So I was a little disconcerted when I stepped outside a few nights ago and saw this beast lurking on the doormat.
It was sizeable -- the ladybug under one of its legs is a good scale reference.
Anyone know what kind of spider this is? -- PL
All artwork, photos and text © 2010 Peter Laird, unless otherwise noted.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
It's a spider, man!
Like many other human beings, I am slightly arachnophobic. I appreciate spiders for their evolutionary success and wild variety in shapes and sizes, but I also find them somewhat creepy.
So I was a little disconcerted when I stepped outside a few nights ago and saw this beast lurking on the doormat.
It was sizeable -- the ladybug under one of its legs is a good scale reference.
Anyone know what kind of spider this is? -- PL
So I was a little disconcerted when I stepped outside a few nights ago and saw this beast lurking on the doormat.
It was sizeable -- the ladybug under one of its legs is a good scale reference.
Anyone know what kind of spider this is? -- PL
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14 comments:
wow that's crazy!
I think it could be a form of a wolf spider but I'm not really sure Peter.
Great photo though!
http://www.easygopest.com/spiders/images/800px-Wolf_spider_white_bg.jpg
I'm bug-ophobic.(except for baxter stockman) That's creepy.
I second Vaugh Michael's suggestion. Looking through some images it seems to match the best.
That thing is huge and Spider-zilla seems to have no mercy. Reminds me a little of the alien spider,Toxem who was a one shot character from TMNTA.
Whoa, it's creepy to find THAT on your poarch.
I hate spiders. They totally creep me out. Finding one of those things on my doormat would be one of my worst nightmares.
What did you do, Peter? Did you leave it alone or shoo it off the porch with a big stick?
"dark turtle said...
I hate spiders. They totally creep me out. Finding one of those things on my doormat would be one of my worst nightmares.
What did you do, Peter? Did you leave it alone or shoo it off the porch with a big stick?"
I must confess that I squished it. -- PL
Good call. It was trespassing anyway, by the letter of the law.
Say, can you settle a debate? Are there male and female Utroms, or are they asexual/hermaphroditic?
Pete,
My dad was a professor of Entomology at UMass Amherst until just after the millennium. I remember him bringing home a horned caterpillar, only to find it had escaped from it's "carton" later that day. It wasn't until a few years ago that, for some reason, bugs don't bother me so much anymore. Anyway, the spider you squished is semi rare in New England, at least in the last 10 years. Just kidding, I don't have an answer for you... but you squished it? That must have been messy. It looks kinda big.
this spider pretty much ensures that I will not be coming home.
I must confess that I squished it. -- PL
Peter, you are a far braver man than I to do battle with Shelob. :)
That spider looks very big and creepy!! My dad used to have a pet tarantula, you'd think I wouldn't be afraid of them, but I am.
The last time I squished a big wolf spider was when one sneaked into my workplace. It was by the backdoor and I stepped on it. Babies took off everywhere! I totally freaked out and grabbed the nearest bottle of cleanser I could find and sprayed down the floor, the walls and the baseboards. The entire treatment area was a sticky foamy mess... but the spiders were gone.
Since then, I refuse to squish anything, just because of what it might be carrying around on its back.
I'm pretty sure that it's a Black House Spider, which is poisonous, so good call on killing it. Go here: http://www.termite.com/spiders/Black-House-Spider.shtml
Even if it wasn't, better safe than sorry.
I'm rather surprised that it's living up where there's snow and lots of wet weather, though. Of course, I'm only assuming the environment in which you found it.
Anyway, if you've found one, be assured that there's probably more somewhere. :0)
0_0
You know . . . I think I saw him in Lord of the Rings.
That looks like a Plate Spider or the worlds largest Wolf Spider. I think if I'd have seen it I'd have had to slam the door shut and go find bug spray or something. If ya missed and it could jump, say on your leg . . .
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