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Heck, humans eat spiders. Theyre considered a delicacy (tarantulas) in parts of the world. And to really creep you out, its rumored that humans swallow spiders while we sleep. Not joking!!!!
one of these guys, maybe? they're probably the most common.
i used to raise them and sell them on the internets back in the day: Phidippus audax - bold jumping spider or common jumping spider
5-6 inches is probably a more realistic jumping ability but that's still pretty good for a 1/3" or less spider
they're in a different family than the wolf spider, though; jumping spiders are in the family Salticidae, wolf spiders are in Lycosidae.
i've seen wolf spiders in oklahoma nearly as big as your hand. they have two larger facing-forward eyes that reflect red from your headlights on the road at night.
I love jumpers! Great pic! I have TONS of P. audax around my area (Chicagoland), as well as zebra jumpers. They are the doggone cutest little things you ever did see, with those BIG OL EYES. Ive seen wolf spiders with good 3-4" leg spans before, too. Not quite as big as an adult hand, but more like a child's hand. Anyways, we were out herpin on a dirt road about 15miles East of Scottsdale, AZ (lookin for rattlers), and saw THOUSANDS of little diamond-like eyes everywhere. I got out for a closer look and then noticed that they were all reflective wolf spider eyes. Amazing experience!!!
Do these spiders look anuthing like the spiders in the movie Arachniphobia?
Not really. The main spiders they used in Arachnophobia are huntsman spiders, from the Heteropoda genus. Theyre fast as lightning and get rather large. To a arachnophobe, huntsman spiders are the ultimate nightmare... lanky, big, loooong legs, run like greased lightning. I kept a Heteropoda venatoria (Florida huntsman) and that doggone thing would escape all the time. Id open the jar and BOOM! There it was, leaving smoke trails and fire behind it, ala Back To The Future DeLorean time machine. Id immediately give up the hunt, as it was useless chasing it everywhere. Of course the wife wasnt thrilled having to go to sleep in teh room with a 3" huntsman running wild around the room. Id find it a few days later and sneak up on it and capture it, then would repeat the process several more times.
Here is a huntsman spider on my FIL's house in Arizona. This one isnt very large, they get quite a bit bigger. Thats my ciggy pack next to it for size comparison.
Anyways, we were out herpin on a dirt road about 15miles East of Scottsdale, AZ (lookin for rattlers), and saw THOUSANDS of little diamond-like eyes everywhere. I got out for a closer look and then noticed that they were all reflective wolf spider eyes. Amazing experience!!!
that sounds familiar. i was pulling an all-nighter driving from my sister's wedding in farmington [NM] to stillwater, OK, and was going <wtf??> at all the tiny, glittering red things i was seeing in the grass alongside the road. i got out and looked around, but didn't see what it could possibly be.
it wasn't until a year or more later that i saw something similar and was lucky to have a powerful flashlight at hand to see that they were actually wolf spiders.
yeah, jumping spiders are the coolest. P. audax is everywhere, cold weather doesn't seem to bother them much. they were by far the most common spider i saw living in northern indiana, yet they're all over the place everywhere else i've lived as well.
say.. i wonder if we could trigger a 'kid fit' of apoplexy if we talk about how neat spiders are for the next few days?
that sounds familiar. i was pulling an all-nighter driving from my sister's wedding in farmington [NM] to stillwater, OK, and was going <wtf??> at all the tiny, glittering red things i was seeing in the grass alongside the road. i got out and looked around, but didn't see what it could possibly be.
it wasn't until a year or more later that i saw something similar and was lucky to have a powerful flashlight at hand to see that they were actually wolf spiders.
yeah, jumping spiders are the coolest. P. audax is everywhere, cold weather doesn't seem to bother them much. they were by far the most common spider i saw living in northern indiana, yet they're all over the place everywhere else i've lived as well.
say.. i wonder if we could trigger a 'kid fit' of apoplexy if we talk about how neat spiders are for the next few days?
Spiders? Just my game. I love spiders, but sadly most people dont.
yeah, jumping spiders are the coolest. P. audax is everywhere, cold weather doesn't seem to bother them much. they were by far the most common spider i saw living in northern indiana, yet they're all over the place everywhere else i've lived as well.
When i used to live in Fla i'd see them on the inside ledge of the living room window seal and on the inside and outside of the window constantly looking at each other and moving after those on the other side of the window as i used to get the biggest kick out of that .
And to really creep you out, its rumored that humans swallow spiders while we sleep. Not joking!!!!
Yeah i just reciently woke up with a tiny bump on my ankel which then turned into a quarter size red welt for about a week as it's now disappeared. There's even a scar of it as it looks like a minor burn welt although it never hurt or itched though. I've seen several tiny black house spiders (??) crawl on the carpet (very fast) since the wintertime as i assume that's probably what bit me?
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