#giant arachnid

[oldschoolfrp]

Lolth is "the demon queen of spiders," but also all other arachnids --you'll find giant scorpions in her realm, and these giant solifugids (camel spiders) and pedipalps (Uropygi/whip-scorpions) (Jim Roslof, cover of AD&D module Q1: Queen of the Demonweb Pits, TSR, 1980)

[caleod]

16-11-24

[onenicebugperday]

@paroxsys submitted: found this huge guy with big peepers (central bohemia, czechia) i was wondering who he is....

The aptly-named giant house spider! Probably Eratigena atrica in your location. Love the eye shine!

[entomolog-t]

Wait did I miss the autograph session!? Aww damn :(

[jenfoundabug]

Yet again, it’s that special time of year - tarantula mating season in California 🎉! Tarantulas are normally nocturnal, but in autumn, males emerge during the day to look for a mate. It’s not uncommon to see them crossing the trail while hiking.

Despite their large size and appearance, tarantulas are actually very docile and would rather flee than attack. They’re also fragile, so picking them up is not recommended (except that one time I rescued one from the road and then it climbed up my arm lol…). You sometimes can get them to walk across your hand, which is a much safer option for the tarantula.

Pro tip if you’re in the Bay Area: a recent rainstorm and cool weather seem to vastly increase the chance of finding one. Grassy foothills with sparse trees and not a lot of people are the best.

Desert tarantula (Aphonopelma iodius)

Northern California, US

[lavender-actualy-posts-shit]

Giggling like a little girl because if we agree that Patton gets to be a small frog like Jan gets to be a snake, and Pat is canonically a large frog beast, then Jan would get to be a beast too, right?

I. Want. Hydra. Janus.

[love-letters-to-bugs]

After recieving all those letters, i realised i never wrote my own one that inspired it!

so, Dear giant house spider,

I grew up terrified of you, your size and high speed was enough for me to make a quick judgement as a child. When i moved to the countryside, you were everywhere in my home. I remember multiple times I woke during the nights with the urge to turn on my light, only to find you on my pillow or climbing the wall centimeters from my face.

There was one day i was watching over my brother and he began screeming, when i entered the room you were there, standing in the middle of the room. You seem more confused than anything, maybe even curious, but in my panic i grabbed a broom and smacked you. You survived, jumping into the air slightly in fear you turned and began to run. I hit you again. You survived again but this time you ran only a few more inches before curling up in fear, tucking your tiny face under your long paws.

I felt so much guilt and sympathy in that moment, i realised you were scared and i was terrorizing you for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I gently scooped you up with an evelope and took you outside, you seemed so relieved running into the bush i placed you under. I'm so sorry for my actions towards you, and all spiders before.

From then on, i made effort to learn as much about spiders as possible, especially ones native to the area. It's been almost 10 years and i havent killed a single spider since. One of my greatest comfort items now, is a plush toy of a spider.

!!!!! 🕷️

[sordidmusings]

Sending off Moon Moon

In keeping with the trend of life updates on the blog, I bring some sad sad news: my pet wolf spider Moon Moon has died 😞 she was such a pretty and active bugger and did me such a good job of carrying on!! True spiders don’t live long enough :(( I’m very happy to have spent a year and some months cooing love at her that she’d never understand 💀

My fav memories of her include her giving me a damn heart attack when she finally made a perfectly hidden and closed burrow and I thought she somehow Houdini-ed herself out of a magnetically closed enclosure, watching her preen herself to keep up her status as Beautiful Very Wonderful Proper High Class Lady, watching her get startled by prey items a third her size because she (like most of my spiders) is a damn scaredy cat, and getting to hold this fast flighty son of a bitch for a brief moment on enclosure changes. I’d like to say she was a Good Girl about it, but this little brat has a Need for Speed and always tried to yeet herself into the dangers of being free in my house 😤 she’s scared of meal worms, what did she think she was gonna do trapped in a house with giants?? If only it were possible for her to have conceptualized such things lol

Below the cut is Moon Moon content so an arachnophobia warning for y’all who ain’t about my eight legged children lol

I was surprised to see I didn’t take many photos or vids of her cuz I def stared at her a lot and def meant to 💀 I’m gonna blame being hypnotized watching so no grabbing phone 🤷🏼‍♀️ but I did have one pretty good vid of her preening so I cut that down to post. Here’s the beauty queen!!

Sorry not sorry for the stupid mumbles 🤷🏼‍♀️

Also, thanks to all the moots who let me gush about her and my other 8 legged babies 💙💙💙

[critter-creature-or-beast]

By Acrocynus - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

[ljsbugblog]

Giant Golden Orb from earlier this year. found all along the eastern coast of Aus, and yet I've only seen one once :,) Such incredible colours on the females.

Giant Golden Orb-Weaver, female (Nephila pilipes).

[an-albino-pinetree]

Cw bug!: Vinegaroon (video!)

(Rude comments will be deleted!)

I talk in this, so just don’t have your volume maxed out lmao

You guys wanted more of her, so! Here’s a quick vid with Atlas, where I talk about the main reasons why Vinegaroons are lovely despite their crazy appearance! ✨🖤

Some things I didn’t touch on!

I said Atlas can’t pinch, but those diggers she’s got out front, are still pokey and sharp

If you grabbed a Vinegaroon, vs letting it crawl onto you, and put your finger near those, it’d probably still hurt sdjgj

Baby vinnies can move faster than adults, and need some time to get used to handling! (Also female Vinegaroons can live up to 20 years, it’s a commitment!)

Vinnies eat bugs and only bugs <:] so if you’re not comfortable with feeding bugs to a pet, I’d recommend a neat herbivore, like a millipede. 💚

Thanks for watching me be a geek! Voice reveal lol ✨

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

The giant forest scorpion really is giant-- in fact, it's the largest species of scorpion in the world! Individuals can reach up to 23 cm (9 in) in length, and weigh as much as 56 g (2.0 oz). Although they may look intimidating, these arachnids are actually quite harmless; they catch prey with their claws, and so their venom is no worse than a bee sting.

(Image: A giant forest scorpion (Gigantometrus swammerdami) by Chayant Gonsalves)

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[seabeck]

Some friends

[onenicebugperday]

@soverynearlyuseful submitted: A nice nephila genus spider found in Taveuni, Fiji! I love the golden web. No ID necessary, just wanted to share this big beautiful lady!

Ohohohohoho one of my favorite genera! She’s exquisite, I hope she’s aware

[entomolog-t]

Sals pet spider. I'm scared of spiders. But this is the exception.

BETTY!!!

She's such a sweet little lady!!

[flexingtyger99]

Horrific Giant Spider