Scary Spiders 2008

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Here's a funny little number. Well, not funny, as the case may be. She was quite busy when I found her as you can tell from her TWO egg sacks. As far as Australian Redbacks go, I'm not a huge fan of their abilities (the words deadly and spider in the same sentence make me ready to walk quickly in the other direction rather than run, so as not to draw too much attention to myself). On the flip side they are quite beautiful as far as spiders go, so if you keep a comfortable distance, they are quite easy to admire. The reason I was not impressed is that she had made her home under my camp chair...on the back veranda...about eight feet from the back door. Enough said.

Sometimes I enjoy being extra dramatic, for effect. :)

Photo taken at our home about two hours south of Perth, Western Australia.

Scary Spiders Disclaimer

2008-11-05T22:16:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Scary Spiders of Western Australia 2008! The following is not intended for viewing by anyone afraid of spiders. If you live in the Northeastern US you may not be entirely prepared for what you are about to see. The writer of this blog is not responsible for reactions of viewers to what is being shown...aka eeking and/or jumping onto your chair. Please eek and/or jump on your chair at your own risk. Thank you.

Special Thanks to Canon for the scale...

2008-11-05T22:15:00.000-08:00

The best "wow" factor for these pics is to click on the pic individually and have it come up as screen size...that way you get close to life size. Be sure to utilize other items in the picture for scale.

Let's get warmed up, shall we? This little guy looks pretty unassuming doesn't he? Just hanging out on the floor board...looking for juicy bugs. It isn't until we toss the lens cap on the floor that things come in to perspective... That is a standard Canon lens cap, which is roughly three inches diameter. Do the math at your own risk...

Huntsman on a glass.

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I call this one "Huntsman on a Glass". Note the size of Darren's hand in relation to the size of the spider. This one is especially spectacular when you click on the picture...the background of the picture tends to make it blend in.

Here is a picture of my hand next to the spider. Yes, I really put my hand that close! I find it easier to handle the ickyness of spiders better when they are big enough for me to see them...

By the way, this guy was found on top of the curtain in the kitchen.

How big are they really?

2008-11-05T22:13:00.000-08:00

Let's talk about the size of these guys for a minute. The spider below is your typical garden spider. Unfortunately he got stuck in this white basin (it is the typical white plastic basin size, most of us have them at home to aid in washing dishes, note his relative size to the basin). This allowed me to take his picture as he couldn't run away immediately.

Yep, that's the spider in the basin. Note his size in relation to the plastic containers around him...not bad huh?

This one is a picture of a Huntsman on a cardboard box. Huntsman don't build webs...they hunt, hence the name. When I googled the Huntsman I was a little startled to find out that they can grow up to a foot across. This guy got caught in someone else's web, and was unfortunately not alive when I took his picture. Can't see him you say? Do you see the word PICKFORDS? Note how you can't see the letter I. That's because the spider is covering it up. Yes, he was that big.

To get a better idea of size, compare him to the packing tape. Standard size packing tape here...

Cribbage and Critters.

2008-11-05T22:07:00.000-08:00

Here we are, Darren and I, minding our own business. Darren sits, loving the fact that he is once again winning at cribbage. I am concentrating hard, trying to get the most points possible...maybe I'll beat him this time. All of a sudden, I feel something on my leg. It isn't fabric. It's moving. AAAHHHHHH!!!!! Arms waving, madly shaking out my pants. Yes, this guy was up my pantleg.

Looks harmless, huh? Compared to what we've seen so far, tiny even. Well how about if we put him next to a chair leg. What do you think now?

Time to do the Laundry

2008-11-05T22:05:00.000-08:00

Here I go, out to do a load of laundry. The laundry room is a completely seperate building from the house, and boy am I glad of that! I opened the door...

walked into the room and put down my basket...

Immediately after putting the basket down I spotted the spider in the basin that I wrote about earlier. I was really excited because I knew he would stay still for a few minutes while I went to grab my camera.
I turned my head and saw...

one half of a huntsman, a big one, on the floor. Now, you've heard the age old question, "What's worse than finding a worm in an apple?", right? The punchline is..."Finding half a worm". Well, what's worse than finding a big huntsman spider? Finding half of one. Why, you ask? Because. That means he was prey. Which means there is a predator around. All of this raced through my head as I glanced around madly for the guy that ate him. And then. I Looked Up.

I sortof wish I hadn't. He was huge. Here he is in relation to the ceiling rafters. They are roughly four inches across. I'm not sure what kind of spider he is, but wow is all I can say about his size. See the final post for a close up of him, click on his picture. That is one big spider.

Jaws

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No spiders were hurt in the taking of the pictures for this blog. We were very gentle in relocating all of the spiders and no one fainted while looking at them. "Jaws", as I am now lovingly referring to the spider in the picture above was left on the ceiling. When I went to show him to Darren later that evening, he was no where to be found. Who knows, he may be out there still, waiting to startle yet another unsuspecting person just trying to do their laundry.
In the future, I will remember to put in the detergent...adjust the water level...pick a temperature...and always look up before doing any of the above.

All pictures in these posts were taken at our friend's farm in Tammin, Western Australia, where we stayed while Darren did some renovations in nearby Kellerberrin for three weeks in September and October 2008. We had a wonderful time!

I hope you enjoyed all of the pictures! For more exciting adventures, feel free to read my main blog, Rhymes With Socks at http://www.rhymeswithsocks.blogspot.com . Thanks! :)