Jon took this photo of another mommy wolf spider in Kansas. When he counted the babies on her back, he came up with a count of roughly a zillion. Oh, and after my most recent post on a wolfspidermum, Jade informed me that the babies leave sometime around their first molt. Given the weight of all those spiderlings on her back, I'll bet empty nesting never felt so good.
This photo was taken by John. He would like some assistance in identifying the species. Any takers out there?
Last but not least, we have this hapless spider. Wendy stumbled into the bathroom in the middle of the night only to find it trapped in her bathtub. This spider (another wolf spider?) trying to climb the water spout wasn't so itsby bitsy. She took a picture and then let it be. Her husband had to scoop it out the following day and release it into the wild. The one good thing about finding a hairy spider in your tub: they help sweep up any stray lint.
Sep 23, 2008
Empty Nesting
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17 comments:
Ok, you got my mama wolf-spider beat by miles... I'm hurfing in my shoes as we speak....
THAT'S JUST NOT RIGHT!!
*shivers uncontrollably*
The middle spider is an araneus species, a common orb-weaver. I sometimes call them the "in-your-face" orb-weavers, because that's how I often encounter them when I'm outside in the evening!
"I sometimes call them the "in-your-face" orb-weavers, because that's how I often encounter them when I'm outside in the evening!"
Ah yes, that is a common cause of what I have heard referred to as "an arachnoleptic fit". (The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.) :)
Why must you remind me of my own wolf-spider-baby-incident...EEK!
Gives me shivers and makes me want to go get the bleach and a very large shoe to keep next to me.
Also, I have performed the spider web dance many times.
Damn icky things.
Thinking about not coming here anymore... cant take the monsters...
Don't leave Annica! There are more monsters to come. Oh, wait...
The last one does look like a wolf spider with its two stripes, high set pair of eyes, hairiness, and reportedly large size. (The larger ones also have black legs.)
The orb weavers (like in the second shot) are dangerous, but not in the way most people think. Instead of killing with venom, they can cause heart attacks when people walk into their webs at dusk or nighttime and feel the spider crawling on their head or face.
The middle is an orb-weaver/wood spider. I don't have time took look up the latin right now. I believe they're in the argopie genus, but I might just be too tired to nail it down right now.
And yes, the third photo is a wolf spider. They can't climb smooth surfaces, which is why they'll get stuck in bathtubs if they get in.
Thanks for IDing my temporary houseguest, guys! I usually find the ladies in the garden with egg sacs. I prefer them there. :/
Dear Wombat! I dont wanna leave, but every time you post one or even a bunch of spiders I have to suffer through goosebumps, itchyness, paranoid around-looking, feeling unsafe and when I come here before bedtime, I often get nightmares, no lie! I think I might have a real phobia.
So maybe your site is just to intense for me, the spiderposts anyway :)
aw god, I sound pathetic :P
Annica- I used to be the same way. Exposure to them can help you get over the fear :)
When I was a kid and I had to look up something in the "S" encyclopedia, I had to do it with my eyes half-closed because of the "spider" entry and all the icky close-ups.
Funny how twenty years later I'm all "WOOHOO!" when I see a new spider entry on this site.
...still not touching one though.
Zanna, love that "arachnoleptic fit." I'll be repeating it until it rolls off my tongue for future use.
Anyone have an equivalent for my mom's fabulous snake dance? "WooOOOO!!"
Thanks folks for IDing the orb weaver.
Mommy-wolf-spider pics are intense.
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