When I was about 10 years old, Scotty Sheeks was the coolest kid I knew.
One of the reasons he was so cool (other than the endless supply of Hostess
Cupcakes at his house, AND the skateboard ramp in his backyard) was the
fact that he had the coolest pet in the world. It was the biggest spider
I had ever seen: hairy, about the size of a baseball, and it looked very
scary. It was a real, live, tarantula. He would hold
the tarantula in his hand, and play with it as it walked up his arm or
across his chest. I was always afraid to touch the tarantula, but I was
forever fascinated by the way it looked. Eventually, Scotty's mom got
a little too freaked out by having a tarantula in the house, so he had
to give it away. I was the only kid smart enough not to ask my
own mom, so I was the only one who could take it. I had a new
best friend and he lived in a shoebox.
When I brought the spider home, I found a big apple juice jar to put
the tarantula in. I filled it with some dirt, rocks and a few leaves to
make a nice home for my new friend (who I was still too afraid to touch)
and I threw in a few bugs that I found for food. I used a stick to slide
the tarantula from the shoebox, into the jar. I didn't have a lid for
the jar, so I looked around the garage and found the perfect replacement
- my sister's tennis racquet. It would let air flow, but keep the tarantula
in.
The next day, as I sat and watched Scooby Doo, my sister wandered through
the house looking for her tennis racquet. I didn't pay any attention,
as I was way too concerned about the current mystery on TV to wonder what
my stupid sister was doing. I sat there eating my pancakes with powdered
sugar and buttter (thanks mom!) wondering where I could get a talking
dog, and how much would it cost to get a cool van like the one they had.
My sister spent a few seconds yelling that she found her racquet in my
room, and I had stolen it. But what did I care? "Mom! Tell Margie
to shut up! I'm trying to watch TV!"
My dumb sister left us alone and went out to play tennis with her equally
dumb friends. Finally, some peace and quiet. Now I could watch that dork
Fred unmask the farmer dressed up like a swamp creature trying to keep
urban sprawl from encroaching on his land. The criminals were always so
evil. Why couldn't Shaggy ever be the one to solve the mystery? And who
was hooking up with Daphne? That is one mystery that was never solved.
I went back into my room to get dressed for another day of pointless
wanderings throughout the neighborhood. I didn't need to take a shower
(we had a pool, I never had to shower in the summer). And I didn't bother
with socks or underwear. Just a shirt, shorts and shoes. I actually used
to worry that I would get involved in an impromptu game of 'strip poker'
with some hot 12 year old girls, and I wouldn't have enough items of clothing
to protect myself. I considered wearing a necklace for this exact reason,
but just wearing a necklace would probably attract 12 year old girls who
wanted to play strip poker. So I took my chances with the girls I already
knew (actually, I didn't know any girls, so it worked out perfectly).
I was getting dressed, and put my foot into my shoe and got about three
quarters of the way in before I felt something funny. I wiggled my toes
just a little bit more before I felt one of the sharpest pains of my life.
I yanked my foot out of the shoe, and there was a big, fat, hairy tarantula
locked onto my middle toe. Now I let out an un-adulterated sissy scream,
combined with some type of weird wiggling dance on one foot as I tried
to get the spider to let go. After a few seconds the spider finally released.
It hit the ground, and started running. Right towards my other foot.
I started screaming again (I didn't stop for the next few minutes) and
jumped onto my bed (still screaming like a sissy). The huge spider disappeared
as it crawled under my bed. I stayed up on the bed (screaming) because
I just knew that it was coming for me. I looked over at the spider's
jar, and noticed that the top was gone. My dumb sister had let the
tarantula out!
Finally my mom opened my bedroom door to see what the heck was going
on.
I was screaming: "A tarantula, A TARANTULA! A TARANTUALA!!!"
My mom thought I was crazy, there were no tarantulas in our area. She
looked at me like possibly she slipped a little too much ritalin into
my pancakes (thanks mom!) I calmed down enough to realize that I might
get in trouble if she knew the whole tarantula story, so I just told her
it was 'a big spider.' Eventually she left my room and closed the door.
I'm sure she just thought her son was like a little girl. Maybe I *could*
wear some of my sister's hand-me-down clothes...
I spent the next three years fearing my bedroom. Every night when I got
into bed, I was sure that the spider was going to crawl into my mouth
and eat my tongue while I slept. But I never did see the spider again.
When my parents announced that we were moving to a new house across town,
I was the happiest one in the family: spider-free, finally. It had been
three years since I was able to relax in my bed.
I still think about that spider every single time I put my shoes
on.
Tarantulas aside, I actually like spiders. They are some of the most
beneficial creatures in our yards. I will never kill them, but if they
get in the house I'll pick them up (with toilet paper, I'm still a sissy)
and move them to the backyard. They eat mosquitos, flies, and all sorts
of other bugs. In fact, the weight of insects eaten by spiders every
year is greater than the total weight of the entire human population.
So- let's take a look at some of
the spiders around Woodland.
(All of these pictures were taken
in Woodland on July 14th and July 15th.)
You've probably noticed, that July really starts the spider season
in Woodland.
| Spider
Reproduction
Males approach females with caution in order to avoid
being eaten (don't we all...). During copulation, males embrace
the female's abdomen (check); sperm is transferred by the insertion
of one of the male's palps (legs near the mouth) (okay, that is
different). The male departs after mating (check plus),
and the female spends a number of days inside her retreat (watching
Law and Order?). She then begins to spin an egg sac or 'cocoon',
which protects the eggs. She stays close to the cocoon for a number
of days before dying.
The young spiders emerge from the cocoon in spring;
they gather into dense groups until after their first moult, after
which they disperse by 'ballooning', a form of dispersal in which
the spiderlings are carried on the wind by a thread of silk. |
When you scare garden spiders they'll run and hide somewhere dark.
Unless of course you scare an agressive spider. Then it will jump up on
you, climb up on your face
and wiggle into your head through your eyeball.
Every night these spiders will go out and eat their old web. They
use this as the building blocks for their new web.
| Araneus
diadematus
(I believe that all of the spiders on this page are
Araneus diadematus)
The garden spider spins a large complex orb-web, which
measures up to 15 inches in diameter and is used to capture insect
prey. Individuals spend much of their time at the center of their
web, and detect vibrations in the silk through their legs when insects
become trapped.
This spider wraps prey items in silk before consuming
them. When this species is threatened, it rapidly shakes itself
and the web up and down, and may drop to the ground on a silk thread.
The web may be rebuilt every day, and the old web is consumed so
that the proteins used in its construction are conserved and re-used. |
What did the spider say when he broke his new web?
Darn it!
| Spiders
vs. Insects
Spiders, unlike insects, have only two body segments
instead of three; a fused head and thorax and an abdomen, supported
by a hard exoskeleton.
Spiders also have eight legs (insects have six), no
antennae, and their eyes are single lenses rather than compound
eyes. Additionally spiders have 'palps', which are two appendages
next to their mouths that aid in manipulating food and are used
by the males in mating. |
This guy went and hid in the oleander when I got near his web.
Ladies, if this reminds you of your own legs....it's time to shave.
Almost all species of spiders are venomous, but only 30 species are
known to be deadly dangerous.
It is hard to provoke a garden spider to bite - if it does, the bite is
slightly unpleasant and utterly harmless.
| Building
a Web
- Every web begins with a single thread, which forms the basis
of the rest of the structure. The spider climbs to a suitable
starting point (up a tree branch, for example) and releases a
length of thread into the wind. If lucky, the free end of the
thread will catch onto another branch. Then the spider cinches
up the silk and attaches the thread to the starting point.
- The spider easily grips the thin threads with its hairy legs.
As it walks along the structural threads, it lays more frame threads
between various anchor points. Then it starts laying out radius
threads from the center of the web to the frames.
- After building all the radius threads, the spider lays more
non-stick silk to form an auxiliary spiral, extending from the
center of the web to the outer edge of the web. The spider then
spirals in on the web, laying out sticky thread and using the
auxiliary spiral as a reference. This results in a web with non-sticky
radius threads for getting around, and a sticky spiral for catching
bugs.
|
These next 3 pictures are also backgrounds - click on the picture
to get a larger version.
Right-click that picture and choose, 'Set as Background'
Spiders have a special brush of hairs on their legs allowing
them to adhere to surfaces so they can walk upside down.
On an equal weight basis, spider silk is twice as strong as steel.
In addition, spider silk is very elastic.
It is this combination of strength and stretch that makes the energy-to-break
of spider silk so high.
Simply put, it is the toughest material known.
All pictures copyright InsideWoodland.com. Please contact
me at karl@webnoodle.net
if you want to use these (or larger) pictures.
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From: Jen - Date: 16-Jul-05 |
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C'mon, did you really just find these spiders just hanging around Woodland? They look pretty exotic!
Editor response: Actually, I was very lazy on this story- all of these spiders are from my own backyard (in Woodland of course)
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From: Allie - Date: 16-Jul-05 |
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Karl, This is the first comment I've ever posted on Inside Woodland, and I feel pretty proud. You should be proud of me too. I looked at all of those gross spiders for you. So now that this message is comming to an end, I think I'll go play Halo with you... which you should also be proud of me for doing.
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From: Cindi - Date: 18-Jul-05 |
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Stunning photos! I am surprised you still pick spiders up even being it with tissue paper! You can keep the spiders to yourself though.
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From: Bob - Date: 18-Jul-05 |
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I really enjoyed the photos. The garden orb weavers are some of the better aspects of summer in Woodland. The other summer spiders of Woodland are not so wonderful: black widows of course, and those ridiculous long-legged things that have taken over my garage and do pushups when you get near them.
You might be interested in this link: http://www.rhymer.net/cutsE.htm Think of it as payback for the tarantula that got your toe.
--Bob
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From: eliz - Date: 20-Jul-05 |
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Great Pictures. I like to read your stuff. You make me laugh
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From: jodi - Date: 21-Jul-05 |
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I hate all these damm spiders here. They are everywhere,home, work,food 4 less. When is spider season over?
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From: Molly - Date: 22-Jul-05 |
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Why no Widow pics? I could send you a few. I do believe it's YEAR OF THE WIDOW. I've never seen them so prevalent. "They" say they like low/dark places but I've seen them high and in the daylight. Maybe they all decided to bunk at my place. With a 2 yr. old running about they're gonna find out I'm not a very nice landlord.
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From: Seester - Date: 27-Jul-05 |
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Dear Mr. Woodland, Whatever compelled you to write a story on spiders, knowing that you are frightened by them, is surprising to me. I still collect them. I still put them in mason jars, with sticks and dirt, in order to fulfill my fascination. And I still have someone in the background, who's horrified by spiders, telling me to 'let it go and kill it!. He's a screamer, too. Great story and very educational!!
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From: Gayle - Date: 30-Jul-05 |
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Great pics! and how refreshing to laugh out loud when you are actually learning something and not get sent to detention!
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From: Marilyn - Date: 31-Jul-05 |
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These are terrific pictures, but what about those creepy spiders with the blue markings that seem to jump around (my husband calls them jumping spiders). I'm hiding from the Black Widows. I'm sure there's plenty in our woodpile. I dread fireplace season.
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From: dusty lindstrom - Date: 12-Aug-05 |
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oh my gosh !!! i HATE spiders there was one in my room lastnight i havent been sleeping in it !!! ha ha ! it was HUGE tho {but any spider i see i think its a giant}
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From: Patricia - Date: 18-Aug-05 |
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Amazing photos! Beautiful pictures.
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From: Steve m0rp84@yahoo.com - Date: |
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Dude I was a SERIOUS arachnaphobe for a long time. I couldn't even touch a picture of a spider. I went from that to having a pet seven legged tarantula named lucky. I even Kept a black widow for a while till the room mates ordered a "hit" on it and it woke up dead one morning...as they say.
Interesting story, good pics.
Steve
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From: Betty - Date: |
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The pictures are great. What kind of camera did you use?
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From: Dave - Date: |
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6 years ago I was bitten by a Brown Recluse, spent 4 days in the hospital and 6 months with night sweats, NO FUN !!! Beware, they have a violin shape on their backs !!! They like dark undesturbed areas such as linen closets that are infrequently visited! That's where mine was hiding!!!
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From: Jite - Date: 04-Nov-05 |
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Lovely pictures, I dont mind spiders at all to some extent I think I like them but l am very suprised that after all these lovely pictures you've taken of them you still can't pic them up.
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From: Naomi - Date: 11-Nov-05 |
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RE. the notion that garden spiders are not aggressive, I beg to differ. One found its way into my house and built a web, which I left alone, resisting the urge to evict it... The next morning I woke with a welt on my back containing 3 spider bites. It crawled up into my bed and attacked me in my sleep! No way to treat a compassionate hostess! In the past I have been similarly bit by house/garden spiders. Do I have some kind of insect phermone they are drawn to?
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From: - Date: 03-Mar-06 |
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Two words people:PEST CONTROL
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From: eek - Date: 07-May-06 |
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Not seeing responses, but help appreciated. I get goose-flesh just passing "sp" in the dictionary, but I toughed it out on this site. New to Woodland area, home full of what others would call small (black?) spiders, thick legs, eyes that look like horns, favor my bedding though found elsewhere. Home sprayed for ants, but these beasts persist. Vac daily, but fight at least 1/2 doz I find each day. What are they and how do I make them go away?
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From: reanne - Date: 31-May-06 |
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i really am petrofide of spiders i even scream if i see a money spider i hate them does anyone know what i can do to overcome my fear
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From: graham - Date: 04-Jun-06 |
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i hate spiders cant stand them but i had to kill one today any one tell me what kind it is it was black no markings i coud see as big as maybe a nicole if any one knows plz tell me my email is grahamw333@comcast.net
ps graet pics
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From: Joe - Date: 13-Jun-06 |
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I am appalled at the hatred that the commenters have toward such innocent creatures, even making up lies about them. As for "Naomi," I want proof that the spiders actually attacked her in her sleep. Did she actually see them biting her? If you don't believe me, I will tell you of my own experience with spiders. When I approach a spider and put my hand out to catch it, the spider actually turned away from my hand and I had to use my other hand to capture it. Even when I was "playing" with it, it never bit me, not once. As for you I want to know if you really believe that spiders bite people for the fun of it. If you do, you need to realize that they normally try to avoid people and even when approached by humans, they will not bite unless they feel threatened (which is why the tarantula bit your foot when you were going to put on your shoe; how would you like it if you were crowded into a narrow space and not being able to move?).
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From: wendy - Date: 12-Jul-06 |
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Interesting comments, I am an artist and just want to understand their character and get a really good photo of their face right up close. I wonder if you can see what they are thinking when they look into their eyes!
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From: Dawnn - Date: 19-Aug-06 |
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Hi, Thanks for the photos, My boyfriend took what we now know as the "Common Garden Spider" or "Araneous Diadematus" off his web and we examined and compared it to google images. Your website had the exact photo we were looking for. Thanks again for the info. We now know what we are working with. (Oceanside, Ca)
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From: angel - Date: 19-Sep-06 |
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the spider is but ugly
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From: april - Date: 19-Sep-06 |
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the spiders is creepy and scary
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From: Jake Gomez - Date: 23-Jan-07 |
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These spiders are so cool
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From: may - Date: 09-Apr-07 |
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im afraid of spiders, but these pictures are pretty cool. however, im not so sure i would get so close to that one that climbs in ur eyeballs...hmm....
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From: Karen - Date: 02-May-07 |
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Great tarantula story! Poor thing probably starved to death! I am trying to find out the kind of spider I have only seen in the Sacramento/Placer area. Big, black, huge fangs and it has an "alien" face in white (two eyes and a mouth) on it's butt (sorry I am not using a scientific description) Know what it is?
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From: Shannon - Date: 20-Jun-07 |
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We think we have one on the deck...could it be a darker color?
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From: Jesse Madrid - Date: 15-Aug-07 |
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These spider's are everywhere. Especially in the Walmart Parking lot.
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From: Sam, San Diego - Date: 06-Nov-07 |
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The black spider with white dots that look like eyes is a black (duh) jumping spider. I used to have one in a jar to get pictures of it, but then my computer freaked out at the sight of it.
I'm currently playing with a new digital camera and have taken some good shots of a silver argiope. I want to click on the big orange orb weaver I ran into the other day, scared me real good.
By the way, those pest comments, all those spiders invading your place is due to the war you started with your ancestors. Leave 'em bee.
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From: Ricky, Woodland California - Date: 25-Nov-07 |
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I am glad that I found this site. I am new to Woodland and the first thing I noticed is how many (Araneus diadematus) spiders there were. I have tried finding information on them because I didnt know if they were dangerous or not. All I new is that they were massive and built large webs all around the outside of my house. Now that I know they are harmless I will leave them alone. Thanks
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From: Dionne Coates - Date: 29-Jan-08 |
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I don't like spiders.
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From: poofsFota - Date: 29-Jan-08 |
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Hello! Nice site ;) Bye
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From: Laleh - Date: 03-Jul-08 |
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I live in Bell Canyon, right by woodland hills and you wouldn't believe the hugggggggggggggggge black spiders I've seen in my backyard. I'm scared to find one next to me in bed! Do you know how to get rid of them?
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Story and pictures © InsideWoodland. Stories
about Woodland California.
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