Meanwhile, in Australia… pic.twitter.com/hvp3s31lP0
— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) January 29, 2021
Bonus:
Bonus 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmf6DdaWmSA
Bonus 3:
If spiders leave me alone, I leave them alone. If not, sic transit spider. Some species can be deadly to humans and best not to take chances.
Actually, the correct phrase is “Sic transit araneus.” In lingua Latina spider is araneus. 😉
I have a rule of thumb approach. Anything bigger than my thumbnail and out it goes, one way or another. Anything else I leave alone in the basement. In the upper house, no spiders allowed.
At Boy Scout Summer camp I needed to take out the Black Widow spiders in the Scout’s tents. We also had to watch for rattle snakes. Luckily I didn’t have to deal with any of them. I, like Indy, dislike snakes and venomous snakes even more. No fear, but no liking.
I’m glad to live where it’s very cold for part of the year. There aren’t any deadly insects, reptiles or amphibians.
Those are probably Hunstman Spiders- harmless to humans. Walked over one in the shopping centre carpark during the week.
The trade-off for living in a warm climate is the spiders like the warm climate also, but usually come inside to get away from the intense heat. Everyone has a spider story to tell – I was bitten by whitetail spider 4 years ago (quite painful and it took months to go completely go away).
I warn my 4 year old, whose an avid Spider-Man fan, not to touch any spiders especially Red-back Spiders (the small ones with red on their back)- these are everywhere in the garden and are highly poisonous. And the Funnel-Web Spider (equivalent to the Black Widow) who can survive under water for hours- they play dead in our pool.
But there has been an increase in spider sightings this year- probably taking advantage of the Covid lockdowns. We have had many St Andrews Cross in the garden (the only spiders I actually like). And even a harmless green tree snake visit is a few months ago…but snakes are another story…
I think you’ll find Ezabelle, that the Red Backs are related to the Black Widow – both are black, with red on their backs. The Funnel Web is uniquely Australian.
When I lived in Australia, to me, the spiders were much worse than the snakes – the snakes are large and can be seen (generally) but the spiders – particularly the Sydney Funnel Web & the Brown Trapdoor spiders are smaller therefore more difficult to see, and in most cases, the venom is more deadly.
But best to avoid all of them.
On a long trip we listened to Bill Bryson’s Down Under: Travel in a Sun Burned Country. Plenty of spider stories. Changed my outlook. Not going to Australia. Had enough spider bites in VA. Love New Zealand’s South Island. Would go back.
Yes you are correct – my mistake. The largest Redback I’ve come across had the body the size of a thumbnail. They’re generally not very big. Slow movers too.
http://australian.museum/learn/animals/spiders/redback-spider/
https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/api.nationalgeographic.com/distribution/public/amp/animals/invertebrates/group/black-widow-spiders
Funnel-Webs are not exactly small. But the female eats the male after mating. Like the Black Widow Spider (only similarity Im guessing).
https://australian.museum/learn/animals/spiders/funnel-web-spiders-group/
Agree on avoiding all spiders, however the Eastern Brown Snake and Red Belly are fatal. The Brown Eastern Snake has a temper and will give chase if provoked. My husbands Aunt in Toowoomba would take a shovel with her to hang the washing and behead them if she spotted one in the garden. Held my breath every time we ventured out into her backyard.
It’s really not that bad Cam. They avoid you if you avoid then.
*them
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bbAuDkvlE0
My favorite arachnid ?
Lobsta! (Lobster)
David WS: Agreed! Ever get up insanely early in the morning to go down to the harbor and hang around when the lobstermen come in and sell their catch to the buyers from the seafood restaurants? I guess that activity is somewhat depressed these days but we did it a couple of times back in my school years in Boston. The ones the restaurant guys wouldn’t take because they didn’t look perfect enough for the display tanks tasted just as good. 🙂