Just got a picture of the annual Really Fricking Large spider that appears at this time every year between the two tall bushes in my front yard! Usually the species is a "bolas" spider, but this year I really have no idea. Anybody want to identify? *grin* The body is only slightly smaller than a US quarter, striped, very roundish, and the body has horny protrusions. My mother says that the common name she's always known for them is Pumpkin Spider, and that they are regarded as poisonous. |  |
I also note that up close, it looks a bit like the male black widows I've been finding in my room, though those weren't "horned" or anywhere near as big. Same kind of stripey round body, though. I'm assuming this one is a female of whatever species it is, as it lacks the male sex organs in front. :-) Wouldn't it be funny if human males carried their genitals up on their foreheads as well? *snicker* Posted by moggy at October 23, 2003 04:36 PM | TrackBack
Ewww! It looks like a big tick! :P :P :P
I vote for less pictures of bugs, more kitties! Less bug-eyed kitties too! :)
Posted by: Matt on October 23, 2003 05:08 PMLOL! Okay, I'll add more kitty pics... The ones I've been taking lately just haven't been up to snuff, at least not in my opinion. *grin*
BTW, by a funny coincidence, a friend on my LJ let me know that the spider I found is also known as a Cat-Faced Spider! The horns & indentations on either side look like cat ears & eyes, and the markings can sometimes appear to be a tabby face. Totally harmless/beneficial. :-)
Posted by: Moggy on October 24, 2003 01:22 AMHoly Crap! I've got a brown recluse spider in my window! I was looking up the cat spider and saw a photo of brown recluse - the bites from this thing are horrific:
http://www.brownreclusespider.net/
Maybe some of its babies are what was biting me before. The less severe bites are identical to what I had.
Damn! I need less spiders and more kitties here too!
:(
Posted by: Matt on October 24, 2003 02:05 PMOk, the body type is similar, it has the same mouth palps, but it is striped and the recluse is smooth and found only down south. Probably a funnel weaving cousin. Never mind...
http://home.hvc.rr.com/mattsstuff/misc/DSCN0312.JPG
Posted by: Matt on October 24, 2003 02:51 PM
Err... Actually, that looks a lot like a highly poisonous spider that is commonly mistaken for the brown recluse. They look a lot alike, their bites are near-identical -- but the hobo spider (also known as the Aggressive House Spider, which I've been finding around here) is found on the West Coast, whereas the brown recluse only exists in the Southern US.
There *are* other spiders that look a lot like it, but given the bites you described, there's a good chance you're dealing with them. Ick. *shudder*
The best website I can find on them is here, though now some of the pics are missing:
http://hobospider.org/
Well, a thorough cleaning of my bedroom stopped the bites in my bed, so I guess its time for the rest of the house.
I'm completely creeped out now, so I'm going to my spider free bedroom, watch some 'badger mushroom' on my laptop to distract me, and go to sleep.
Found out the recluse spider doesn't weave a web, so my window spider is not a recluse. Also, the hobo spider doesn't have stripes on the thorax, which this one does. The closest I've found on the web is a 'grass spider':
found a place that sells their venom!
http://spiderpharm.com/venoms/Agelenopsis.htm
From observing the behavior, I don't think agelenopsis was the bug that was biting me - it only stays in its web, and jumps incredibly quickly back into its funnel when I get within 2 feet of it. I wish I knew what it was that bit me - I have never seen what it was. All I know is that it has two fangs (because I can see the holes - http://www.brownreclusespider.net/BitePhotos2.php), it doesn't weave a web (there are none in my bedroom), and causes tissue necrosis like a recluse/hobo. Three months after the bites, I still get dead tissue falling off the center of them :P
Posted by: Matt on October 25, 2003 06:37 AMthe bite photos url is:
http://www.brownreclusespider.net/BitePhotos2.php
I know that the Brown Recluse lives in Idaho. I had a friend that was bit by one on his side, it left a really nasty wound!!!
Posted by: Cynthia on November 20, 2003 12:12 PM
