Sunday 1 March 2015

Hallo to thee, Spider Spider

It doesn't seem so long ago that the pleasure of sitting in one's living room would be tempered somewhat by the knowledge that it was September, and at any moment your feet might be run over by a cat sized specimen of tengenaria gigantea, the giant house spider.

Obviously you could keep your legs off the floor, but then you might get too comfortable...and then you might be woken up by one of them crawling across your face. This happened to me one, and I jerked my head so violently I functionally decapitated myself and the spider was launched halfway to Mars.

*Shudders at the memory*

Still, I'm much better with spiders when they aren't spelunking in my nasal cavities, and so it was with an odd sort of pleasure I came across this chap - note the palps - outside the front door. He would be the son of one of the mate hunting giants from the autumn, and in six months time it will be his turn to maraud around my carpet looking out for love.

I wish him luck.

Si



4 comments:

  1. He still looks big enough to me, once I had a drink of milk from a cup in the house, feeling there should not be lumps in the milk I spit it out, only to watch the largest house spider get up and walk away....!
    Amanda xx

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  2. I've woken with a spider on my mouth as well...supposedly we eat 7 spiders a year in our sleep, according to a dimly remembered and dubiously sourced anecdote I read years ago

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  3. Spiders fascinate me the older I get. I wasn't too keen finding one on my bedroom wall when I was a kid, and used to scream blue bloody murder for my dad. Wouldn't want one crawling across my face either or worse ;)

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  4. Do you get those hateful recluses in Virginia? They have a reputation for biting in bed

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