primers LOUD! In order to become old and wise you must survive being young and STUPID! | ||
| Pwnzor |
Not sure who he is, but maybe we could have a monster battle with Mothra who was posted up on my garage door...   | ||
| Fast1075 |
We have them all over here. I "think" they are called golden orb spiders. | ||
| Sifo |
I came to know them as plantation spiders on Hawaii. Big and scary looking, but basically harmless. They do eat other pests though, so they are a plus! | ||
| 86129squids |
Pretty critters! Not sure about the spider, but Matthew, that's a luna moth! Absolutely beautiful when you see them. THAT'S a big-un. | ||
| Ourdee |
Primers aren't toys. I shoot wax bullets out of a .45 with shotgun primers. Quite fun shooting on the cheap. Safer for drawing and shooting practice. Will take out bugs too. | ||
| Ducley |
I've always known those spiders to be garden spiders here in NorCal. Yep, ugly scary, almost uglier than a black widow, or maybe beautiful in a morbid way. They can get pretty huge. Great bug getters anyway. Funny story: We had a student out from Maine on our survey crew and we were digging out one of our survey monuments to set up on it and just as I finished pulling my hand out of the hole a black widow fell in. I, of course, jumped back and the guy from Maine looks at me funny and wondering why I reacted that way and I said "You've never seen a black widow before?" and suddenly he gets some big eyes! Apparently they are not as numerous in Maine as they are in Northern California. | ||
| Tootal |
Well I left him to his duties. My sentry guarding my garage! | ||
| Steveford |
Golden silk orb spider - those things get huge! | ||
| Tootal |
This one's body is about an inch long and the legs must span two and a half inches. | ||
| Pwnzor |
My moth was about 4.5 inches from wingtip to wingtip | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
That's nothing. You should see the stuff from beyond the Valley of the Wind in the Toxic Jungle.  | ||
| Zac4mac |
Squids - that's no Luna moth, they are green with purple and have tails on their wings.  (Message edited by zac4mac on August 19, 2016) | ||
| Fast1075 |
We have a variety here called "Banana" spider. They get huge! If you walk into a web, you can hear the silk snap. The one and only creature I have ever encountered that completely creeps me out. They are hideous ugly/scary, and did I mention HUGE! Garden spiders don't bother me at all, neither do wolf spiders (another huge spider that actively hunts food, and doesn't build web except for nesting eggs). There are crab spiders in the orange groves, that are small, but toxic if you are sensitive. And lots of black widow and brown recluse also. Those are the really bad boys, and they are under anything that does undisturbed for any length of time. Gotta love living in Flatistan. Go in your yard on a dark summer night with a flashlight. See all those little red dots in the grass. Yup, spiders. | ||
| Airbozo |
Couple of little beasties in my yard. It was chilly outside so they were not moving much. Always look twice before turning anything over.  We have lots of Wolf spiders. HUGE ones. They will rear up and jump at you if you get too close. Lots of Black Widows and Recluse spiders as well. I leave them alone if they are outside, but exterminate with extreme prejudice if they are inside. Took a picture of a creepy crawly thing in the creek across the street a couple of years ago I am trying to locate. Never seen anything like it. A cross between a scorpion and lizard (only way I can describe it), about 4" long. | ||
| Needs_o2 |
This one might be hard to choke down without some milk!  | ||
| Tootal |
Wow, that's beautiful Jeff! Was the cat successful? | ||
| 86129squids |
Hmmm- Zac, I stand/sit corrected. We get the moths Matthew pictured around here on rare occasions... always fun to look at! Fast- I remember once back when I was in shape and mountain biking a lot, I was running a nice trail by myself out in Oak Ridge, spotted what looked to be a side trail that had not been used nearly as much as the main trail. Decided to run that single-track, was enjoying myself, and then got on a steep downhill section... suddenly, one after another after another, I was blowing through BIG spiderwebs, similar to that golden orb guy! Nothing I could do about it 'til I got to the bottom, envisioning about a half-dozen or so BIG P.O-ed spiders on my back... CREEPED ME OUT. A few years back, my cousin got bit by a brown recluse while cleaning his boat. He realized what had happened, went to the hospital- had a severe reaction to the treatments, a couple of cardiac arrests, then coma, then life support- then, we lost him. Also known as "fiddleback", look for the pattern, and STEP BACK. I'm needing to clean a junk pile beside my shed sometime, creeped out just thinking of it.  | ||
| Zac4mac |
All good man, a Luna was my prize catch in my insect collection... that and a Cicada Killer - a 2 1/2" long Yellow Jacket.  Texas has some AMAZING bugs(insects). (Message edited by zac4mac on August 19, 2016) | ||
| Tootal |
Hmmm, that looks like some good eaten right there! | ||
| 86129squids |
Zac, for F&kkkkssake, that looked like an Asian hornet, that eats beeshives, and if they sting you, expect to amputate. Saw a TV piece about them... RECON. | ||
| Sifo |
THAT is terrifying! I can deal just fine with the wasps, hornets, etc. that we have in the northern states, but I would hate to find them nesting near my house. | ||
| Ourdee |
Had a Cicada Killer out front last weekend. Thing was carrying a Cicada while flying. Took it into a hole in the retaining wall. | ||
| Needs_o2 |
Hey Greg, Timber's a pretty smart cat, he knew better than to try and eat that fuzz ball, he will put down smaller ones though. That Cicada Killer is going to give me nightmares for a while, and keep me out of Texas! | ||
| Pwnzor |
This little guy looked friendly...  | ||
| Zac4mac |
I'll do that with bumblebees but never an Asian Hornet.. just a bad idea. |
