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Well, I actually agree that particular episode should not be shown in Australia, considering so many of the world's deadliest spiders are in Australia. I can just imagine some gullible little Aussie kid that saw the episode thinking it's okay to pick up any kind of spider and take it to bed with him because some cartoon character said it's okay.
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yes, i can see their logic.
aussie spiders are not equivalent to UK/US spiders.
Like spiders, there are defensive species and docile species. Ive owned dozens of species from all over the world, and most wouldn't attempt to sting you unless you REALLY pissed them off. Genii like Pandinus, Heterometrus, Hadogenes, etc, are utterly docile. More so the doggies!
And you have to remember that while it appears scorpions sting "out of spite", they are basically blind, despite having sets of lateral and medial eyes. If something touches them out of nowhere, they most likely will sting out of instinct, not just because they feel like stinging something. They feel their surroundings using the hairs on their bodies, and "smell" using their pectines, located underneath their bellies.
All very scientifically stated and backed up with biological facts and structure of the critter in question. However, I must disagree with the whole "defensive and docile" premise. This is from many times observed behavior and far to many painful stings. Our large species of green scorps here will flat come after you. They will stance out, and then go on active attack. I've seen this in broad daylight, and both seen and had them run straight at me or another a human more than ten feet away. Legs raised, tail up and on the warpath. When you're under a house in a crawlspace and encounter these nasties, they will usually have you before you have any chance for any defensive measure. Thankfully they are not much worse than a honey bee. Though unlike the latter they can keep stinging. and will.
Scorps are on my "fire on sight" list. I've also heard all the "scientific" stuff about Black Widow being shy and more willing to retreat than fight. Also not my personal experience. The much maligned rattler is one species of critter I have observed more than willing to back off, minus the Mojave Green, which WILL attack. Actively and with intent. I don't either know or care what certain critters "see". I just know that they will act with aggressive intent. And the only way to stop them (being as I generally will not or cannot yield ground) is to stop them by force. Be that my boot, my plumber torch or an 1860 Army Colt loaded with #6 shot and 35 gr of fffg. I watched a 6" green scorp chase my ex plumb across the yard one fine morning. Lol, her superior position never occured to her.He met with the sole of my Justins in the end, but until that time he ?she wasn't giving any ground. Put the ex up on the hood of my truck.
So. I submit that all behavior of various critters cannot be scientifically explained. It just happens, and our reactions are dictated by circumstance. I just know that a Mojave Green WILL attack me. Its behavior is not consistent with other species of rattler. Individual examples of any species of nasty beastie cannot be predicted by "scientific" study. On thing I know for certain...a scorpion in my boot will sting me. As will one who I find myself sharing space under a crawlspace with or even when there's plenty of space in broad daylight in my driveway.
My position remains unchanged. Scorps will sting for spite. Mojave Greens will attack you, Black widows will drop on your head and bite because you are there. There is just no sharing of space with certain critters. Regardless of WHY they bite or sting, they will. And do. the only solution being remove them from the equation. One way or the other. Bombs, whatever chemical warfare. is not effective against scorpions. Certain fumigations will run them out, out it won't kill them. From where I'm sitting, they are born pissed, and get worse with time.
Today a friend posted a cute thing on Facebook about jumping spiders. I happen to adore them, they are very cute little creatures. If you google "jumping spiders with raindrop hats" you'll see what I mean. They have cute little faces, and they're fuzzy. And they don't hurt people. Although they have venom like all spiders do, they're really tiny, and not aggressive, and their venom is not considered medically threatening to humans.
I commented about how overjoyed I was when I had one on my arm not long ago. I peered at it, it peered back at me, then I carefully released it into the grass. (I was happy, because it's not every day I get such an up-close look at one, and they're so small you can't see how cute they are unless you get a close look.)
Anyways, some fool came along with a photo of a nasty infected wound on someone's finger, and claimed that this was her friend after a jumping spider bite. *sigh* I question if the pic wasn't something they just found on the internet. If real, how does this friend know it was even a spider, and not a staph infection or other infection of another kind of wound, if known as a spider bite, was the culprit collected for identification, or is it somebody's random guess, if identified, by whom? An expert? Or an ER nurse, who doesn't know a ton about spiders? Etc. If proven to be a jumping spider bite, I'd say that person has like a one-in-a-million allergic sensitivity, or a useless immune system.
Reminds me of how I was recently at our local zoo, and a woman was getting a corn snake out to give a talk on it. A little girl came up close, wanting to see, and her idiot of a grandpa said, "Oh, look...she's touchin' a snake! She's gonna git bit! You best come back here, you'll git bit too!" Bless that old woman, she turned such a look of scorn on him, and she scolded him and said, "Oh, hush! This is a very nice snake. Her name is Clementine, and she's not going to bite anyone. We don't need your drama here." Then she sat down and did her talk and let the kids pet Clementine.
It drives me crazy when people want to act all dramatic and make out pretty harmless animals to be some kind of a public safety hazard, when they aren't.
Itty Bitty jumping spiders are so cute. Normally I'm terrified of spiders, but those I find adorable. You will get a kick out of this jumping spider link. The first photo is of one trying to bite it's owner's thumb as hard as it could with it's legs sticking out. Nothing happened, lol. Everybody go awww.
Another kind that aren't too bad are the crab spiders which sounds terrible. I like their aka flower spiders better. They hide in flowers waiting for the unsuspecting insect to fly by. Some of them blend in very well so be careful when sniffing the flowers, lol. Here are several photos.
Dirt Grinder said "One summer I captured a large tomato hornworm"
Those turn into the fabulous Sphinx, or Hummingbird moth which I love. I used to see them often in Colorado. They feed at flowers just like hummers do. Consider dedicating one of your plants for their caterpillars to feed on.
"Betsy Betros on June 21, 2012 at 12:44 PM said: Did you know gardeners can live in harmony with tomato/tobacco hornworms? Plant a sacrificial tomato plant away from your main crop. Keep the blossoms plucked off and feed with lots of nitrogen fertilizer to grow lots of leaves. Pluck off the caterpillars from your plants you want fruit on and put on the sacrificial one!"
Dirt Grinder said "One summer I captured a large tomato hornworm"
Those turn into the fabulous Sphinx, or Hummingbird moth which I love. I used to see them often in Colorado. They feed at flowers just like hummers do. Consider dedicating one of your plants for their caterpillars to feed on...
Yep, that year we had a huge Moonflower vine, and we assigned a section of tomato plants to be hornworm food. Dozens of Sphinx moths would show-up at dusk to feed on the Moonflower nectar, and we had lots of big hornworms on the tomato plants.
That's so cool Dirt Grinder. I just learned how to do that while I was looking them up today. It's neat to hear of someone doing that for them. I love those things.
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