We haven't had a good spider thread in a while

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by hkmb, Oct 25, 2016.

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  1. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    This is why I rarely venture North of the Queensland border. New South Wales has some things that want to kill me - sharks, mainly, and bogans driving utes badly on the M4 - but Queensland is full of terrifying things.

    In Australia: giant spider carrying a mouse is horrifying and impressive | Australia news | The Guardian

     
    #1 hkmb, Oct 25, 2016
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  2. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    In my backyard. Don't know what it is but I call 'em garden spiders.

    _1040841 (1).jpg
     
    #2 fotomoto, Oct 25, 2016
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  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    thanks, i just finished losing my dinner.:sick:
     
    #3 bisco, Oct 25, 2016
  4. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    [​IMG]
     
    #4 ETC(SS), Oct 25, 2016
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  5. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    #5 ETC(SS), Oct 25, 2016
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  6. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    You knew I was going to screw this up with science. The largest spiders (not in top post but in some cave in Laos) are larger than any fossils yet recovered. This is an unusual pattern as most animal groups were much bigger in old times. If >300 my fossils are found, there may be some serious bigness. From the good old days of 30% oxygen.

    Although just looking at spiders is trouble for many folks, the bad boys (and girls) in terms of venom toxicity are not the largest. Australia of course has some splendid examples. Taken together they are not all that in terms of killing humans. Snakes and jellyfish (which we are now supposed to call jellies) rule there. Including some splendid examples from Australia.

    Spiders seem odd in too many ways to mention, but what they do with eyes is pretty darn special. I think they make excellent pets. The larger ones might actually help you out with mice infestations.:)
     
    #6 tochatihu, Oct 26, 2016
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  7. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    I can hear Crocodile Dundee saying "....THIS is a spider!"

    I've seen some nasty, venomous critters in my day, but never a spider that could carry away a mouse. Even if it is a little one.
     
    #7 hyo silver, Oct 26, 2016
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  8. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    #1 Looking creeeeeeeepy




    _1040863 (2).jpg
     

    Attached Files:

    #8 fotomoto, Oct 26, 2016
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  9. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Nice photos. What camera? A ringflash in your future??
     
    #9 tochatihu, Oct 26, 2016
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i just realized, you might have discovered the secret to demousing a prius!:eek:
     
    #10 bisco, Oct 26, 2016
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  11. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    I've clicked "Like", but that wasn't really the word I was looking for. "Am impressed but disgusted" might have been better. How big is it?
     
    #11 hkmb, Oct 26, 2016
  12. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    Hmmm.... I have quite the opposite problem with my Merc. A spider somehow crawled inside the speedo and died. I can't get it out without removing the whole dashboard.
     
    #12 hkmb, Oct 26, 2016
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  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    a mouse can probably get in there.
     
    #13 bisco, Oct 26, 2016
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  14. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    Yes, it is quite a small mouse.

    In our last house, instead of mice in the garden, we had a rufous bettong (also called a rat kangaroo). It was unbelievably cute. I met it after my wife cut my daughter's hair in the garden, and it came to take the hair clippings to use in its nest. I never got photos of it, but here are a couple of Google pictures.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    It would come and sit next to me when I was hanging out the washing.
     
    #14 hkmb, Oct 26, 2016
  15. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    Hmmm... What could possibly go wrong?
     
    #15 hkmb, Oct 26, 2016
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    exactly! they brought gypsy moth caterpillars over here to make silk. look at how that worked out.(y)
     
    #16 bisco, Oct 26, 2016
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  17. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    Spiders' eyes are very cool, if a little creepy. I can see why they're often used as models for aliens in SF.

    But yes, we have no shortage of small spiders that want to kill us. I think I mentioned before that I got bitten on my leg by something - a spider, I think - a couple of years ago and couldn't walk for two days. Really, spider, why would you do that? You've got eight legs and I've only got two, and you go and disable one of them. That's just rubbing it in.

    Jellies. Bastards. Between them and the salties, you can't swim at most of the beautiful beaches in North Queensland.

    Have you been to Laos? It's only a hop, a skip and a jump away for you. Gimassive spiders aside, Luang Prabang is one of the loveliest towns I've ever been to.
     
    #17 hkmb, Oct 26, 2016
  18. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    Ah, yes. In Australia we have cane toads and rabbits as good examples of the folly of moving animals around.

    Also, there was that old lady who swallowed a fly.
     
    #18 hkmb, Oct 26, 2016
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  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    well, she was good until the horse.
     
    #19 bisco, Oct 26, 2016
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  20. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    Yeah, that was the mistake I made with the Merc speedo too. I should leave it to the professionals next time.
     
    #20 hkmb, Oct 26, 2016
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