bugs 'n such (house, rain, live)

[SeabeeBolt]

Originally Posted by thevez2

This is what happens:

Is this the same spider that they have in Panama that they call the "Bird Spider"?

When I was in Panama back in the early "80's" moving back and forth through the jungle, we came across a huge web that went from the ground to the trees, in a pyramid shape . And underneath it were bird feather and bones. I was told by my Gunnery Sergeant that it was the web of the Bird Spider and not to mess with it. Being that he was the Jungle Warfare expert I just took his word for it and went on my way.

Now I'm not much of a freind of anykind of spider, but I'm also not afraid of them either, I just prefer to give them room and a little respect like all of God's critters.

[thevez2]

Tarantulas don't make orb webs like that, so whatever web it was it did not come from a tarantula. And if it was from a regular spider it is very doubtfull that it took down a bird.

What are called Birdeaters down there are Pinktoe tarantulas (Avicularia sp.), they do live in the trees but in silken tube webs that are attached to the sides of trees.

[SeabeeBolt]

Originally Posted by thevez2

Tarantulas don't make orb webs like that, so whatever web it was it did not come from a tarantula. And if it was from a regular spider it is very doubtfull that it took down a bird.

What are called Birdeaters down there are Pinktoe tarantulas (Avicularia sp.), they do live in the trees but in silken tube webs that are attached to the sides of trees.

All I know was that this Dadgum thing was big, even our guides (locals) said to stay clear of it.
It wasn't orded, it was a (^) Upside down (V) shape and now that I think of it, it did seem to be kinda silky looking. The locals (guides) told us that birds would fly into it (the web) and the spiders would jump on them then.

[thevez2]

I guess it is possible, now that I think of it I have seen footage of small bats being caught up in spider webs. Either way it wasn't a tarantula.

[SeabeeBolt]

Originally Posted by thevez2

I guess it is possible, now that I think of it I have seen footage of small bats being caught up in spider webs. Either way it wasn't a tarantula.

You seem to know more about the eight legged little buggers that most do and I'm not even going to challenge that. All I know is that I ain't no dummy and when someone tells me to stay clear of something. Huh, you can bet your bottom dallor I will .

[TheComputerGuy]

Originally Posted by thevez2

All my spiders are sweet!

It takes a special kind of guy I guess...

Originally Posted by thevez2

And yes their native range covers all of Oklahoma and up into Kansas and Missouri too. They would usually not be found in the cities, you would have to go kinda rural to find them, usually in the grassland or glade areas.

Good... I'll just give up hiking and fishing and I shouldn't see any...
Right??? Right?????

Originally Posted by thevez2

I've gotten many people over their fear of spiders, I'm sure you could be cured too. Once you hold one for the first time, you realize they aren't so bad after all...

It would take:

2 fifths of whiskey.

A handful of those little green pills my monster-in-law...
I mean my mother-in-law takes.

A LOT of rope to keep me there.

People guarding the entrance with cattle prods.

A gun to my head.

A rare disease that only tarantula venom could cure.

A blindfold.

AND.. I'd require the same from the tarantula also...

Here's the deal...

One day WAY BACK WHEN, in MA....
I was lying on my bed reading a book and not moving a muscle...
Then all of a sudden a Yellow Sac Spider bit me on the leg...
(FOR NO REASON, I WASN'T MOVING or threatening it...)
Obviously, I crippled it before even seeing what it was...

It was painful... Like holding a lit cigarette on the area for over 2 hours...
(It blistered for a while and itched for years.)

It took a LOT of restraint to dispatch the spider humanely...
(As opposed to removing EACH leg, one by one.)

Being an arachnid guy, I'm sure you know the the yellow sac spider is
a relative of the Brown Recluse...
(Even sort of has a fiddle on it's back.)

In fact, I'd be pretty interested in your knowledge of your 8 legged friends...
Maybe you can start a new thread....
Not joking... Seriously...
Lots of potential Okies ask about spiders.
Maybe you could give them some good P.R.
(And allay our distaste with them... But you'd have to be REALLY good!)

[TheComputerGuy]

Originally Posted by thevez2

Tarantulas don't make orb webs like that,

We have a native orb weaver here called the "Gray Marbled Spider".
The locals call them barn spiders.

Unless they're hanging over a doorway,
I leave them alone. They tend to stay on their web
and they're too fat to get in any cracks in the place.

Here's a small one my daughter photographed:



They usually live above our picture window,
and they're fun to watch. It's like our own National Geographic.
I sure feel bad for the males though...
Those poor guys are nothing but an empty shell
after "marrying" them.

They have no problem eating bumble bees or large dragon flies.
And they're pretty aggressive about going after them too.

[karibear]

Originally Posted by TheComputerGuy

It would take:

2 fifths of whiskey.

A handful of those little green pills my monster-in-law...
I mean my mother-in-law takes.

A LOT of rope to keep me there.

People guarding the entrance with cattle prods.

A gun to my head.

A rare disease that only tarantula venom could cure.

A blindfold.

AND.. I'd require the same from the tarantula also...

Too bad you didn't meet my son way back when. He REEEAAAALLLLYYY wanted a tarantula for his 5th birthday. I don't have many reservations about pets, but at the time we were half way through an 11,000 mile road trip, and I had visions of it getting loose in the truck while I was driving, or once we got home and the cats could get at it, or it would manage to escape to the outdoors and freeze in the winter.... ad nauseum. But we did look at a lot of them while he tried to convince me, and we all got to hold them.

[TheComputerGuy]

Originally Posted by karibear

Too bad you didn't meet my son way back when. He REEEAAAALLLLYYY wanted a tarantula for his 5th birthday. I don't have many reservations about pets, but at the time we were half way through an 11,000 mile road trip, and I had visions of it getting loose in the truck while I was driving, or once we got home and the cats could get at it, or it would manage to escape to the outdoors and freeze in the winter.... ad nauseum. But we did look at a lot of them while he tried to convince me, and we all got to hold them.

Apparently you're a LOT more open minded than we are...
We settled for kitties.
They eat spiders.... And mice.

[thevez2]

Originally Posted by TheComputerGuy

One day WAY BACK WHEN, in MA....
I was lying on my bed reading a book and not moving a muscle...
Then all of a sudden a Yellow Sac Spider bit me on the leg...
(FOR NO REASON, I WASN'T MOVING or threatening it...)
Obviously, I crippled it before even seeing what it was...

In fact, I'd be pretty interested in your knowledge of your 8 legged friends...
Maybe you can start a new thread....
Not joking... Seriously...
Lots of potential Okies ask about spiders.
Maybe you could give them some good P.R.
(And allay our distaste with them... But you'd have to be REALLY good!)

Well, at least you have a reason to be afraid (or have a great disliking) of them. Most peoples fears of them are taught to them from what they hear from their parents and what they see on TV (99% of which is untrue).

I'd love to share more of my thoughts on tarantulas, but my knowledge of other arachnids is very limited. I'm not sure what native spiders you do have in OK, other than the brown tarantula. But I'd be happy to try to field questions. I may not know the answer, but I probably know where to find the answer and sort out fact from fiction.