Im curious if those of you who're from australia(or live there)have had any encounters with the Syndey Funnel Spider. Ive never been there but Ive seen plenty on TV about these critters and even though Im an ocean away from them they STILL freak me out! Thankfully there are only 2 spiders in the US which are poisonous to humans-neither one of them is deadly(Unless of course you're allergic to their venom)...though Im not Terrified of spiders I certainly find them Extremely Repulsive. I swear though I dont think I could sleep at night with the knowledge that there are DEADLY spiders crawling around inside my house.
One thing that creeps me out is about them becoming suddenly becoming native to Europe.... think about that one for a minute and hope bin Laden hasn't.
I seriously doubt Bin Laden has thought of that. Besides, theres a good chance that such spiders wouldnt survive the european climate-except maybe in parts of southern europe. There was some concern about the also deadly brazilian wandering spider being accidentally introducted to the southeastern US by means of banana shipments from S America but luckily this hasnt happened.
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Heh, cute 'lil things aint they, Solifugids, I wouldn't mind one for a pet
They aren't venomous, with the possible exception of a single species, which had been found to have a venomous saliva, but no truly evolved mechanism for delivering the venom (kind of like the gila monster and beaded lizard which are venomous, but chew the venom into the victim with grooved lower teeth, rather than inject it as do snakes)
I found what I think was a widow spider of some species in my house the other year, round black pea shaped body, similar appearance to a widow/redback with a red hourglass marking on the underside of the abdomen, I caught the little blighter in a shot glass, but sadly it died before I could 'refer' it to a more appropriate home, or get a suitable tank.
Some of the US Soldiers in Iraq have created a few legends about them due to their appearance
In the Middle East, it is widely rumored among American and coalition military forces stationed there that Solifugae will feed on living human flesh. The story goes that the creature will inject some anaesthetizing venom into the exposed skin of its sleeping victim, then feed voraciously, leaving the victim to awaken with a gaping wound. Solifugae, however, do not produce such an anaesthetic, and they do not attack prey larger than themselves unless threatened. Other stories include tales of them leaping into the air, disemboweling camels, eerie hissing and screaming, and running alongside moving humvees; all of these tales are false.
(wikipedia)
Heh, cute 'lil things aint they, Solifugids, I wouldn't mind one for a pet
They aren't venomous, with the possible exception of a single species, which had been found to have a venomous saliva, but no truly evolved mechanism for delivering the venom (kind of like the gila monster and beaded lizard which are venomous, but chew the venom into the victim with grooved lower teeth, rather than inject it as do snakes)
I found what I think was a widow spider of some species in my house the other year, round black pea shaped body, similar appearance to a widow/redback with a red hourglass marking on the underside of the abdomen, I caught the little blighter in a shot glass, but sadly it died before I could 'refer' it to a more appropriate home, or get a suitable tank.
I think the guy suffocated.
Nah, can't have, I had the shot glass upturned, didn't seem to be able to climb out.
Too bad, I would have loved to have dropped that lil lassie down the pants of the local copper xD
I've not seen the funnel-web (not being anywhere near Sydney), but we've had several run-ins with both the red-back and white-tip in our house. Luckily, so far it has always been the spider that died first before biting anyone.
I joke with the Aussies about how, until February 2005, I used to have a completely irrational terror of spiders. They always want to know what happened to me.
So I tell them - I moved to Australia, so it became a completely
rational fear of spiders.
White-tip eH? Not deadly but I saw a program about an an aussie guy who got bitten by a white-tailed spider and the necrosis spread throughout his hand. He eventually had to have the hand amputated to prevent the necrosis from spreading.BTW GuessWho, it turns out there IS a type of funnel-web spider that is found in Spain:macrothele calpeiana which has venom as all true spiders do but isnt NEARLY as dangerous as the syndey funnel spider.
Im not quite sure why Solifugids were brought up as they are not true spiders and lack venom.
Hang on, how many legs do they have? If it's 8, surely they are still some kind of spider. We get a lot of huntsman spiders where I live - they can get very large and I think they're poisonous but I don't know if they usually bite people.
Daddy long legs are common - it's reputed that they are one of the most poisonous species of spider but because their mouthparts are too small to pierce human flesh, they are no threat to us.
I occasionally see "money spiders" in the yard - they can change colour according to what kind of plant or flower they are sitting on. I also spotted an "orange back" spider which turned out to be a paler version of the redback with brown instead of black and orange instead of red.
Actually Pakrat, Solifugids are Arachnids, but they are NOT spiders. The Arachnid order Includes: spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, and solifugids among others.So I take it you havent seen a funnel-web, right?
As I kid I use to spend ages hunts down redbacks in and around the house. I used to like spiders generally. Naturally my Mother who was terrified of spiders tried to put the fear of God into me about playing with spiders but later saw my use in being able to catch and release spiders away from her and the house. Redbacks were definitely kill on sight though.
Snakes were the same. No matter what breed or size. Just kill them on sight. She wasn't as scared of snakes though.
I think there was not so much fear of these things as respect for and caution of these creatures.
Most snakes will only strike in self defence, and give some warning, there are a few exceptions, some vipers are very well camoflauged, and if you step on its toes, or where its toes would be if it had any, its going to get you.
Elapid snakes usually give some warning, although the black mamba, and the australian tiger snake, and taipan can be pretty aggressive.
Sea snakes have tiny fangs, but very potent, fast acting venom, but they are usually pretty docile unlesss really pissed off.
There are actually MANY exceptions to the rule of thumb you gave about snakes Lestat; notably large constrictors(over 10 feet in length). But I can think of a few elapids which strike out of territorial aggression like the egyptian cobra for example. One of the deadliest of the true cobra's, its probably the most ferocious snake in the world! They have been known to strike repeatedly upon first contact with a human and even chase people down. Another good example is the almight King Cobra: the largest venomous snake in the world with an average length of 10-12feet. A adult king cobra can and will rear up have its length and look you in the eye, not to mention if they spot you approaching them they can be extremely aggressive. A king cobra has enough venom to kill an Elephant!
So if one decides to bit you and give you a full dose of venom, you're pretty much gonna die. There is a sea snake in the Indian ocean found along the west coast of australia called the beaked sea snake which is EXTREMELY aggressive when taken out of the water. They're notorious for getting caught in fishing nets and biting fishermen-they also have exceedingly lethal venom.