The spiders Are Our Friends Thread

Discussion in 'Science and Nature' started by smokehound, May 26, 2014.

  1. #241 AGoldenRaider, Oct 9, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 9, 2014
    Found this sumbitch takin a stroll past my front porch the other day. Nearly shat my pants.
    1412820514462.jpg
     
  2. Look at that! Another californian :D

      Tarantula breeding season is just kicking into gear.  Those of you that find males wandering- leave them be, DON'T collect them!

      Once a male tarantula matures, his body changes, his legs become much longer, and they wander ceaselessly, searching for females.  This marks the end of the male's life-  If he's not preyed upon by a hungry female, smashed by an ignorant human, or run over by a car during his search, he will soon die, regardless of the outcome.  Some die trying to molt again, others drop dead of exhaustion and dehydration- as they no longer behave like a normal tarantula.  They just dont last long as a mature male.

     This tarantula you saw was likely Aphonopelma smithi- the 'Bay area blonde', but could very well be eutylenum or even reversum.

     California has a buttload of tarantula species, many arent even named- some are dwarves, only growing to a few inches or less.


     If you want to see them in the wild, now's the time.  In a good area, you may find hundreds of males crossing roads and trails right now, they dont care whether it's day or night.
     
  3. The ones we have here shoot poison spines into your eyes and cause temporary blindness

    I've never seen one in the city though. I think they are usually out in the desert

    "what is a bunny of fish?" - Christopher Brown
     
  4. That's a hallmark of nearly every new-world tarantula, except those 'spines' are actually urticating hairs, and are evolved to irritate a sniffing mammalian nose.  The reason the hairs are irritating, is because they're fragile and barbed, scratching one will break it into smaller pieces.   If you ever get 'haired' by an Aphonopelma (the genus of tarantula native to the USA), dont try to wash it off- this will make it worse.  Use tape to remove them.  

     Tarantulas can be found surprisingly close to urban regions, I see them in fullerton occasionally, though quite rare around there, due to everyone destroying the habitat by planting iceplant along hillsides, which are the favored habitat of tarantulas in general.

     Southern california's coastal areas actually have an immense number of scorpion, tarantula, and trapdoor spider species, many endemic, and in serious danger of extinction, thanks to the general public not caring about arachnids, viewing them all as 'pests'.

     The most damage is done when someone freaks out and kills males.  It takes them 7-10 years to mature, and because they cannot balloon like true spiders, just removing or harming one can do significant damage to a population.

       Females can just sit around for decades, but males die as soon as they mature.  Some mygalomorphs arent large at all, and people often smash or poison them, thinking they're just another spider..  (an attitude i absolutely loathe.)
     
  5. #245 yurigadaisukida, Oct 10, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 10, 2014
    You should make a "pokedex" and sell it to people for billions

    Who wouldn't want the equivelent of a tablet or phone, that can see a lifeform through a camera and provide all known information on that organism.

    Or maybe a smartphone apparently that uses the internet so all that information doesn't have to be kept on the device

    "what is a bunny of fish?" - Christopher Brown
     
  6. #246 Verts, Oct 17, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 17, 2014
    Keep finding these guys in my house. Just been letting them outside mostly... can anyone tell me what this is? If it's a wolfie I'm gonna bug bomb the place or get an exterm because these little shits are ALL over my house.
     

    Attached Files:

  7.  A number of people have made similar apps for the android and mac phones.  ...Except a large proportion of them may be seriously outdated, information-wise..  Most of our native scorpion genera are renamed like every ten years..  Vaejovis became Hoffmannius, hoffmannius, became paravaejovis, etc...
     
  8. Scotophaeus blackwalli, the mouse-spider (not to be confused with the dangerous 'mouse-spiders' of australia, which are large mygalomorphae (related to tarantulas and trapdoor spiders).  They are native to europe, and came to america with the settlers.

     Harmless, and they actually specialize in catching spiders, being one of the few spider species that can fight back against cellar spiders.
     
     
      ..Plus i think they're attractive.  If you see one in good light, they have a beautiful copper color, and their abdomens have a stunning velvety sheen.  They (scotophaeus) are in the gnaphosidae family, better known as ground spiders.  
     
  9. sounds like valuable information to include in said pokedex

    -yuri
     
  10. 1414205925445.jpg

    Found this right above my bed today :blink:

    Damn I thought I moved away from these. I much prefer black widows that chill in one spot and don't crawl into your furniture and clothing

    If I had to guess, female Arizona bark scorpion. Was I close?

    O well, I wanted a pet scorpion anyway, just didn't want to find them above my bed :lol:

    -yuri
     
  11. I used to have a very irrational fear of spiders just because of their looks, but recently I love looking at them...any arachnid.  They are so beautiful and fascinating.  I especially love Black widows.  I haven't had the pleasure to see one though.
     
  12.  It's impossible to ID this.  none of the characteristics making ID possible are shown.
     
      I'll need a clear photo.. many scorpions cannot be ID'd at a mere glance..  Some, like vaejovis waeringi, and serradigitus are so similar, that you need to examine the claws under magnification to observe the denticles.

      It does look like a centruroides though (bark scorpion)..


     There are cooler scorpions there :D   get yourself a UV flashlight, and find some undisturbed habitat
     
  13. Thought this looked interesting.  Enjoy.
     
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYSwpdDkcMM
     
  14. Some people think spiders are assholes but im pretty sure you would be an asshole to if you had to rebuild your elaborate webbed home, (which by the way comes out of your asshole) every day

    Sent from my ALCATEL ONE TOUCH 5020T using Grasscity Forum mobile app
     
  15. Smokehound, I have a question about caring for scorpions

    Do scorpions "need" to hibernate?

    I know some plants and animals require a winter hibernation period or they can fall into poor health

    Where I live we get cold winters and the bugs all hibernate or die off.

    Is it OK to raise a scorpion indoors and feed it throughout the winter?

    -yuri
     
  16.   I must have been pretty drunk to not have been infuriated by this comment.  (either that, or you added the bug-bomb bit AFTER i gave you an ID.) ( a bad one, as the spider IS a wolf.)

      I'll be ignoring you from now on- I already told you this was annoying me, and you went out of your way to upload a photo of an OBVIOUS wolf spider.   
     
     Anyways..
     
      
     
    Many scorpions enter diapause, especially desert species, during winter.  They can survive the freeze, and thaw out and resume normal activity.  bark scorpions are more sensitive to frost, but can still survive it, so long as they can seek shelter.

     Many USA desert scorpions actually require a cold dormant period for optimal health and longevity, not frozen, mind you, but in an unheated room, they'll seal themselves off and enter diapause, until a few months later, when it warms up again.

     Scorpions are tough, and adaptable, thanks to this, they're all over the planet, in some of the harshest areas known to man.
     
  17. interesting. Thanks for the reply

    -yuri
     
  18. [​IMG]
     
     A member from an arachnid forum I frequent shared this image of a tiny parasteatoda spider eating a large male Holothele incei that got loose in his home..  While it's sad to see one die like this, you gotta give that little bugger props for taking down such enormous prey!
     
  19.  One of the rarest scorpions on earth.

     [​IMG]
     
      This is Kochius hirsuticauda, a VERY rare scorpion species with very long trichobothriae on the telson (venom-bulb).
     
  20. Why are the cool looking oones always rare >…<

    -yuri
     

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