Spiders...Will Be Spiders

[Ken Ramos]

Looks as though the tiny spider I found among the clumps of moss, is doing its job. As foul a looking image as this may be, hey...a spiders got to eat you know I bet they wonder about our mindless and bloody slaughter of livestock and are glad that all they have to do is to bite, inject a searing and powerful tissue dissolving toxin and then suck out the goodies. Hmm...makes one glad that they don't get any bigger than they already are. Many years ago I read, in Nat. Geo. I think but I am not sure, may have been in a Playboy article, but anyway the article stated that they had found a fossil of a spider that had a body of three feet in length, with a leg span of over six feet! Yep...you know what kind of a fit I would throw!!!

[Bruce Williams]

Ken - once again your posting has sent me on a "Wow that's amazing" Google chase to get the low-down on the monster spider that you read about in Playboy (or was it Nat. Geographic?). Well my guess is what you read about was Megarachne servinei which sadly has recently been reclassified as a sea scorpion.

However all is not lost, you might yet enjoy this Nat. Geographic video of a 12" Goliath birdeating spider (with inch long fangs) killing a "wrong place, wrong time" mouse for its supper . BTW you have to watch through a 10 second video ad. before you get to the main feature.

Bruce

[Ken Ramos]

Thanks Bruce and you are correct about the Sea Scorpion. I too remember something about that, which I had read much later on. It's my phobia you see... I key on things such as "giant spiders" and they tend to dwell on what little mind that I have. As for the bird eating Goliath Spider, I saw one at a nature store in Asheville, N.C. Boy was that thing big and I was not expecting it to be on display in the store, so you can imagine my surprise and shock at seeing that thing and I almost made a hasty retreat for the front door. However, my curiosity got the best of me and the thing held my attention for a half an hour or so. I told the shop keep that he should warn folks about that thing before they come in.

[beetleman]

Well, the spider video says that no one has ever died from a Goliath Spider bite...I would die from a heart attack or go into a catatonic state if I was bitten by one Great followup on your moss spider post Ken.

[Ken Ramos]

Thanks Doug I have not seen the spider here lately, though I have looked for it. I think the Springtail may have eaten it

[MacroLuv]

Great capture Ken!
It is a whole jungle for that little spider.
Did I miss some Spidermate of the Month?

[Ken Ramos]

Nikola asked:

Did I miss some Spidermate of the Month?

Must have Nikola, it was quite a "leggy photo shoot!"

Thanks Nikola

[Wim van Egmond]

Ken, isn't that the skin of the spider after it has shedded it? Or do I see some antennae?

I don't think spiders are that scary normally. But did you know that when we sleep, in fact right after we close our eyes, that they suddenly become huge and attain a human size. It is than that they are the most dangerous to humans. And when we open our eyes they suddenly get their normal size. It is an amazing technique they use. Wait until you see it happen!

Wim

[Ken Ramos]

You know Wim, I have never had any dreams about spiders, considering my fear of them, well most of them. Actually I became quite acostomed to Tarantulas while living in the south central part of the US. I suppose that despite their eight legs, they were just so hairy and large that I did not relate to them as actually being spiders Though I never did get brave enough to pick one up, I found them amusing to poke at with a stick to make them stand up on their hind legs.

As for this skin, visible in the photograph, there appears to be a rather long rostrum or beak near what was once the head of this insect or what ever it is. There are also two antennae and only three pairs of legs that I can see also.

Thanks Wim