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

Bisco I did not know that gypsy moth for silk thing. Whenever all of PriusChat comes up with obscure animal facts I dinna know, it is a moment. Whether that gets interpreted as a general challenge, we'll see

Yes to Laos, but somehow not yet Luang Prabang. It is highly spoken of. Also, in dotage, I am becoming more reticent about cave exploration. A lot of not safe for humans stuff goes on in them.

Getting a spider to envenomate you requires cutting off their escape route. Not all that difficult given that they may occupy (vacant) shoes and trouser legs.

Hard to declare which animals seem the purest representation of evil, but jellies make a strong case.

 

alas, poor aragog, i knew him well.

 

i only know the gypsy moth story because we seem to be the epicenter. same with ticks and lyme disease, but i'm not familiar with that tale.

 

US had native gypsy moths, but susceptible to disease. So a French guy brought some 'Euros' over for crossbreeding. The result was less susceptible to disease...

Moth scales have several purposes (so it is said), but they surely help them to escape spiderwebs. Trying to pull this all together

 

and you're doing a fine job. our latest craze seems to be 'winter moth'.

 

Speedometer @12. Bah. A routine dial like in all other cars. Quirky 'Vertical thermometer' of Mercedes from the Good Days - now that was a speedometer. No good image available for web pilferage. It changes color as you go faster

I have a poor image but cannot upload presently

 

i think i had that in my '67 230. or was it a 200?

 

Ohmigod another fintail owner. Forget about spiders!!

 

we better take it outside...

 

Thanks. Panny GX85. Nah, I don't shoot enough macro.

 

Need to f-stop down for bug shots. Need light. Get depth of field. We are not Bokeh.

If there is not an LED-based ring illuminator, I see a niche. DIY

hkmb asked, I'd make your 2 spiders about 2 and 1 cm body length. Sound right to you?

 

You have no reference. Total length (leg to leg) is approx. 12cm. (5 inches). Their webs can be about 4-5 feet. Wife who has arachnophobia is terrified of them.

 

Big, colorful spiders that make big webs are generally referred to as orb weavers. The ones that were around our house in NJ weren't that big, but still sizable, fat bodied spiders;1 to 2 inches across the abdomen. The web of one had bent a flowering branch tip of the forsythia down over a foot.

River blindness: Onchocerciasis - Wikipedia
Eggs aren't laid in the eyes, but the larva can make their way there when looking for a way out. Ivermectin, same stuff treating worms in your dog, will handle the larva by paralyzing them so the immune system can kill them. Doesn't kill the adults though, and they can live for 18 years in a person.

Evidence that pharmaceutical companies aren't pure evil, Mectizan.
Merck donates a lot of the pills in developing countries since an infected person has be on it for nearly 20 years.

 

You're not suggesting you got Lyme disease from us limeys are ya?

 

Lyme disease (caused by a bacteria) is widely distributed in N. Hemisph. The whole disease thing can be very depressing. Nature is resource-acquisitive and not Disney-friendly. Oh well.

In a sense that could let humans 'off the hook' because, heck, everyone else does it. May not be something that we can, collectively, rise above. But we are supposed to try, right? Be the good guys?

Sorry I messed up your spider thing. A really interesting group.

 

lyme disease bacteria is a spirochete, similar to syphilis. thank God for abx.