16 March, 2006:
Greetings!! I've been an avid watcher
of your site and I wanted to contribute some recent photographs of
some spiders I've had the pleasure of meeting!!! The other one: I looked around online trying to find out what kind of spider
this was but really couldn't come up with what kind he is. I
thought he might be some sort of crab spider but then I heard he
might have been some sort of tarantula too. Poor guy was missing
a leg! (attached file names spiderfound, spiderfound1, and
spiderfound2) Jenny Boothe
Fresno, California
If someone contacts you about using my specific photographs (as
read on your main page). I'd like them to contact me directly
for use.
Thank you so much for providing such a fun site!!
Jenny
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Reply: This looks like a huntsman of
some sort to me.
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Reply: Based on the description, the
spider sent in on March 13th appears to be a
Heteropoda venatoria. It's bite can be painful, but it is otherwise
harmless. Brian |
13 March, 2006:
Hello,
Found this lovely guy in the kitchen of our new home last
night, apparently eating out of our toy pools food bowl.
We did not get much sleep last night, we were on your
website for hours, but didn't find an exact match.
It has spots on it's hairy legs and 8 eyes, 4 on top, 4 on
bottom. The top ones appear slightly larger than the bottom
and the outer 2 (top) are the largest of them all.
He has a hard carapace (so my husband says) and he is huge!
Please, please identify it for us. (3 pics attached.)
Thank you!
Lucy Clark
Lutz, FL (just N of Tampa)
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10 March, 2006:
Dear Glen We live on the southern coast of Malaysia , next to
a river that goes to the sea and we are surrounded by trees and
some swampy grassland. My husband found this inside our car and
knowing I am a certified, lifelong arachnophobic and that we
have a 2yr old daughter, he promptly emptied the car, vaccuumed
and fumigated with insect spray. But didn't recovered either
body or live spider. The following day, with some trepidation,
we went out and stopped off somewhere when suddenly the writhing
body rolled out from under his seat and freaked us out, if I had
seen it alive & kicking, I would probably have passed out! So
please forgive us for killing it, we wanted to protect our
daughter more than anything, is it a biter? My initial response
was that it’s a Wolf spider by the colouring, but the ‘Greys
eyes’ on its back are too distinctive, the wolf spider has more
of a stripe than these almond shaped ‘eye’ marks right? I got a
photo on my handphone but it’s not clear and it was dead so I
didn’t want to upset you folks. I have stories that would chill
you about my run ins with large house/ grass spiders where I
grew up in England, I don’t want to be afraid of them, but they
tend to seek me out to drop on me, sleep with me and generally
give me nightmares of the worst kind! So please firstly
congratulate me for even opening your website, my chills,
sweats, goose bumps, shivers and breath holding was traumatic
enough, but then I have drawn the beastie and taken down its
details for you as well! I think I deserve a medal Hahahaha. But
my desire to learn about this monster in our car is too
overpowering. I respect spiders tremendously, I think they’re
amazing,I don't tend to kill them either, I am just terrified of
them and since finding this one I haven’t been able to sleep!
PLEASE HELP…..
Thanks, Emma in Johor Bahru , Malaysia .
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Reply:
By the shape of the body and the fact that it had a web (I
am assuming an orb) in a tree, I would say this is a
Tetragnatha sp.
(though it is hard to tell with the available pics). While
this spider does not have a harmful bite, it is important to
understand that, while unlikely, it is possible to have a
severe allergic reaction to any venomous bite. A little
localized swelling and some stinging pain is common and
usually nothing to be concerned with. If the swelling fails
to subside, or you experience breathing trouble, increased
heart rate, trouble swallowing (due to swollen throat) or
hives are usually a sign of an anaphylactic reaction and
medical attention should be sought immediately.
Here is a good link if you want more information on spiders
found in Florida
–
Brian
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10 March, 2006:
Hi Glen, thank you for taking the time to read this. My husband and I
are a military family, living with our two small children in
Tampa Florida. While gardening today... (My husband was walking
past our canary date palm Tree.. and walked into a small web.)
He felt something biting him shortly after under his shirt, and
grabbed it to see what it was and made sure to hold onto it. It
was still alive when I put it in a baggy and froze it an hour
ago. Can you please tell me what it is? I saw a TINY pin head
red dot under the skin just barely, but when I TRIED to squeeze
it no Blood came, so I believe it did NOT break the skin. But,
to be safe, we are trying to find out what this is. it was near
the children's play equipment... and in case they get bit later
on by others.. I want to know that they are pretty harmless. My
husband back in the day got bit and his hand Blew up to a
Softball, so we are just being cautious. Thank you for your time
again. Sincerely, R (It is a white color spider (just looks darker against this
sheet of white computer paper that it is on), with thin legs a
cylinder shaped back that is fatter up top and a little smaller
at the bottom and it has thin black stripes in a V shape going
down it's back in a shrinking pattern.) There are Two pics
here... scroll down.
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Reply: This looks to be from the
tegenaria family which includes the hobo spider so be careful.
28 February, 2006:
Hi Could you mabye give me a idea what kind of spider this is! I
live in Oregon! Josiah p.s. I love your site! p.s. My e-mail is
loziers@peoplepc.com
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Yet Another Opinion:
Hello!
I
would like to offer a second opinion/correction to a posting.
Regarding Craig Landrum's photo taken on 24 February 2006,
Nathan had identified the spider as a Dolomedes Tenebrosis, and
Douglas Kaiser of NC wrote in stating that the spider is a
Carolina Wolf Spider. Nathan's identification was correct, and
Douglas is incorrect. The spider is definately a species of
fishing spider, (Dolomedes Tenebrosis), as apparent by the
brown-black banded legs and wide 'W' markings on its abdomen.
The Carolina Wolf Spider does not have such markings, nor look
similar to this.
Chelsea Bennet
Environmental Data Manager
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Another Opinion: The
spider in Craig Landrum 's photo of 24 February, 2006 is
not a dolomedes tenebrosis, as Nathan identified it. It
is, in fact Lycosa carolinensis -- the Carolina Wolf
Spider. I have several living around my house that I actually
feed by hand from time to time. DOUGLAS KAISER ,Deep Gap. NC
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Reply: This is a Dolomedes
tenebrosus. Nathan.
24 February, 2006:
Glen;
We live in large log cabin in the Blue Ridge mountains just north of
Culpeper, VA and have enjoyed watching a number of wolf spiders over
the years, but this one was
a bit bigger than any We've seen before - That US Quarter is about a
inch wide, which makes this spider 4 inches or about 100 mm across.
Like this one, they often fall into our sink and can't get out. Feel
free to repost and pass on as you wish.
Craig Landrum, Chief Technical Officer
mindwrap, inc. |
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Another Reply: The insects are newly
hatched Wheel bug nymphs. They are a beneficial
insect and not poisonous but do injects enzyme-laden saliva into
their prey. They inflict a very powerful bite though (often
claimed far worse than any hornet and long to heal up) and
even while young so one should avoid handling them.
13 March, 2006:
Reply: The insects in the pics (Feb. 22 2006{Cindy}) Those are stick
bugs..They go thru a transformation stage after they are born..It
was just on the discovery channel. for the worlds most
outragous shape changers..It was on Wed. the 03/08/2006 I just
happen to notice it when I was browsing the site..That
explains the six legs.. From Matt in FL, USA |
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Anyone help out with identifying these,
please? They only look to have 6 legs so are probably not spiders.
22 February, 2006:
Hello! We found these little ones on the side of our house.
Can you tell me what type of spider these little guys are? I
live in the Florida, USA. Thanks, Cindy
9 March, 2006:
I have these same small spiders on the side of my house in
Atlanta that Cindy in Florida sent you. There has not been a
reply and I would really like to know what they are. They are
hatching out of a nest that looks like a bee hive cone about the
side of a quarter and they stay by the nest.
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Reply: The first one is probably
some sort of huntsman but not sure about the second one.
15 February, 2006:
Hey, I've been looking for a site to help me identify a few
spiders I encountered while I was in Tanzania this past summer.
I wasn't able to find any African spiders on your site, so I
thought I'd email you the pictures. They're two separate
spiders: Both were found indoors, in western Tanzania at a very
high altitude, if that matters. The first spider (against the
white wall, missing one leg) was probably about two inches
across, and the second (on the drapes) was much larger, the body
dark brown, about an inch long and the legs were each 2-3
inches. If you can't help me but could still send me in the
right direction, that would be excellent. Thanks, Jim Gamble
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Reply: It
could be a Tunnelweb spider, Porrhothele antipodiana,
too. 12 February, 2006:
Hi there, I'm from Wellington in New Zealand. I have recently moved to the
bush and have found 3 of these spiders in our cellar. All 3 that I
found were unfortunately dead, so not sure of actual size when
alive. Id say the leg span circumference would be around 4cm. I'm
wondering if they are a breed of tarantula? If so, they must have
hitched a ride from overseas cause I'm pretty sure we don't have any
breeds of tarantula here. Our previous tenants were from Germany if
that helps.D I've attached a pic of one of the spiders I have found. (excuse the
pin stuck through its body) and I've also attached a pic of type of
Brachypelma albopilosum, (which I found looked similar.) Thank You,
Tannia Bruce |
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Reply: Glen, The spider sent in by
Mike on Feb 7th 2006 is a Dolomedes triton. See some pics
here: Brian
7 February, 2006:
Photo by
Mike. This photo is for
sale if anyone is interested. |
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Reply:
Great shots, this is the net casting
spider. Click for a larger view.
7 February, 2006:
Hi Glen, Thanks for the great informative site. I took
these pics of a spider in our garden (Orb?). Hope they
are useful. Cheers
Leon
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Reply: Yes it is
Dysdera crocata, the woodlouse hunter -
glen
3 February, 2006:
Hi Glen, Some
co-workers found this spider walking along outside out office a
few weeks back. Surprising considering it's winter here in
northern Illinois. I think it's a Dysdera crocata spider.
Randy Bachmann, Turner Junction, IL
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3 February, 2006:
Wow, thanks. I checked it
out, and some other links I found searching for tunnel web spider.
And it looks pretty similar. As you said, it was quite lighter
colored, but the body structure and those long spinnerets were much
the same. I was lucky to find another type of spider when we
visited bird park. I don't mean to bother you with these photos, but
I'd like to show it. They were located several places on a
long wooden fence, often as a couple, as you see here. Perhaps they
were about to mate.
Stein |
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Reply: These look like they belong
to the tegenaria family of spiders which include the hobo
spider which is found in Oregon, so be careful with them.
31 January, 2006:
Hi Glen, My name is Aimee and
I am from Portland Oregon. I was wondering if you knew what
kind of spiders these are. I found the one in the cup in a
piece of wood in my garage. I found the one in the dirt in
the actual wood shed so I am guessing that they are both
wood spiders. If you have any idea what kind these are then
please let me know by E-mailing me back. I have checked your
spider site to see if they were there but I couldn't find
them. thanks, Aimee |
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30 January, 2006:
Had visited a tourist attraction, a cave with glow worms, in New
Zealand, can't remember exact where at the moment.
Anyhow, I went outside again, and walked up a path with stabeled
rocks along it. There I found a spiderweb, a funnel going inside
between the rocks.
As it immediately had my interest, I picked up a straw and touched
the web gently, and this spider lurked out almost at the same time.
I think its body measured 1,5 to 2 inches long. It looked kind of
robust, compared to other spiders I found in NZ.
The picture isn't too clear, but if you had seen a similar one
earlier, I thought maybe you could recognize it.
You have to excuse my language. I live in Norway, so this e-mail
might contain a few errors.
Stein Fjelldal |
Reply: A good page for New Zealand
Spiders is
this page. It
could be a Tunnelweb spider, Porrhothele antipodiana,
but
the photo shows them as darker.
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25 January, 2006:
Dear Glen, I have another spider that I was wondering if you
could give a hint as to
what it was, or the family. I am not sure if you can name it, as
I can not really get a clear picture of it. Here is what I
know of it so far. It lives right out in the open just about,
they are in the upper areas of the room, sometimes in
doorways, but mostly near water and open windows. I assume
they stay there, because they know the mosquitoes breed near
water, so they are ready for them. They don't move no
matter what you do, if they do move, they come right back.
I have lived in Thailand for 3 years now, and have never seen
one down where I am, so the spiders in my house have an
agreement. They stay up high and catch flying insects, and
the Huntsman spiders stay low and get the crawling
critters, but the major rule I have is that they do not come
where I am, unless I bring them. The webbing of these
spiders does not feel sticky like most webs are, and they
never break them down (cleaning) like I see in most spiders.
They just leave it sit there and wait for something else
to fall into the web. Well, that is all I know about it from
watching them. If there is any info that you can give about it,
please let me know.
Warmest Regards, Edwin
P.S. Please feel free to use any of the pics that I have sent to
you for your web site, I think it is a great site.
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Reply: This is a tailed spider possibly a
scorpion tailed spider. Arachnura higginsi. Thanks to Dian
for the ID.
http://www.usq.edu.au/spider/find/spiders/101.htm
22 January, 2006:
hi can you tell me what sort of spider this is, I found them in
my garden & all over the house, the long line cocoon looks like
a egg sack. I live in mount barker western Australia , waiting
to hear from you
Andrew Hook
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22 January, 2006:
found this spider on the
window sill - does it have a partner? |
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Reply: I suspect it's some sort of
garden orb weaver. - glen 19 January, 2006:
Can you please tell me what kind of spider this? I cannot find a
photo to identify it on your web page. Glenda Wyld.
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Reply: This spider appears to be a
Dolophones, probably conifera sp. Brian
19 January, 2006:
Hello, This spider is amazing! My mum found it while pruning - it's
sitting on a branch, and it's so well camouflaged she only noticed
it because it moved! Anyway, here are the pictures...good luck with
identifying this guy! Carine. South Australia
PS. On a sadder note, the Black House spider that I've been looking
after (I've sent you pictures of her & babies) was recently killed
by a white-tail spider. It was very upsetting for us - we didn't
expect her to lose the battle, because twice before she's caught and
killed white-tails. Anyway, we console ourselves with the fact she
led a good life for a year, and she's had many babies released by
us.
Can you see the spider in the
photo on the left? See below for closeups. |
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18 January, 2006:
Hello Glen,
Can you please help us to identify the attached
photograph. I have been searching the net to find some
info.
This web found on a tree in our garden in White River,
Mpumalanga, South Africa.
What kind of spider is it. We are very curious as
never before have we seen something like this.
It looks like a piece of art. The spunned web was filled
with dry leaves. It definitely was a spider web.
As I do not know much about other than the common known
spiders I am now very curious. By the way never saw the
spider on the web . This probably would have been easier
to identify.
Thanking you so much,
Have a good day ,
Nafisa and Peter Lewis,
Prague 5
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15 January, 2006:
Hi Glen, I have a few semi-OK pics of the
spider in question. I caught it over the summer and put it
in a Tupperware container. The spiders size is about 1/3 its
original size due to dehydration. If it would help I could
also send it to you. I am REALLY interested in finding out
whether this species of spider is dangerous or not. Thank
you very, very much for your time. I live in the Santa Cruz
, CA. Mountains . We have this spider that comes out around
July until September or so. It is rather large, about 2.5”
from leg tip to leg tip. It has long thin legs with a pretty
hearty body. It is brown in color with some fur. I sent a
specimen to an Entomologist last year in fear it was a brown
recluse. I have been assured that it is NOT a brown recluse
but was told it was a “titoitus or tutoitus”, (not sure of
the spelling) a cousin to the recluse. Do you know of this
species and if it is poisonous or not?
Terrance
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15 January, 2006:
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tailless whip scorpion and has no venom.
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Reply: This one looks like a
two spined spider (Poecilopachys australasiae).
This is an immigrant from
Australia, these spiders have been recorded in New Zealand since the early
1970s. They have become quite common in the upper North Island. Since their
arrival, they have slowly spread south and have reached as far afield as
Wanganui.
13 January, 2006:
Hey there,
I was in the
garden the other day and came across a strange-looking spider and
wondered if you could identify it for me, its in the attachment. Its
black, yellow and red with two horns on its back, it looks so strange I
wondered if its a NZ native?
Thanks, Mina
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Reply: This one looks like it belongs to
the family of
tegenaria spider, commonly called house spiders. They are related to the
hobo spider of the USA which is considered medically significant.
11 January, 2006:
Hi,I
think your site is great! I love to see all the spiders that people find around
their homes. I found this big gal in our basement (we live in Switzerland) and
we think she is a Wolf Spider. Any ideas?
K. Schlegel
Switzerland
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Reply: Hi Glen. The spiders sent
in on Jan 7th and 10th appear to be Storena clossea, the Spotted Ground
Spider. See a pic
here. - Brian
10 January, 2006:
Hi,
I live in Merredin, WA.
I have just taken a photo (although not a very clear one) of quite a pretty
spider. It's legs are not unlike that of a red-back but the top half of it's
legs are a reddish colour whilst the lower ends are black.
It has a dark grey body and the abdomen is very dary grey with 4 yellow
spots - two each side and a yellow spot at the tip, like the white spot on a
white tailed spider.
I have never seen this one before and wondered if you knew what it is.
Regards,
Vicki White |
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Reply: Hi Glen. The spiders
sent in on Jan 7th and 10th appear to be Storena clossea, the Spotted
Ground Spider. See a pic
here. - Brian 7 January, 2006:
Hi I found this spider in my garden in Northern Victoria it looks very
much like a white tail spider except its got orange markings. It is approx
20-25mm long. Can you please help identify it. Thank you Kim Lane
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Another Reply: The Steatoda sent
in on Jan 8th is a borealis sp. See a pic
here. Brian
Reply: It has the same body shape as
the black and brown widow and probably belongs to the same family of comb footed
spiders. (Steatoda)
http://hobospider.org/steatoda.html - glen
8 January, 2006:
Glen, I just discovered your terrific website trying to identify what
this spider might be. It resides in our basement in Portland, Oregon; is about
3/4 inch altogether--abdomen a little under 1/2" with distinctive red color but
no other markings. Doesn't move much--just perches outside this hole in the
concrete until something comes along it would appear. Thanks for any help
you can offer. Chris
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Reply: The black one is a
black house spider and the other is a leaf curling spider.
7 January, 2006:
hey could u plz ID this spider for me i want to know what kind of things
this spider eats and if it is harmful or not and also i got this black
spider up in the corner of the pegola he looks like like a black house
spider but not 100% shore from luke
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Reply: This is a garden orb
weaver and they may look scary but are harmless. Like all spiders they can bite
but their bite is not considered medically significant.
4 January, 2006:
Hi Glen
My name is Chris and I live on the Sunshine Coast in Australia. We saw this
spider this afternoon and were quite shocked how ugly and vicious he is! I
was wondering if you can tell me the type of spider and if he is venomous or
not, to humans and animals alike. We have seen his web which is quite large,
stretching over the top of our pool for sometime but have only just seen
him! ANy info would be great, I don't want to have to relocate him if he is
harmless.
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Reply: This is a jewelled
spider.
4 January, 2006:
Hi, can any of you site visitors identify this spider for me, it was
found in South Aust in our local forest.
Thanks Julie & Mark
Click for a larger view. |
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Reply: This is a wolf spider.
4 January, 2006:
Hello i just moved to north carolina 3 weeks ago and this came crawling
around the porch is it dangerous. thanks for your help and great website.if
you look close at the tail end you can see that scary mask dude!
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Reply: This is a shamrock orb
weaver and not considered medically significant.
4 January, 2006:
Hi there,
I got your e-mail from your website and am hoping you can help me out. I
live in on a farm in rural Saskatchewan
, Canada
and found the spider in the attached picture crawling on my house. He
(or She) is about the size of a twoonie (our $2 coin). I think it may be
an orb weaver, but is such a different color than those that I’ve seen
pictured.
I would appreciate if you would be able to tell me what kind of spider
it is and if they are poisonous.
Samantha English
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Reply: This is probably a huntsman as well.
4 January, 2006:
Hi. I live in iluka, western Australia.
I found this spider in my house - I have a slight
fear of them so I trapped it in a jar and put it outside.
Do you have any idea what it could be?
Thanks
Dan
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Reply: This is probably a fishing spider
2 January, 2006:
Hi, I wanted to pass along a photo of the largest and fiercest spider I have
ever seen in my backyard. I opened the shed, pulled out a shovel, and down
came this spider which almost landed on my arm. It rained the day before and
I think it may have been seeking better shelter. I think the spider is a
wolf spider. It has large fangs and takes a defensive posture if threatened.
Do you know what kind of spider this is?
Thanks.
Chuck
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2 January, 2006:
I found this spider on my porch and I have
no idea what kind of spider it is, can you please tell me what it is, and if
it's poisonous
Thanks
Jerry Luke (Bonifay
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Reply: This is definitely a
Huntsman and quite common inside houses and toilets!!
2 January, 2006:
Glen, My brother is currently travelling along the east coast of
Australia. He was using a portable toilet when he spied this fella on the
toilet paper container. Can you identify it? Huntsman maybe? thanks!
John |
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Click here
for Page 2 of 2006 photos. Click here
for page 3 of 2006 photos. |
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