I caught a black widow

[soliloquy]

In my garden.  *would feel manly if i didn't catch it in my garden*

[lau]

geeze if you got bittin you know the consequence. where do you live where there is black widows? so i can not move there. even if it was a daddy long leg i would die. i once spent an hour trying to kill one of those.

[soliloquy]

I live in Alabama, but they are pretty much everywhere in USA/southern Canada/northern Mexico.

[lichristine]

My tarantula could eat your black widow. =]

i once had a "pet" black widow named susan jeffrey. it wasn't realy a pet, it just lived outside my 4th period class.

[thalberg]

I live in Alabama, but they are pretty much everywhere in USA/southern Canada/northern Mexico.

WOW.....I never would have guessed you were in Alabama.

[jakev2.0]

I saw a black widow spider in my bathroom late at night a few months ago. Basically I'm standing in front of the sink at 2:00 am, barely awake, barefoot, without glasses...and I see one of those frightful little bastards scurry by out of the corner of my eye. I shriek like a little girl, and run as fast as I can outta there. Terrified, I put on socks and shoes, and return to the bathroom with my hard-covered Guiness World Records 2004 and a vengeance. Yep, I'd say I won that encounter. 

[arensky]

I caught what I think is a Brown or Desert Recluse about two weeks ago. It has died in it's jar and is awaiting identification by an authority, when I find one.

You can google photos of the effects of the bite; definitely not for the squeamish!

[soliloquy]

You can google photos of the effects of the bite; definitely not for the squeamish!

[retrouvailles]

It would help to increase the size of that.

[mephisto]

I saw a black widow spider in my bathroom late at night a few months ago. Basically I'm standing in front of the sink at 2:00 am, barely awake, barefoot, without glasses...and I see one of those frightful little bastards scurry by out of the corner of my eye. I shriek like a little girl, and run as fast as I can outta there. Terrified, I put on socks and shoes, and return to the bathroom with my hard-covered Guiness World Records 2004 and a vengeance. Yep, I'd say I won that encounter. 

 

[pianolearner]

In my garden.  *would feel manly if i didn't catch it in my garden*

That's not a black widow. It's a Red-Back on holiday.

[jlh]

I shriek like a little girl...

I probably would tell too many people that if I were you... 

 

[soliloquy]

That's not a black widow. It's a Red-Back on holiday.

That's her abdomen through the glass of the jar I have her in, just in case you were being serious XP


Besides, rly doubt we've got any Australian spiders here in 'bama.

[ted]

New Zealand has only one or two poisonous species of spider, and there have been few, if any, deaths from their bites. Our only claim to fame spiderwise is the colony of triantelopes which came over from South Australia in the 1940s in timber used to build the racecourse grandstand in the Auckland suburb of Avondale. Curiously, they have never spread beyond that particular area and nobody knows why. We shipped hundreds of them to Hollywood for the film "Arachnophobia", which movie was a bit funny to us. The sight of people screaming at these delightful, familiar, hairy and completely harmless creatures on the wall seemed too silly for words. We used to keep a pet one in a fishbowl in the lounge for my son to play with. They can live for a long time on a bit of moist cotton wool but we felt sorry for it and let it out.

We do have our version of the brown recluse, the local white-tailed spider, which many people claim carries necrotising bacteria. This is still a matter of dispute. 

[fiddes]

christ the only spiders i ever see are the weird multi-coloured ones that nest in my sisters shed, i dont think thier posinous but i haven bothered to get bit by one yet

Thank god for endland

[prometheus]

I am so happy there are no dangerous animals here.

The most dangerous animals here are probably dogs and horses.

[fiddes]

and women!!!!! never forget the most dangerous animal there is

[pianolearner]

and women!!!!! never forget the most dangerous animal there is

I agree. I think women should be used to test drugs and cosmetics and leave all the other animals alone.

[rc]

I might have a black widow living in my bathroom, I saw something red underneath it, but I've also heard there are 'fake' black widows - not the same shape, so I don't know.

I let the spiders do their thing, they suit my purposes.  The kitchen spiders don't eat so well, but the window spiders feast!

[pianistimo]

spiders come out at night.  if you want to catch a spider - pretend that you are sleeping - and then suddenly turn on the lights.  it will be halfway up the wall.  bash it with a telephone book.   

when i was about 24, once i was babysitting some children who  lived in a house behind an arboretum.  i had gotten the children to bed and went into my given bedroom.  there was an absolutely huge spider on the wall above the headboard when i turned on th elight.  i attempted to kill it - but it fell behind the bed.  there was no way i was going to sleep - so i waited for 15 minutes - went back in the bedroom - turned on the light and sure enough - back up on the wall it was.  it died. 

also, we used to live in the high desert after living in pasadena.  high desert has all kinds of black widows and brown recluse spiders.  they bite you when you are sleeping.  i woke up once with this huge bite to my right arm.  they are not fun.  i think it was a recluse because i got sick, too.   basically, they are no less than snakes - of which i have also been bitten by various kinds.  some a kind of brushing bite - and others a full fang bite.  i think i have some serious immunities to spiders and snakes now.  anyways - don't worry if you get bitten.  it's all in the mind.  you just get a little nauseous and wonder what's wrong with you for a day or two.  people act like these things will kill them.  they don't. you just get sick.

i subscribe to 'don't call the paramedics' for myself.  i just put a bit of bread into a little milk (making a poultice), put it over the bite, cover it with a bandaid.  it takes all the poison out that is possible to get out without lacerating the site.  small children and elderly are probably different.  our cat used to alert us if there was a problem - and she would pounce on them and kill both snakes and spiders.  snakes outside - occasional spiders inside.  in the high desert - it seemed that they would sneak in through the front door if it was left open very long.

[lichristine]

america's venomous=black widows and brown recluses (fiddlebacks)

[pianistimo]

what are australia's?  i read that most snakes are fatally venomous to mice - but not always to humans.  that if the fang bites hit the skin underneath the top layers - that you can have problems - but anti-venom is the cure for the worst bites (so try to notice what snake bit you).  the only problem with that is that the snake does it so quickly that you don't notice until it starts bleeding.

there is a particularly venomous snake in the high desert called the 'mojave green snake' or some such.  you have to watch out around rocks or buttes.

back to australia - someone wrote that more people used to die from eating the wrong turtle in australia than snake bites.  apparently the green turtle and hawksbill turtle are not good to eat.

[pianistimo]

here's a test you can take for venomous vs non-venomous.  i got 75% right.  of course, it's only a few snakes.
https://www.envenomated.com/viewpage.php?page_id=5

[Bob]

I'd kill that thing.  I hate spiders.

Are you required to report that you found one?  So that people will know they are in the area.

[prometheus]

Wow, I scored 75% too. But here there do not live any snakes.

[soliloquy]

100%












On my second try

[pianistimo]

'red and yellow kill a fellow.' and, after having watched several snake shows - i vaguely remembered something about pointy nosed snakes normally being unvenomous - but bull-headed ones more dangerous. 

those black snakes look terrible - but i guess they are unvenomous.  or are there different varieties?

our laundry room in california used to be in the garage and i remember shutting the dryer door and seeing a coral snake slithering under it.  always wore shoes after that.  you know, the first couple of times you see a snake - it's like spiders - eeeek.  but, the more you see - the more you think you have control over them.  unless they get under or behind something.

[rob47]

I love spiders and have about 4 or 5 that i am sort of aware of having webs and living in  my room.  don't kill them! let them do the killing of other annoying bugs for you.

[prometheus]

I do that too, though I must admit that after my love for spiders in my childhood I kind of find them scary. Especially the really big and fast ones.

[soliloquy]

I'm afraid my black widow has died, after I shook its jar a bit to show someone on my webcam


It is in spider heaven now...  Susan, if you could say a prayer...

[retrouvailles]

It is in spider heaven now...  Susan, if you could say a prayer...

I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't believe in spider heaven.

[lichristine]

I believe in spider heaven!!

[pianistimo]

spider heaven?  it's notin the bible - but i want there to be a cat heaven.  i don't think i'd care about the spiders - but the cat?  she's different.

[prometheus]

Don't animals have souls?

[soliloquy]

spider heaven?  it's notin the bible - but i want there to be a cat heaven.  i don't think i'd care about the spiders - but the cat?  she's different.

The essence of Christianity has never been before so blatantly and accidentally divulged :O


Actually in the bible it does say that there isn't a Heaven for animals, but hey.

[retrouvailles]

The bible also says: "People who have flat noses, or is blind or lame, cannot go to an altar of God (Leviticus 21:17-18)" Should we take that literally also?

https://biblebabble.curbjaw.com/laws.htm

[mycrabface]

My tarantula could eat your black widow. =]

My fish could eat your tarantula

[lichristine]

haha aw....if it was a snake though...you couldn't be so sure.

[ahinton]

spider heaven?  it's notin the bible - but i want there to be a cat heaven.

For what it may or may not be worth, is THAT in the Bible?

i don't think i'd care about the spiders - but the cat?  she's different.

Yes, dear Susan - cats and spiders are - er - um - yes, different (I've not observed or even heard of a spider catching and killing an owl yet)...

Best,

Alistair

[pianistimo]

killing an owl.  your cats must climb trees.  mine just catches mice and snakes.  i realize it's not 'in the bible.'  but, you see - i believe that little requests can be made as one becomes accustomed to praying.  'dear God, please let my cat go to heaven.'  now, i'm not stopping soliloquy from praying for his spider.  so you see, there is no inequality here.  although, praying for a black widow spider - seems tantamount to praying for the devil to make it.  you know - i think there's an opera where a demon child is supposedly prayed for entrance to heaven.  can't remember the name of the opera - but it's playing at the mann center here in philly sometime. 

i suppose an opera could be conceived around this black widow spider, too - i mean - there are probably many good attributes to them.  but the single one bite that causes breathing difficulties and possible major skin trauma might just be the thing that keeps them out of heaven.  after all, there will be no more death and dying.  perhaps the venom will no longer be in these spidees.  then, their pet nature can come out more.

[thalbergmad]

Don't animals have souls?

Don't think so, but they do have r souls.

Thal

[ahinton]

killing an owl.  your cats must climb trees.

Only one of them - who shall remain nameless - has ever caught an owl and then only on one occasion; as I ruefully put it after clearing up the remains: "The Owl and the Pussycat - a Very Short Story".

mine just catches mice and snakes.  i realize it's not 'in the bible.'

Some things aren't, you know...

i suppose an opera could be conceived around this black widow spider, too - i mean - there are probably many good attributes to them.  but the single one bite that causes breathing difficulties and possible major skin trauma might just be the thing that keeps them out of heaven.  after all, there will be no more death and dying.  perhaps the venom will no longer be in these spidees.  then, their pet nature can come out more.

It's been done already - it's called (and "soliloquy" will appreciate this if no one else does) Die Lustige Witwe and it's by Bernd-Aloys Zimmermann...

Best,

Alistair

[retrouvailles]

It's been done already - it's called (and "soliloquy" will appreciate this if no one else does) Die Lustige Witwe and it's by Bernd-Aloys Zimmermann...

Any relation or similarity to the operetta by the same name of Franz Lehár?

[pianistimo]

that was the MERRY widow.  alistair -is confusing it with the LUSTY widow.  i don't think the word black appears anywhere here. but be that as it may - they're all operas about widows.

did zimmermann change his name to lehar?  curious.

but, not as curious as that pussycat and owl short story. 

[ted]

There is some interesting information about Avondale and white tailed spiders here:

https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biosystematics/invertebrates/spiders/


I had not realised that  Avondale spiders can grow to an eight inch span. The ones I have seen have only been the size of a large saucer. According to the article, they came in the wood used in railway sleepers in Avondale in the 1920s, so I might be wrong about the racecourse grandstand.

[ahinton]

Any relation or similarity to the operetta by the same name of Franz Lehár?

I was joking. Didn't you get it?!

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

that was the MERRY widow.  alistair -is confusing it with the LUSTY widow.

Susan, ma chčre, 'm not confusing anything with anything here; Die Lustige Witwe is the original title in German of Lehár's operatta which is generally known in English as The Merry Widow.

i don't think the word black appears anywhere here. but be that as it may - they're all operas about widows.

did zimmermann change his name to lehar?  curious.

As explained above, I was joking (bad habit, that - must learn to curb it, evidently).

but, not as curious as that pussycat and owl short story. 

Well, at least no one has yet threatened to make an opera out of that. It was a tawny owl, by the way - or at least it was until it had been put through the shredder of my ginger cat's treatment and dragged by him through the cat-flap to be deposited on the kitchen floor. By the way, when that cat was younger, he brought in several severerd heads through the said cat-flap but, for the record, I can confidently assure you that none of them was that of Giovanni Battista...

Best,

Alistair

[mephisto]

I was joking. Didn't you get it?!

Best,

Alistair

By misspelling his name?

[jlh]

...i realize it's not 'in the bible.'  but, you see - i believe that little requests can be made as one becomes accustomed to praying.  'dear God, please let my cat go to heaven...' 

How about this bible verse?

Ecclesiastes 3:21 "Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?" 

"who" meaning God.

I conclude that animals don't go to heaven. 

[fiddes]

looking at that the bible gives a strong case as that man isnt from this world!!!!!!!!