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Q.
Do tarantulas react aggressively toward loud
noises?
I think that would be grossly over acted on Home Alone!! Tarantulas will react toward anything they see as
aggressive and will rub their legs together and throw their urticating hairs in the direction of the threat but I don not believe they would chase after people. Tarantulas in fact often inflict a dry bite when in danger to deter the
aggressor, having no intention of eating them!! |
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Q.
How
often should I feed my new tarantula?
A.
I am not an expert
on tarantulas, we don't even have them here in Australia.
However, I think that tarantulas are like most spiders - they eat
when there is food available and then can go without for a long time
if there is none. I would only feed her a set amount, not keep
feeding her because she looks like she is hungry. Once she gets used
to her new environment she will know when to expect food. There is
also the danger of overfeeding and if there are lots of food debris
lying around that can go mouldy and spoil her environment. Here's a
good article on
www.tarantulas.com - they also have other advice on their site:
"How often you feed your tarantula is up to you. Some people want
their spider to grow as fast as possible and will offer food almost
every day. However, offering food every 4-7 days for young spiders
and every 10-14 for larger specimens is a reasonable regimen. Do not
feed freshly molted tarantulas for several days [young] to two weeks
[adults]. Spiders, in general, will keep eating until they are full,
approaching a molt, or ready to lay an egg sac. In a sense, you
can't really overfeed young tarantulas, but this isn't the case with
adults. An adult tarantula might only eat once a month or even as
little as a few times a year in the wild. A tarantulas abdomen
should not be overly large and impede its ability to move about with
ease.
It is extremely important to remove any uneaten prey items whether
live or dead within 24 hours or so. I recommend offering food late
at night and removing it first thing in the morning if not accepted.
Uneaten insects or other prey items can be stressful for the
tarantula, and have been known to damage and even kill tarantulas if
not eaten. Food remains like the bolus will attract pests and mold.
It is advisable to remove the remains of any prey items from your
tarantula's enclosure so that they do not cause unhealthy conditions
for your pet." |
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Q. Does a spider always builds its web facing to the south?
A.
I think it is false. I found reference to spiders building their webs
different ways depending on their habitat - shaded areas the webs
faced east/west with the spiders facing north/south and open areas the spiders faced east/west and the webs north/south but that was just one species.
It also seems to depend
on exposure to sun and wind as well, so I would say don't depend on
a spider webs orientationt if you are lost!! [top] |
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Q. Is there a "scientific" or specific name for spider droppings?
A.
Apparently, spider droppings are primarily made of guanine, and thus spider droppings are commonly discussed as such. It is a white colored reflective pigment for many spiders and as it is non-soluble, they can excrete it with little loss of body moisture. I find it interesting that the guanine nucleoside is called guanosine And now we are both enlightened as to the proper name for spider poo. Guanine. [top] |
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Q. Have a spider bite, what should I do?
A.
Sorry but I am not a doctor so I can't give you medical advice.
Please see your doctor if it is of concern to you and they will
prescribe the correct treatment for it. It would also help them to
know what spider bit you. [top] |
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Q. Do spiders have blood?
A.
Yes but it's not red like ours. The blood of spiders contains
many pale blood cells and is slightly bluish in colour. The heart,
is a long, slender tube in the abdomen, and pumps the blood to all
parts of the body. The blood returns to the heart through open
passages instead of closed tubes, such as those of the human body.
If the spider's skin is broken, the blood quickly drains from its
body. [top] |
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Q.
Are there really Tarantulas in Maryland?
A. I would imagine it would be too cold in Maryland as tarantulas
live in tropical and desert areas. The tarantula society says: "There are over 50 species of tarantulas native to the south western and central portions of the United States, including several undescribed species (unknown to science). They can be found in all or parts of (going in a circle): California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. Their eastern border is the Mississippi River and further to the north, the Missouri River. There is an introduced population of Brachypelma vagans in central Florida, but this species is indigenous to southern Mexico and Belize." [top] |
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Q.
If a spider was to be in your bed or clothing or something like that, would they bite you?
A. Often spiders get in beds and are rolled on by people and if they can bite them to let them know they are there, they will, it is a defense mechanism. However there is no evidence that spiders descend at night time and snack on people because they look tasty, we are not natural prey for spiders and they will avoid us and all larger animals if they can. [top] |
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Q.
Can spiders walk on each others webs?
A. There seems to be no definitive answer to this one. Some
sources say no and others say yes. Some spiders even get stuck in
their own web so I guess it is possible that other spiders can get
caught. Here's some info from Everyday Mysteries:
"Many people believe that spiders have special oils that repel the
stickiness of their threads. This, however, has never been proven.
Scientists are still not entirely certain how most spiders manage to
avoid ending up ensnared in their own trap, but there are a few
accepted theories. Spiders can spin different kinds of silk, and not
all of their silk is sticky. In fact, in a spider web only the silk
used for the intricate catching spirals are dotted with glue, so
spiders know which threads to avoid. In addition to producing
different kinds of silk, web-spinning spiders also have an extra set
of claws on their feet. All spiders have two claws on their feet;
web-spinning ones have three. These claws are used to grasp threads
and provide traction as the spider moves along." [top] |
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Q.
Is there a spider who doesn't make a web?
A. All spiders can spin silk but there is a group of spiders
called hunting spiders that don't spin webs to catch their prey but
either lie in wait for them in flowers etc like the flowe spiders or
hunt along the ground like wolf spiders or in houses like the
huntsman spiders. [top] |
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Q. I have lumps and blisters from
handling my tarantula, what should I do?
A. Firstly try not to handle it!! Some tarantulas have hairs on their legs and body called
urticating hairs. These are a defence mechanism and they come off
into hands and predators mouths when they are handled. Some people
may experience no reaction, others a mild reaction and others a
severe allergic reaction. Small bumps and redness are typical
symptoms. If they get into the nose and the other airways then a burning/stinging sensation is common along with constant uncontrollable sneezing and even wheezing or restricted breathing. If they get into the eyes then the eyes will water uncontrollably and the hairs may even cause temporary blindness. If you are worried, see your
doctor. Antihistamine tablets and cream will help with the itching. [top] |
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Q. Do spiders ever live on other animals?
A. I could find no information that suggested that they could or
would want to live on other animals. Finding a spider on an animal
would only be a coincidence. |
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Q.
Some one once told me that if you kill a lot of spiders in your life time, that spiders can
sense it and that they are more likely to crawl around you more. Is that true?
A. Sometimes I'd like to think it was as I'm really against people killing every spider they see!! But there is no way it could be true.
[top] |
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Q. Why does Omaha Nebraska have so many spiders. do you know the answer to that one?
A.
I really can't say. Maybe the weather and other conditions like the amount of insects or lack of natural predators means that they have more likelihood of all spiderlings surviving and creating a larger spider population. [top] |
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Q.
How long to you have to live after a red-back spider bites you?
As long as you would have if it hadn't bitten you most likely!! Most
adults are unlikely to die from a red back or black widow bite as it is
not usually fatal to an adult. Some people can have a bad allergic
reaction and then it can be serious but that can happen with any bite.
There is an antivenene for red back and widow bites and it would be
safe to see your doctor if bitten but there is no need to panic if
bitten by one. They can have a bad effect on children but once again
there is plenty of time to get to a doctor and no need to panic!! Many
doctors refuse to give the antivene to adults!! [top] |
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Q.
How big is the biggest spider in the world?
A. The biggest spider in the world is the Goliath Spider, Theraphosa
leblondi. It lives in coastal rainforests in northern South
America. Its body can grow to 9 cm in length (3.5 inches) and its leg
span can be up to 28 cm (11 inches). (from: Carwardine, M. 1995. The
Guinness Book of Animal Records. Guinness Publishing.)
[top] |
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Q.
How long is the gestation period for Grass Spider eggs -- once the egg sac appears?
A. As grass spiders only live for 12 months, the female would lay the egg
sac at the end of her life span and the spiderlings would probably hatch
out come Spring. There is not a lot of info on them in this respect so
any other input would be welcome. [top] |
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Q.
I threw a piece of a cookie into a cellar spider's web and it began
eating it. Is human food unhealthy and dangerous for such a spider?
A. Obviously it was a good cookie!! I guess there's no reason why it couldn't eat it, they just liquify the food anyway and if it likes it I guess there's nothing wrong with it! I can't see that it would be dangerous, maybe unhealthy if it had an all cookie diet!! [top] |
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Q. Can a bite from a Steatoda triangulosa or a black widow be harmful or fatal to cats?
A. Eating a spider won't harm a cat as spiders are venomous not poisonous and only the venom being injected through a bite can harm them. Cats and dogs have pretty thick fur covering their skin and generally spiders bites don't have a great deal of effect on them as they can't reach the skin easily. It's only when they get bitten on the nose or somewhere with little hair that the fangs can even get into the skin. However a black widow bite that goes into the skin can be fatal to cats if bitten. Black widows are very shy and bites are rare.
http://www.petplace.com/cats/black-widow-spider-bites-in-cats/page1.aspx
-
here's a page with some info about bites by them and what to do in case of. Steadota are a relation of the widow spiders but not as dangerous but I would imagine they could still give a nasty bite. Best to keep your house clear of them with the cats around. [top] |
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Q.
Can spider webs be harmful if someone eats them
A. I doubt it. People used to use spider webs to put on wounds in the olden days as they were supposed to have antibiotic properties and stopped bleeding. Scientists are now looking at them to help stop rejection in transplant. So I don't think that eating silk would harm anyone. [top]
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Q.
Have you heard of thousands & thousands of tarantulas migrating across
Superstition Highway (US10) towards the end of April?
A. Once again I could not find any
information on this online and I'm pretty sure this sort of phenoma
would be newsworthy. Tarantulas don't usually congregate in large
numbers or migrate like this. If anyone has more info, please
email
me.Viewers Comment:
In June of about 1972, I was travelling to Dallas, TX from Lordsburg, NM
with several other people. Late in the evening, we broke down about
10 miles West of Big Spring, TX. We spent the night on the side of the
road.
Early the next morning, we saw a very large amount of tarantulas crossing
I-20.
It seemed to us that they were migrating. I don't know where they were
going, but they were definitely travelling. And they were big!
Carole [top] |
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Q. Are spiders able to
"navigate" their way back to where they were living, if removed from their home? If so, how far a distance is "too far a distance" to be able to do this?
A. Spiders are quite happy to be
relocated and don't have any attachments to a particular place or spot. They
do lay a line of silk to be able to find their way back to their web though
so you need to make sure you put them in a container so they can't lay down
that line and find their way back if only taking them a short way. However,
if you try to put a house spider outside it will try to find its way back
inside as they don't like living outside. [top]
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Q.
There are two daddy long legs in my room and they have been there for almost a month. It is winter and my question is, what should I do with them?
A.
Daddy long legs are inside spiders and would die outside. Move them to a
basement or attic or garage where they won't bother anyone. [top]
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Q. What spiders don't bite?
A.
All spiders will bite if they are in danger however many of the smaller
spiders like some male redbacks and of course
spiderlings, are too small for their fangs to pierce human skin. Take care
with all spiders and avoid handling them as they may think they are in
danger. [top]
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Q. Are spiders cold blooded?
A. A spider falls under the classification of arachnid and are there for cold blooded. The spider uses the thermoregulation system of Poikilothermy, as its body temperature rises and falls with their environment.
The term cold blooded refers to the way in which the bodily temperature changes with the environment. There are three main areas of thermoregulation under the umbrella term cold bloodedness.
Ectothermy - this refers to creatures that control their temperatures by external means, such as the sun, flowing air or water.
Poikilothermy - this refers to the creatures who's body temperature rises and falls with the surrounding environment. These creatures would be cold in cold areas and hot in hot ones, changing as they move between them.
Bradymetabolism - this refers to creatures who have a high active metabolism and a low resting metabolism. These creatures can undergo dramatic changes in their metabolic rate, depending on food availability and temperature. This allows creatures, such as those who live in the desert, able to shut down their body's and approach a near death sate, to survive harsh desert winters, until favourable conditions return.
Only a few creatures fall into all three categories, or use more than one method to control their body temperature. Most creatures rely on one type of thermoregulation to survive, such as snake and lizards lying on rocks, or insect vibrating their muscles in one place to keep warm.
It was originally thought that cold blooded creatures were incapable of controlling their bodily temperatures. It is now known that this is not the case and the term is therefore outdated in scientific content today.
Information - Wikipedia. [top]
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Q. Just
yesterday when I was washing my trash can I found a black with white stripes
spider I was wondering if it was dangerous, I didn't get the chance to kill
it cause it was so fast that I was terrified of the spider. Would you please
let me know?
A.
Well it may not have been dangerous but I
can't possibly tell without a photo.
There are more than 35 000 different species of spiders and it is impossible
to tell which spider it is or if it is poisonous, from a brief description .
Even with a photo it is sometime impossible to tell the difference between
many of the spiders that look the same!! I'm also not an arachnologist and
only they have the specialised skills to really identify a spider.
[top]
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Q.
I have a question about the banana spider outside my window. I "adopted" this Spider outside my window and had some questions about feeding him. I give him a grasshoper everyday, and he eats
them. But I was wondering if I'm feeding him too much, and if he eats too much if he will die? I'm asking this because I used to feed another huge one down the street, and eventually after a couple of days,
it disapeared.
Sorry to bug you if this is alredy on the spiderz rule web site, I looked and didn't see it. I really like your (if it is yours) site, and I've learned alot from it.
Also, I have these two tiny little spiders ( I think are cross spiders) that have a mess of web in the bottom corners of the slider door that we never use, I give
them a little ant every day, pretty much what I'm asking is if I give
them food every day will they die?
If the spider outside your window has access to natural food then what he catches should be enough. However it shouldn't hurt him or the small ones to be given food every day, I have found that if they aren't hungry they won't eat it anyway. The other one down the street was probably at the end of its life span as argiopes only live for around 12 mths then lay their eggs and die. Be careful with large grasshoppers as their legs are very powerful and can hurt the spider.
[top] |
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Q. I was wondering if you have any documentation/picture of spider egg laying on humans, specifically under skin. I heard of this but my wife will not believe me.
In a surprisingly widespread urban legend, a nameless woman is bitten by a spider (usually on her cheek) while on vacation. She later develops a swelling, from which, in due course, baby spiders emerge! Somehow or other, the venom must have transformed into eggs. Spiders, need I say, do not find the human body a suitable site for egglaying, and no actual case anything like this can be found anywhere in scientific or medical literature.
That is, unless you count as scientific literature the book Dancing Naked in the Mind Field by Nobel Prize chemist Kary Mullis. In one chapter, Mullis claims to have been bitten by a brown recluse spider in California (where no such spiders exist), that other spiders came back to feed on the resulting wound, and that female brown recluses feed their babies from such wounds. All this is sheer fantasy. As the name implies, real recluse spiders avoid humans like the plague if at all possible.
The Spider Myths Site
[top] |
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Q. Is it absolutely impossible to find a brown recluse
spider in California?
No, one could be carried from other parts to
California. But, because of the misinformation
surrounding the brown recluse‘s presence in California,
many spiders that are virtually harmless are submitted
by the public for identification. Most of them are not
from the recluse family and some are not even spiders. A
nationwide study was undertaken from 2000 to 2005,
offering to identify any spider that was considered to
be a brown recluse spider. Nearly 600 specimens were
submitted from California, many from people who were
adamant that they had a brown recluse. Only one of these
specimens was a brown recluse, from a house where the
family had moved from Missouri. No additional recluses
were found in the house. The occasional finding of a
translocated spider is not overly surprising, however,
it still does not happen often. There were 17 desert
recluses in this study, all submitted from the desert
regions of south eastern California where the spiders
are known to occur. Yet non recluse spiders were
submitted in great numbers including many false black
widow, woodlouse, and yellow sac spiders. Presented
below are descriptions of spiders that share some of the
same physical features as the brown recluse and have
been misidentified as recluse spiders. (This
article is from UC IPM Online Statewide Integrated Pest
Management Program.
Click here for the full article)
[top] |
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Q. How should I act to prevent being bitten by spiders when
gardening? I never wear gloves.
You need to wear gloves to prevent being bitten,
it's a good policy in any case as other problems
can occur from gardening as well, especially
using potting mix etc and of course there is the
chance of being bitten by any of the bugs,
insects and spiders that make the garden their
home. Any spider can cause illness or bad bites
if the person has a bad reaction to them or an
allergy but the same happens with insect and bee
stings etc.
If you are bitten by a
woodlouse hunter spider, treat it as you would a
bee sting and keep an eye on it. If it gets
worse or you have any symptoms like shortness of
breath or swelling then go to the hospital or
your doctor and try and take the spider with
you.
[top] |
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Q. How
long do jumping spiders live for?
I couldn't find an exact time length - it seems
to range from about 3 mths to around a year. The
only really long lived spiders are the myglamorphs,
although wolf spiders and black widows can live for
several years.
[top]
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Q. Why do we have spiders?
If we didn't have spiders and other creatures
like them we would be overrun with insects that are
the spider's prey. Every animal has a part to play
in the food chain and spiders are an important part
of that. Likewise birds and other animals feed on
spiders so they provide food themselves for animals
higher up the food chain.
Only a very few spiders are dangerous to humans,
most spiders bites are no worse than a bee sting.
[top]
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 Q. What would happen
if two spiders of the same species or
two snakes of the same species were injected with their
own venom?
The venom is contained in the poison gland and
doesn't get into their blood stream. Once it is
injected into them through a bite, it would have the
same effect as being bitten by another spider or
snake.Diagram - Howstuffworks.com
[top]
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Q. Supposedly the outside of the spider's eye can't move,
but the inside can. Can u tell me if it does, and if it
does how does it do it?
Spiders look around them partly by moving the
carapace, but the eyes can move as well. This is not
done by moving the whole 'eyeball', since the lenses of
the eyes are actually built into the carapace. Instead
the retina moves around, while the lens stays fixed.
This retinal movement is accomplished by small muscles.
[top] |
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Q. Many of
I suppose Mother Nature designed animals so that
they could warn other animals off first as it's easier
than fighting for their lives when something does
actually attack them. Animals only attack other animals
to eat them for food, not out of any emotion so it is
easy for them to distinguish what is food and what's not
if they have that inbuilt instinct to recognise danger
in the form of sound or colour. They use colour in other
instances too like mating.
[top] |
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Q. Is there is a common characteristic that poisonous
spiders share that makes it relatively easy to identify?
No, Unfortunately there isn't a common
characteristic but the fact that there's a couple of
spiders in most countries that are dangerous makes
it pretty easy to remember what they look like and I
find that this applies to most countries, USA has
only around 4, Aus has only 2 or 3 so once you learn
them it's easy. Some people say that a red colouring
marks them as dangerous but this isn't true as there
are several pretty red spiders that aren't
considered dangerous. People can also be allergic to
spider bites like they are with bees etc so it's
best to not handle them unless you are an expert or
own a tarantula like you do. BTW - Spiders are
venomous, not poisonous which means that if you ate
one they would not poison you but could inject venom
into you, which is how ALL spiders kill their prey.
However, in the majority of cases a spider's bite is
no worse than a bee or wasp sting.
[top]
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Q.
Do black Widows
really make their homes in toilet seats?
A.
[top] |
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Q.
What type of spider has only 6 legs? Are they poison ?
A.
No spiders have 6 legs unless someone pulled
2 of them off!! Insects have 6 legs and 3 body parts,
spiders have 8 legs and 2 body parts!! Spiders are
venomous not poisonous.
[top] |
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Q.
Is it true
that the noise you hear in the night is many spiders?
A.
I haven't heard this one before but my
answer would be no, it's not. Spiders don't make a noise
and there certainly wouldn't be that many around to make
one.
[top] |
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Q.
What
is the most potent spider - the Brazilian Wandering
Spider or the Sydney Funnelweb?
A.
All my research shows that the Brazilian Wandering
spider is considered the most venomous spider in the
world. However as far as being most potent, the
Sydney Funnel Web can kill in 15 minutes so maybe it
is more potent.
[top] |
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 Q.
Were
there spiders back in the ice age?
A. Yes, there has been evidence of spider web trapped in
amber from the cretaceous period so they would have been around
during the ice age as well. Click here
for the full story. There are also many examples of spiders
found in amber from the
Chiapas highlands near the town of Simojovelamber. Chiapas amber is between 22 million and 26 million years
old and comes from the resin of the Hymenaea Leguminoseae tree.
Click heree for photos.
[top] |
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Q.
Can
a spiders web be stronger than steel?
A. Yes, for an equivalent weight, the strongest spider silk
has a tensile strength that is five times greater than steel.
Tensile strength is the amount of longitudinal stress that a
substance can tolerate without being torn apart (a measure of how
hard can you pull on a string before it breaks).
[top] |
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Q.
I have this bump n my mouth and it isnt just a little bump it is a
big bump. I was told it may be spider eggs in my mouth. Is this
true?
A. No spiders don't lay eggs in wet damp places like mouths or other
body parts!!
[top] |
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Q.
Is there such a thing as a stone spider?
A. Yes, it is nocturnal hunter which spends the day in a silken
retreat (sac) under stones or loose bark and lives in Europe, N
Africa and much of Asia to Japan.http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/insects-spiders/spiderbites/stone-spider-drassodes-lapidosus.html |
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Q. Can a
spider catch something bigger than them??
A. Yes, spiders have been know to eat birds and snakes which are
much bigger than they are.
[top] |
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Q.
Is
there a spider larger enough to kill a chicken?
A.
According to this site there is.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/deepjungle/episode2_nicholas.html
It is some sort of tarantula but hasn't been properly classified
yet.
[top] |
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Q.
Are spiders classified as warm blooded or cold blooded animals?
A. They are cold blooded. With a few exceptions, all mammals and
birds are warm-blooded, and all reptiles, insects, arachnids,
amphibians and fish are cold-blooded.
http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/image_galleries/ir_zoo/coldwarm.html
Check out more info on tis page.
[top] |
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Q.
I have been told that when spiders are born they are blown up to
space and then come back down to earth.
A. No they don't go into space but they can go fairly high. When the young
spiders are ready to leave the web, they start
"ballooning". To do this they release silk lines that the wind lifts
along with the spiderlings and blows them to a new area.
It is like a kite or parachute being blown by the breeze. The
spiderlings are carried off in all directions and float to the
ground when the breeze stops or the silk breaks. This ensures that
there are not too many spiders in one spot but many are eaten by
birds or other predators, and this keeps the spider population to a
reasonable level.
[top] |
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Q.
Is this spider
poisonous?
A. No, spiders are NOT
poisonous, they are venomous. Technically all venoms are a poison
however not all poisons are venoms. Many times people get
confused because someone says that a spider is poisonous while
another says it is venomous. Any type of animal like a spider or
snake that injects a toxin into your body is venomous. If you touch
or eat a toxin from a plant or animal and become sick, then it is
poisonous. Spiders that inject toxins from fangs, snakes and some
lizards, are venomous while plants, amphibians, and fungi
(mushrooms) are all poisonous. So as a rule - poison is
ingested (eaten), venom is injected. Poisonous toxins - chemicals
that are harmful to the body - must enter the body through the
mouth, venomous toxins enter through the skin.
[top] |
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Q.
How deadly is the
bird eating spider?
A. The bird eating spider in Australia is a type of
trapdoor spider. There is also a Goliath bird eating spider in the
US. which is the world's largest spider. The Australian ones are not
deadly but their bite can be dangerous as they have large fangs. The
Goliath bird eating spider should also not be handled either as they
are aggressive and have urticating hairs as well. Its bite can also
cause damage from the size of the fangs.
http://www.tenforward.com.au/spiders/facts.html
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/reptiles/spiders/GoliathBirdEatingSpider.php
[top] |
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Q.
Are spiders cold
blooded or warm blooded?
A. Cold-blooded
animals do not have a steady inside body
temperature. These animals have an inside body temperature that
matches the temperature outside. Spiders are cold blooded and
don't like the cold weather. Many spiders' life cycle sees them live
through Summer and Spring and then die off in the cooler months.
Those that live longer will slow down in winter and even appear to
be hibernating.
[top] |
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 Q.
Have you heard of the Assassin spider newly discovered in
Madagascar?
A. In 1854, the first assassin spiders were discovered as fossils
in amber from northern Europe. It wasn't until 27 years later, in
1881, that living assassin spiders were discovered in Madagascar,
Australia and South Africa. Scientists from the California Academy
of Sciences in San Francisco and researchers in Madagascar recently
found nine new species of assassin spiders whereas previously around
a dozen species had been reported. Assassin spiders possess very
long necks so they can attack their prey from a distance and grow to
less than an eighth of an inch long. They stab helpless spiders with
their sharp, venom-filled fangs attached to their super-sized jaws.
They don't build webs but go hunting for their prey.
See full story and picture
here.
Photo and more info:
http://africanhistory.about.com/b/a/243932.htm
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Q.
Do spiders wee and poo?
A.
If you look at the anatomy of a spider, you will see it has an
anus like other animals to rid its body of waste material. Often you
will see pieces of its food caught in its web and this has been
eliminated from its body as "poo". However, spiders have no opening in the body to eliminate fluid waste, so
they do not "wee". Many spiders like tarantulas drink
water and will sip water droplets on their webs. If the spider gets
enough food and the humidity is right, they don't need to drink
water but will to compensate if their body is dehydrated.
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Q.
What
colour is spider's blood?
A. blue colour. Hemocyanin binds oxygen but
only releases it after it receives the right chemical signal. For
every of the 24 sub-units there is special chemical signal.
Depending on the need for oxygen a cell can give many or less
signals. Beside these signals the release of oxygen is also
controlled by temperature. Every sub-unit has a specific temperature
optimum. Spiders have an open blood circulation system. Blood
vessels do transport the blood to a specific place but thereafter
the blood flows freely in the open spaces between the organs.
Ed Nieuwenhuys, March 1999
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_small.jpg) Q.
Can spiders move their eyes?
A. Most spiders have very poor vision and can see very little.
They rely on vibrations and their senses to alert them rather than
eyesight. The jumping spider however has eight eyes which are grouped
four on the face (the two big eyes in the middle, and two smaller eyes
to the side), and four on top of the carapace (two medium-sized eyes
toward the back, and two very small eyes in front of them). The 2
large ones on the face have better vision but their field of view is
reduced. They move their carapace rather than the eyes which are fixed
in the socket, however they can rotate the retina for a better view. The
other six eyes act like our peripheral vision, with lower resolution but
a broader field of view. All spiders have "simple" eyes which have
light-sensing cells. Light travels through the lens and hits the cells,
which send a message. Flies for example, have "compound" eyes which
don't provide clear images of the world around them. But they are very
good at detecting motion. That's why it's so hard to catch a fly!
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Q.
Do spiders hibernate in Winter?
 A.
Spiders like the garden orb weavers, argiopes, widow varieties that only
live one season, will die in Winter, leaving behind their egg sac for
the next season. Other spiders like tarantulas and fishing spiders, that
live longer may hibernate in Winter spending the cold weather under tree
bark or rocks, or in cellars and attics. Some adults survive by
preparing a winter nest of silken webbing under loose bark within which
they are insulated from the cold. In several species, young
spiderlings hatch out, then remain in a communal webbed egg sac through
the winter. Those spiders that hibernate in leaf litter and in rock
piles often are not deeply asleep, and on mild winter days may crawl
about in search of insect food that is plentiful and easy to secure in
its dormant state. Young spiders often take refuge in moss, and
should you bring a clump into the house, be prepared to have spiderlings
and many other little hibernating creatures crawl out as warmth unlocks
their muscles and increases their metabolism and consumption of oxygen.
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Q.
What is the smallest
spider in the world?
A. I found 2 conflicting reports to answer this question:
The smallest spider in the world is the Samoan moss spider, Patu
marplesi, which has a leg span of only 0.017 inches.
The smallest known spider in the world also comes from South America,
a fully adult male Patu digua from Columbia measures about 0.37
mm (0.015 in). The smallest known female spider is Anapistula caecula
from the Ivory Coast in West Africa, it measures 0.46 mm (0.018ins). It
is worth mentioning because males are usually smaller than females in
most spider species, but the male of this species has not been found
yet, thus it may be the smallest known species when it is finally known.
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Q.
Why don't spiders get caught in their own
webs?
A. Spiders have two special tricks that keep them from sticking.
The first trick is knowing where to walk. Many spiders make sticky
strands of silk that trap insects. But they make other strands that
aren't sticky. As they crawl around on their webs, they just avoid the
sticky strands.The other trick is
pretty "slick." Spiders rub their feet over special glands
around their mouths. These glands make an oily goo that oozes
out onto the spiders' feet. The slippery stuff helps them get
unstuck if they make a mistake and step on a sticky strand.
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Q.
Do spiders have a sixth sense or spider sense
which they sense danger or someone is approaching?
A.
• Elephants screamed and ran for higher ground.
• Dogs refused to go outdoors.
• Flamingos abandoned their low-lying breeding areas.
• Zoo animals rushed into their shelters and could not be enticed to
come back out.
Peter Parker's spider sense is a figment of the imaginations of those
who made him up but probably had its basis in this phenomena!!
http://courtofmiracles.net/dreams/Spider/spiderpowers.htm
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 Q.
Is there a spider called the "Child of the Earth"?
A.
Yes, this is one of the many names given to the Solifugae.
Other names are Solpugids, Wind scorpions, Camel spiders, Sun spiders or
Child of the Earth spiders.
Click here for some info.
I also found reference to an insect called the Jerusalem Cricket.
This black-and-orange-banded, modified sand cricket is one of the most
distinctive-looking creatures found anywhere. Adults can reach up to 2
inches long (30-50 mm).
 Commonly
referred to as "potato bugs," even though they do not prefer potatoes
and are technically not bugs, they are also called niña de la tierra
(child-of-the-earth), stone cricket or chaco. Believed by some to be
fierce and poisonous, this nocturnal cricket is actually non-aggressive
and possesses no poison glands, although its jaws can inflict a painful
bite. Jerusalem crickets are found throughout the western United States,
along the Pacific Coast, and south into Mexico. ((San
Diego Natural History Museum)
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Q.
Is there a special term for a baby spider?
A.
Yes, they are called spiderlings.
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Q.
Can spiders kill pets?
A.
Yes, spiders can kill pets, especially ones like the
brown recluse. Others however like the Sydney Funnel web spider, one of
the most dangerous, can only harm humans and monkeys so it really
depends on the spider and what sort of venom it has. To be safe keep
pets away from spiders where possible and keep adventurous kittens
especially, inside.
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 Q.
Do spiders make a noise?
A.
Yes, some spiders can make a noise.
Goliath bird-eaters, as well as some
other tarantula species, have the ability to make noise. We don't
normally associate spiders with noise, like we do with dogs, cats,
birds, etc. We are accustomed to seeing spiders silently, stealthily
crawling across walls, floors, and the sidewalk. But when feeling
threatened, the goliath bird-eater is capable of making a pretty loud
hissing noise by rubbing bristles on its legs together. Called
stridulation, it can be loud enough to be heard up to 15 feet away.
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 Q.
Do spiders eat their own webs?
A.
Yes, some spiders do eat their own webs. Some types of
orb weavers, like the garden orb weaver, who remake their web nearly
every day, do eat their own web. Because the spider silk in the web is
made of protein and takes a lot of energy to
make, these spiders usually eat their old webs before making a new one.
Do you think it tastes better than insects?
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Q.
Do
spiders crawl in my mouth and nose while I am sleeping?
A.
I think it would be highly unlikely that spiders would
crawl into a person's mouth or nose while they sleeping. For one thing
we move around a lot while we are sleeping and this would deter a spider
from even crawling on you, let alone enter any orifice, especially one
which is wet and dark. Breathing
through your mouth or nose would also deter a spider from entering and
most house spiders are too big to fit into a nose in any case. Spiders,
like virtually all arthropods, flee from breath. After all, there are
lots of vertebrates that eat arthropods, and if you're an arthropod and
something is breathing on you, it's not a good idea to stick around.
For a spider to get into your mouth while you're sleeping, (a) you
must have your mouth open when you sleep, which is certainly not
something that everyone odes, so there's
a big chunk of people who can never swallow anything; (b) there has to
be a wandering spider in your immediate vicinity, also something
which--for most people in the civilized world, at least--is a fairly
rare occurrence; (c) the spider has to either jump or fall into your
mouth from a long distance, because they won't go near your mouth
otherwise (they're not suicidal), and the odds are pretty astronomical
of a spider randomly dropping into your mouth from the ceiling.
There is a story about humans eating eight spiders a year in our
sleep without knowing it and that it was supposedly tested by filming
people in their sleep for a year. It is hard to believe that a group of
people in different sleeping situations would have been filmed for a
year or more to validate this statement. It is possible for a spider to
walk into your mouth and trigger the swallowing mechanism at the back of
the throat and this could in fact occur on a rare occasion. It may even
be true that there are a few people out there who have unknowingly eaten
eight spiders in the last twelve months. This still would not make such
a generalisation be considered as true. I certainly wouldn't lose any
sleep worrying about spiders while you sleep!!
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Q.
Q. If so, what can happen to a person once they
hatch?
A.
No, spiders lay their eggs in egg sacs which are attached
to an immovable object. Unless you were comatose in a dark corner for a
long time, it is hardly likely. When spider eggs hatch they are so small
that they pose no threat to humans in any case.
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Q.
I am terrified of
spiders, what do I do?
 A.
Many people are afraid of spiders in fact it is one of the most
common fears. However, there are probably dozens or hundreds of spiders
in your house that you never see and will never hurt you. Spiders are
everywhere, even on the top of Mt Everest and you won't escape them.
Fortunately, just about all are harmless creatures and even the
dangerous ones are more afraid of you than you are of them. Can
you imagine a creature thousands of times your size seeing you, then
running away screaming in terror? This sounds a bit silly doesn't
it? Most people don't have the sort of weapons necessary to kill such a
beast, and likewise, very few spiders have the venom to kill a person.
Less
than 1/20th of 1% of ALL spider species have venom that could cause even
a little illness in humans. If your fear of spiders has gotten to the point where it interferes with
your everyday life, you should see a psychiatrist who can help deal with
phobias. Many people have reported that looking through our
photos pages has helped them overcome
their fear, when they see what beautiful creatures they really are and
come to appreciate them and the fact that they won't hurt them.
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Q.
How do I get rid of spiders without using pesticides?
A.
1. Eliminate or shield outdoor lights or bright indoor lights that
attract flying insects.
2.
Trim weeds around the building foundation and remove debris to
discourage insects and spiders from living next to a structure.
3. Seal openings and install screens and door sweeps to prevent spiders
from moving indoors.
4. Use a vacuum to remove webs, spiders and egg sacs.
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Q.
Do all female spiders eat the male after
mating?
A.
A new study has been done on why female spiders eat the male. Here
is the article:
Female spiders who eat would-be suitors produce more babies, and
those babies are stronger and bigger, than spiders who stick to
more mundane fare, researchers reported on Tuesday. And the
merciless mother spiders waited until they had mated with
another -- ensuring they would hatch spiderlings -- before
consuming their new beaux, the researchers found. They said
their study is the first "natural" experiment to prove correct
the old folklore about spiders, and said it also shows why such
behavior might be beneficial."Now we know that, at least in one
species, sexual cannibalism benefiting females occurs in
nature," Dr. Jordi Moya-Larano of the Estacion Experimental de
Zonas Aridas in Spain, who led the study, said in a statement.
The Mediterranean tarantulas in the study did not eat their
mates, but instead ate males before courtship -- and usually
after the females had already mated with another male, the
researchers found. Some other studies have suggested that males
may sacrifice themselves for the sake of their offspring, but
this study showed that, at least in this species of spider, the
males are purely unlucky victims and only the babies benefit.
Some studies had also suggested that studying spiders in the lab
produced skewed results, perhaps because the creatures were
stressed or perhaps because they could not obtain all their
needed prey or nutrients. So the researchers set up a field
experiment in which they watched the spiders, sometimes
snatching the males from the jaws of females before they were
devoured."At natural rates of encounter with males,
approximately a third of L. tarantula females cannibalized the
male," they wrote in their report, published in the Public
Library of Science journal PLoS ONE."The rate of sexual
cannibalism increased with male availability, and females were
more likely to kill and consume an approaching male if they had
previously mated with another male," they added."We show that
females benefit from feeding on a male by breeding earlier,
producing 30 percent more offspring per egg sac, and producing
progeny of higher body condition. Offspring of sexually
cannibalistic females dispersed earlier and were larger later in
the season than spiderlings of non-cannibalistic females."One
theory had also held that females who ate males were simply more
aggressive and perhaps better hunters -- but when the males were
saved just in time, those females did not produce superior
broods, suggesting that the male meals were an important source
of nutrition.
(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Julie Steenhuysen and
Sandra Maler)
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Q.
Are
Daddy Longlegs the most poisonous spiders in the world?
A. Spiders are venomous not poisonous. Daddy Longlegs
(Pholcus phalangioides) have fangs which are generally too small to harm humans,
the most they will produce is an itchy red lump. They are however quite
dangerous to other spiders and have been known to kill Redbacks, which is
perhaps where they got their reputation.
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Q.
I found this spider inside,
should I take it outside and let it go?
A. No, definitely not. House spiders live
inside and don't want to be "let go" outside, they'd be very unhappy
there and maybe even die. They clean up your house by eating all the
nasty little insects around your house, so please leave them alone.
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Q.
I received an email about a spider under a toilet seat that had killed
many people. Is it true?
A. No, this is the Blush Spider hoax
that circulated in
September of 1999.
Click here
for more information on that hoax. In Australia, when we used to have
outside toilets, Redback spiders were often know to make homes under
them and one of our famous poems is "The
Redback on the Toilet Seat" by Slim Newton. Perhaps this is where
the prankster got his hoax from??
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 Q.
I live in the US and have noticed that we have a ton of very little
blood red spiders (outside). When you smash them it looks like blood on
your hand. Can you tell me what type of spiders these are?
A.
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 Q.
What is that
black and yellow spider in my garden?
A. If you are in America it is the
Black and Yellow Argiope,
Argiope Aurentia, a very common and harmless garden spider. In
Australia, they are known as St Andrew Cross spiders,
Argiope mangal,
because of the white markings in their web which resemble St Andrew's
cross. Other types of Argiope include the Banded Argiope and the
beautiful Silver Argiope.
Unfortunately this lovely
spider only has a short life span and once she has produced one or more
(usually no more than 3) brown, papery egg sacs, she will die.
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Q.
I found these small red bites all over me when I woke up, has a spider
been biting me in my sleep?
A. Probably not. Most small red bites are from mosquitoes, fleas,
mites, bed bugs or even ants. If you rolled on a spider that was walking
across your bed at night it may bite you, but spiders don't come down
and snack on humans at night time contrary to popular belief. Check your
ceiling in the morning to see if there are any mosquitoes hanging around
up there, wash all bedding in hot water and check for ants wandering
around the room before you go blaming the poor old spider!!
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Q.
What is the largest
spider in the world?
A.
Theraphosa
leblondi. It lives in coastal rainforests in northern South
America. Its body can grow to 9 cm in length (3.5 inches) and its leg
span can be up to 28 cm (11 inches). (from: Carwardine, M. 1995. The
Guinness Book of Animal Records. Guinness Publishing.)
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Q. What is the spider that
likes to stay in people's shadows?
A.
It is probably the
camel spider (solfugid) which is reputed
 to run after
people to stay in their shadows because of the heat of the sand in
deserts of Iraq where one type lives. They are the world's fastest arachnid capbable
of speeds when running near 10 mph! Although they have four pairs of
legs, they run using only three pairs. They have no venom glands and are not
a threat to man although they are very aggressive and fast moving and
can inflict a painful bite. The
name of the solifugids originates from the Latin for 'fleeing from the
sun' although many species are nocturnal. The term 'sun spider' applies
to those species active during the day that tend to avoid the heat and
dash from shadow to shadow - often of a person - giving the alarming
impression that they are giving chase.
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Q.
Why
don't spiders fall off walls when they walk up them?
A. Some spiders put a small amount of the sticky silk
they use for their webs on their feet and use that to move across walls.
Other spiders have specially designed feet and fine hairs that allow
them to grasp the irregular surface of walls and ceilings. They cannot
climb slick surfaces, because their feet have nothing to grasp.
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Q.
How long do spiders live for?
A.
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Q.
Is it possible to turn into Spiderman after being bit by a radioactive spider?
A. Unfortunately this is only a myth created for comic books.
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