Hey, Swinecosa!! ...Do You Know This Eight Legged Freak???

Jaxx

Jaxx

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So...I'm on my way to bed last night and found this sucker loitering outside my bedroom door... :eek::eek::eek:

Spider-1.jpg


Since I have plenty (read: too many) regular house spiders that are resistant to catch & release and fast as heck, I don't try this with them anymore, but after the initial shock and awe at the size of this not-so-common visitor, I decided give it a go, and this fella was very calm about the jar approach, and even folded in it's legs as I eased the jar down and slid a piece of mail under it. It wasn't too wild about the flash photography, but I had to get pix! Does anyone know what kind of spider this is? Is is one of those Orb Weaver types? (ETA: pix I found on the net show it to look more like a Wolf spider) ...Anyway, I got my pix and it got to live another day...outside! :D

Spider-2.jpg


It's reach is at least as long as a BOSS Street blade from tip to top of the handle! :eek::eek:

Busse_BOSS-Street_27x3b.jpg


Spiders tend to bug me out (OK, pun intended! ;)), but I must admit...once I had it under control...that it was pretty cool.
Of course, that movie sprang to mind... ;):thumbup:

[video=youtube;NGmR_3_Wieo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGmR_3_Wieo[/video]

:D
 
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That is a big one!

Sorry, that one would have been killed at my house!!!

Or kept as a pet, and trained to take over the world!
 
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Seems like after devouring the two trees of Valinor, Ungoliant came to your place to eat up all INFI :eek:
 
Nice catch Jaxx- I have no idea what it is but at least it isn't a brown Recluse-if they were that big, they would be even more scary. Out here in Vegas we have alot of black widows and scorpions. I've seen some tarantulas and some other really weird looking bugs that I've never seen before anywhere. None of them bother me much but if you want to see me run away like a screaming chicken, put a monster cockroach on me--I will lose it! :eek::D
 
Do you get Huntsman spiders in the USA? Looks and size are similar to the Huntsmans we get here in Australia - different colouration though.
 
Wow! Looks like a bigger version of the Carolina Wolf Spiders so prevalent in my area. They are fast, but generally calm. Great hunters too. I try to relocate them, but my phobic family doesn't always let me get to that point before they are screaming and throwing stuff. I am rather protective of my Daring Jumping Spiders though. Anyhow, good on you Jaxx for relocation. I'm not always a spider hugger, but that fella is pretty impressive.
 
Looks like a wolf spider. We've found a few over the years that are that big. One of the first ones found was in the basement under my work bench. Very large and very calm. Haven't seen one in awhile though.

Patrick
 
Wolf Spider fun fact. Their eyes will reflect a flashlight beam like a cat or dog. Found out on a night hike when I saw hundreds of pairs of beady eyes glowing in the surrounding brush.
 
I believe what you have there is a Nursery Web Spider (Pisauridae). Very pretty I must say. Nice catch Jaxx. I like how you can stop to appreciate the beauty of it. Everyone should try that once in a while with things that give them the creeps. You'll be surprised of what you notice if you look closely.
 
Alex- That's a Thin-Legged Wolf Spider! Very cool! Thanks for not killing it! Spiders are so beneficial!
 
Holy moly that's a big spider! I absolutely hate spiders and I don't know what would happen if I came across one such as that. We have tons of wolf spiders here but they're generally quarter sized or so. At least, the ones I *see* are....
 
Good catch, man! We used to have many spiders in our home and I would be the designated "gamekeeper" since my lady is not fond of spiders. Ever since we adopted a pair of very healthy cats our spider issues have dwindled to almost nothing. Those little cat guys are excellent hunters. My only concern (as a biologist) is that we are applying selective pressure on our local spider population to cause it to evolve into a faster and sneakier spider species :D

(aw yeah, post #666! That's GOT to be good for something)
 
(aw yeah, post #666! That's GOT to be good for something)[/QUOTE]
It's also #13 on this thread.

I believe that's a Lycosa (Wolf Spider). They are not orb weavers (trappers) but rather hunters, like jumping spiders (Salticidae) that stalk they're prey. Except jumpers pounce on victims. Wolf spiders run them down. You can rest assured they are harmless... unless you are smaller than they are.
 
mymindisamob said:
Wow! Looks like a bigger version of the Carolina Wolf Spiders so prevalent in my area. They are fast, but generally calm. Great hunters too. I try to relocate them, but my phobic family doesn't always let me get to that point before they are screaming and throwing stuff. I am rather protective of my Daring Jumping Spiders though. Anyhow, good on you Jaxx for relocation. I'm not always a spider hugger, but that fella is pretty impressive.
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Same as my reaction.

I wonder ... could Jaxx train it to guard his INFI? Maybe it would agree to bring its cousins in on the job, and he could have an entire Crew!!

Awesome! Well, if you like eight legs.
 
AusieGav said:
Do you get Huntsman spiders in the USA? Looks and size are similar to the Huntsmans we get here in Australia - different colouration though.
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We do have Huntsmans in the US, but that is a Wolf spider. They are cousins though. On a different note, I work in a 160 year old mental institution. The brown recluse population here grows beyond record size! I caught one a few years ago that was so big in fact, the nursing supervisor presented it on a paper plate & passed it around the units for a week to educate folks on what a recluse looks like.
 
AusieGav said:
Do you get Huntsman spiders in the USA? Looks and size are similar to the Huntsmans we get here in Australia - different colouration though.
Click to expand...

Biggest spider I have EVER seen was a huntsman who made his home in my surfboard case. I screamed like a 7 year old girl when I opened my case. Its legs were hairier than mine!

huntsmanspider.jpg
 
Fishing Spider I bet (from http://www.spiderzrule.com/commonspidersusa.htm ) :

closer%20spider_small.jpg


Fishing Spiders are quite large and may have a leg spread of 75 mm or more. Fishing spiders are hairy, large, and usually a mixture of black, brown, and grey. Although very difficult to distinguish from wolf spiders, nursery web and fishing spiders are usually slimmer in build. The Dolomedes spiders live near water; they walk on the surface of water and dive underneath it to feed on aquatic insects and even small fish. Not all fishing spiders live near water however.
 
Good job on not killing it. I always let them be, so they can catch all the worthless and dirty flies.
 
Lycosa said:
Alex- That's a Thin-Legged Wolf Spider! Very cool! Thanks for not killing it! Spiders are so beneficial!
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You can thank it for remaining calm! Had it pulled a move or headed toward me, I'd have thrown a chair at it and ran for the shotty!!! :D;)

snwbrdr202 said:
:eek: That is a big spider for SE PA Jaxx! Don't bring him this side of Rt. 100 :p
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Oops, too late... ;);)

OldPhysics said:
Same as my reaction.

I wonder ... could Jaxx train it to guard his INFI? Maybe it would agree to bring its cousins in on the job, and he could have an entire Crew!!

Awesome! Well, if you like eight legs.
Click to expand...

Now here's a man who thinks on his feet! I should have thought of that. :D

monsterdog said:
Fishing Spider I bet (from http://www.spiderzrule.com/commonspidersusa.htm ) :

closer%20spider_small.jpg


Fishing Spiders are quite large and may have a leg spread of 75 mm or more. Fishing spiders are hairy, large, and usually a mixture of black, brown, and grey. Although very difficult to distinguish from wolf spiders, nursery web and fishing spiders are usually slimmer in build. The Dolomedes spiders live near water; they walk on the surface of water and dive underneath it to feed on aquatic insects and even small fish. Not all fishing spiders live near water however.
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After looking at that pic...you might be right. Well, Wolf or Fishing...it's one or the other. Too bad I can remember with certainty what the eye pattern was, but that pic you posted is almost dead on identical to the one I caught.

I have to admit... Spiders creep me out, especially when they run. Like I said, the small house spiders I usually encounter don't get the chance anymore because I've learned that my catch & release success rate with them was only about 3-4 out of 10 and I would waste a lot of time trying to reacquire the buggers with minimal success once they caught on to me and took off running. This one was quite calm (until it realized that it was trapped! :D) and very non aggressive...even after a minute or 2 in the jar, it calmed down again...enough to risk taking the piece of mail off for pix. It seemed pretty happy to be freed and hopefully it eats tons of bugs on my property. :thumbup:
 
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