Content Warning: Spiders!

[arthwollipot]

I recently got over a phase of watching Americans react to youtube videos about Australia and one of the most common reactions is "wait, it snows in Australia?"

Yes, it snows. We have a mountain range that is literally called the Snowy Mountains. It's not a huge area, but it's definitely classified as alpine. And it has reasonable skiing.

Male house-spider, usually only seen when on the prowl for females.

That looks like a wolf spider to me. How large was it?

 

[novaphile]

The stats might be reassuring now, but go back 60 years or more when there was no anti-venom for most of the critters in question and it was a different matter. From what I gather getting bitten by a Red Back, Eastern Brown or whatever is still quite an unpleasant experience even in the knowledge that you're not going to die.

Eastern Browns are probably one of the best snakes to have bite you.

They are very picky and usually only envenomate their prey, i.e. defensive bites are just wounds without venom. Unfortunately, this doesn't hold true for the juveniles, so don't pick up the cute little baby snakes. I've heard that they can deliver an adult load of venom even when they look like little brown earthworms.

However, best advice is always: "Don't mess with snakes."

 

[IsThisTheLife]

The spiders of England are almost boringly harmless, though they do tend to make some people scream when found in the bath, usually this sort
[qimg]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52382642109_6708d7a22c_z.jpg[/qimg]House spider by Steve Higgins, on Flickr

Male house-spider, usually only seen when on the prowl for females.

There are Tube Webs, which I believe are are relatives of Funnel Webs (they look similar), which bite quite readily and can hurt. I was in an internet room in Richmond c. 2005 when a quite large one appeared on the floor and a guy picked it up to evict it (to save it from being trodden on), it chomped his finger tip and actually drew blood, two little beads, he felt it the bite itself and then apparently it stung a bit.

 

[arthwollipot]

There are Tube Webs, which I believe are are relatives of Funnel Webs (they look similar), which bite quite readily and can hurt. I was in an internet room in Richmond c. 2005 when a quite large one appeared on the floor and a guy picked it up to evict it (to save it from being trodden on), it chomped his finger tip and actually drew blood, two little beads, he felt it the bite itself and then apparently it stung a bit.

I know someone who managed to be bitten by a huntsman spider, which are very large and look quite scary but are quite inoffensive and actually good to have around because they eat smaller spiders and insects like cockroaches. She had a small itchy rash at the site for about a day, and then it went away.

 

[IsThisTheLife]

Eastern Browns are probably one of the best snakes to have bite you.

They are very picky and usually only envenomate their prey, i.e. defensive bites are just wounds without venom. Unfortunately, this doesn't hold true for the juveniles, so don't pick up the cute little baby snakes. I've heard that they can deliver an adult load of venom even when they look like little brown earthworms.

However, best advice is always: "Don't mess with snakes."

Yep. That said, when my niece was a toddler up in FNQ, if my brother found a venomous snake on the property (or anywhere near it for that matter) he killed them without compunction.

 

[arthwollipot]

Yep. That said, when my niece was a toddler up in FNQ, if my brother found a venomous snake on the property (or anywhere near it for that matter) he killed them without compunction.

That would be illegal in most states these days.

 

[IsThisTheLife]

That would be illegal in most states these days.

Of course. I doubt my brother gave a ****, and neither would I. ETA >> as I recall he only had to resort to killing them twice in several years.

 

[novaphile]

I know someone who managed to be bitten by a huntsman spider, which are very large and look quite scary but are quite inoffensive and actually good to have around because they eat smaller spiders and insects like cockroaches. She had a small itchy rash at the site for about a day, and then it went away.

The small itchy rash suggests a histamine response, probably to a foreign protein left behind by the bite. (Really stretching for the last part)

 

[SteveAitch]

...

That looks like a wolf spider to me.

Not hairy enough?

How large was it?

Ooooh, all of about 3 inches, including the legs.

 

[arthwollipot]

The small itchy rash suggests a histamine response, probably to a foreign protein left behind by the bite. (Really stretching for the last part)

Sounds like a reasonable suggestion.

Not hairy enough?

Ooooh, all of about 3 inches, including the legs.

That's about right for a wolf spider. There are lots of different genera of wolf spider, though, and I'm not an expert in spider taxonomy, so it would be hard to say. It has the general morphology of a wolfie though.

 

[novaphile]

I get a lot of wolf spiders in my garden, and rarely in my house, and they do look a lot like the spider in the UK.

They're fascinating to watch in action, they run very quickly and leap on their prey!

From my own experience, I'd say that most of the little itchy welts that I get when weeding, are probably from them. And I've bitten by a wolf spider when I picked it up to take it out of my house.

(Yes, I know, you'd think I'd learn by now.)

The females are often only visible because they're lugging a huge egg case around with them, their camouflage is excellent.

 

[arthwollipot]

Spiders were the subject of a recent episode of the Infinite Monkey Cage podcast, and it was one of the most entertaining in ages, thanks to some very, very funny ecologists. Seriously, the scientists were funnier than the comedian in this episode.

Absolutely worth a download.

And it's not very often that you see the phrase "very, very funny ecologists". Trust me.

 

[Planigale]

New giant species spider found in Australia.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-65048226

 

[Planigale]

dupicate

 

[novaphile]

New giant species spider found in Australia.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-65048226

Fortunately the thing that I discovered with my bare foot in the darkened lounge room, wasn't one of them...



I've been working on the assumption that it was a female 'mouse spider'.

Arachnophobes, please do not search for 'mouse spider'.

It's likely because they are so common, and I have had multiple 'trap doors' in my yard over the years.

 

[arthwollipot]

The new species Euoplos dignitas is certainly rather large. I've seen huntsmen that big, but only when I was living in the country.

 

[Mr Clingford]

Saw this lovely fellow last month, a Green Crab Spider:

 

[Steve]

Saw this lovely fellow last month, a Green Crab Spider:
View attachment 48407

Handsome chap.

Are you back in your home yet or is he now the lone resident?

 

[novaphile]

Saw this lovely fellow last month, a Green Crab Spider:
View attachment 48407

Ooooh pretty.

It's quite late for them to be out and about, but I walked into my first golden orb web yesterday.

Our weather has been quite strange which may have had an effect.

The golden orb/garden orb set of spiders (hundreds of species here in Oz) make traditional spider webs across quite large open areas. (Typically across paths, driveways, between trees etc.) They are very shy, and typically drop to the ground and run away if their web is disturbed.

The ones around here are a nice orange/brown with brightly coloured, striped legs.

I wear a head torch if I'm out in my yard during the night, otherwise I'd be trashing many webs.

The main structural threads of the web (typically three of them) are quite strong. I've bounced off those threads, without damaging the web, in the past, and that's quite disconcerting.



They're not particularly large. The ones around here, their entire body (and probably their legs) would fit inside a quarter/20 cent/20 pence piece.

If you know where they make their webs every night, you can spot them during the day. They typically hug a twig, near a fork, next to the usual termination point of one of the main structural threads, and are incredibly well camouflaged.

Minor point of hilarity...

Playing badminton, outdoors one summer evening, a wild shot ended up with the shuttlecock stuck in a web.

The spider investigated, cut the 'bird' out of the web and made an immediate repair.

The players all felt that the spider expressed 'disgust' at the thing it had caught.

 

[arthwollipot]

They're not particularly large. The ones around here, their entire body (and probably their legs) would fit inside a quarter/20 cent/20 pence piece.

Oh, I've seen bigger ones than that. We had one on our front porch when I was living rurally that was a full 10cm or more across the legs.