Thanks for the info, lynne. I snet you an enthusiastic e-mail, I hope you don’t mind.
That e-mail included this picture.It is a picture of a common Dutch orb web spider, made by a good friend of mine who is both a gardener and photographer. The spider is photographed at the moment it came across the camera, that had been quietly positioned on the ground for a couple of minutes before. The spider is confronted with what it thinks is a harmless large object, and it is sensing with its legs if the camera is low enough to climb over it, or if it should walk around.
That posture looks a bit like the “bluffing/attack” posture of raising the front legs high, but I get the impression that is not what the spider here expresses.
I’ve checked the picture of Legless and it seems fine. Could you check again?
For those who haven’t met Legless, she was my favourite blackhouse spider last year. They are the same niche as the American funnel-weavers - living in funnel webs around houses. She got a mite (I thought it was a tick - note to self: change that on the web site). She slowly got thin, lethargic, and eventually didn’t emerge from her retreat.
There was no way I could remove it. If I went closer than a foot, even moving very slowly, she would go straight back into her retreat which was in the brickwork near the laundry door. And what would I do to remove the mite? Spiders are very delicate. The slightest damage to their abdomens and they bleed to death because they have an open circulatory system. So I wouldn’t have any way to hold her without hurting her.
I had saved Legless’ life from a white-tailed spider - their favourite food is blackhouse. I photographed what I thought was a male visiting Legless (so named because she only had seven legs). I saw the white dot on the rear, and realised it was poised to leap and kill. I dropped a few thousand dollars worth of camera equipment and blew on Legless - spiders will always react strongly to even gentle blowing because their hairs are so sentitive. She dashed striaght back into her retreat. I then brushed the whitetailed to the ground. I saved Legless’ life! It was weeks before I could get close enough to her to photograph her again because she’d disappear at even the gentlest approach. I still miss her.
Not at all. I really appreciate it. I have been getting private mails on the topic of spiders as a result of this thread, all with the spider stories I love so much. Great orb weaver photo and story!
i love spiders … always have. Hate and detest roaches and flies [and maggots make me pukey=(]
I had a couple of very nice mexican tarrantulas for a few years til I got a BF who was spider phobic, and he sprayed them with a whole can of raid =(. he didnt stay a BF long! Poor things, living in a nice terrarium and he hoses them down with raid-(
I finished my journey from arachnophobia to total obsession late last year when I came to America and held some pet tarantulas. I was really scared that I would go back the way I was - but I found the opposite. They were so beautiful, gentle and moved so gracefully that I fell totally in love with them - especially Albus, an Arizona gold. We can’t have the docile new world tarantulas here in Australia due to quarrantine restrictions, so I can’t wait to go somewhere where I can meet some again!
My first thought was to again label you a sick man, but after reading your posts, I admire you. Seriously. I wish I had your courage to get over my phobia, but I can’t stand the … mind if I cuss in here? … FUCKERS … invading my space. But I appreciate your arachnophilia.
Now i gotta think about spiders all morning … fuck.
I have a fear of spiders, too. I hate, hate, hate them in my house and all bets are off if I find them there. However, outside is okay and I would never intentionally kill a spider outside my house. I do hate to walk into spiderwebs and do the crazy “ARRGGHH GETITOFFME!” dance when that happens, but as long as they stay away from me outside they can go on doing their spidery things (that don’t include building webs just outside my door). I only managed to reach this accord by a similar means as lynne. I remind myself that they serve a useful purpose by disposing of the even worse bugs that I do not want getting into my home.
I have always found this spider interesting looking and not as creepy as others. I would always stop and watch them when I saw them. I guess it helps that I’ve never seen them in a home, they are happy to stay outside and they don’t look particularly spidery.
