Today, I decided I would figure out what kinds of spiders we actually have... so I know whether to be afraid. There seem to be two different types, both brown. One is light brown, fat and juicy, probably 3/4 inch body and 2" long overall. The other is darker, skinnier, and a little smaller.
Well, it only took me about 20 minutes to find one! It was the second type, dark and skinny. here are the best pictures I got, they are the same spider, just different lighting:
(click them to see the larger versions)
After about an hour of searching and reading online, it looks very much like a Hobo spider. But according to the online expert at Burke Museum, it is impossible to identify a spider from a picture, and only a trained arachnologist can make a positive id. Then there's the Hobo Spider website (hobospider.org) which has a lot of info and makes me scared!
Who knows what the other type of spider could be. If I ever catch one of those, I'll post the pics.
So what do you think? Should I be scared? I don't think we'd die if we were bitten, but it could be pretty painful!
3 comments:
Well, I certainly don't want to scare you (and I have no idea what kinds of spiders you have in your house), but I will say that my brother, George, woke up one morning a few months ago and had a spider bite on his knee. It kept getting worse and worse...until he was in so much pain that he could hardly walk. He had to go to the hospital and was there for a few days. They did a bunch of work on his knee, and I remember wondering how that whole mess came from one little spider bite. So, the point is, I guess those little guys can cause problems if they bite. Just be extra careful, especially with Rhys in the house (not that you're not as important as him). Of course, I guess it's possible that a bite would just turn him into a crime-fighting, web-slinging super hero who helps win the war on terror...leading him to become the first baby President...with me as his Chief of Staff...and Jeff as my personal assistant. (I still love the thought of working in the White House, hiring Jeff as sort of token aide, listening to his ideas as if they are good ones, nodding with false approval, handing him a lollipop, patting him on his head, and sending him back to his little "office" in the basement with the supplies where he can think of more "really neat" ideas on how to lead the country.)
eew!
I had to kill a spider in my office today. :( I felt bad about it, but after what happened to George, I didn't want to take any chances that the spider might get me. I went to the hobo spider link on your blog. That's sad that the man who named the hobo spider has been missing for seven years now. I'm not trying to be irreverent (like some people we know!), but it sounds like a science fiction story waiting to be written!
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