The Most Beautiful Spiders in the World! [PIC HEAVY]

Alright all you spider haters! For the many years I've been on this forum, I've seen countless threads and posts regarding spiders and - from what I can tell - the vast, and nearly unanimous hatred and/or fear of them. In fact, the very reason I'm making this thread is because is because we currently have a new topic (Spiders Could Theoretically Eat all Humans In One Year), in which nearly all comments were a rise to destroy every spider in sight (Mostly comic hyperbole, but nevertheless!!!!)

Well! I for one happen to LOVE spiders! Take that, conformists!

In fact, I used to have several different kinds of arachnids and arthropods as pets, and have worked with or alongside them on many occasions, some nearly the size of dinner plates (Goliath Bird Eating Tarantula)

Why love spiders? There are tons of reasons!

~ They're just cool
~ They're the inspiration of many mythological and legendary beasts, sometimes even creators and gods (link)
~ They are mostly harmless. In fact, out of the 34,000 known species, only about 27 of those species have ever caused a human fatality.
~ Furthermore! North America has roughly 3,400 of those species, and only 2 of them are actually harmful to humans (The Recluses and Widows)
~ If you find a spider in your house it means that roughly 2000 other insects will not be there due to your friendly neighborhood spidey protection!
~ Spider silk is being used as a textile material, is incredibly strong, and may redefine what building materials we'll be using in the future thanks to it's light weight and durability.
~ They reduce pests and maintain stability in our ecosystems
~ They also reduce the spread of disease and ailments due to these pests.


~ And they were the inspiration for Spiderman





They also happen to be BEAUTIFUL CREATURES!
(Click on the thumbnails to make the images larger)

Baby Jumping Spider


Bird Dung Spider


Jumping Spider with Baby


unkown


Golden Orb Weaver


Jumping Spider


Indian Ornamental Tarantula


Jumping Spider


Martinique Red Tree Spider (Tarantula)


Spiny Backed Orb Weaver


Jumping Spider


Peacock Spider


Poecilotheria metallica Tarantula


Sapphire Ornamental


More jumping spiders!!!


Spiny Backed Orb Weaver



Well there you go! Thought I should share a view from the other perspective

You thumbnailed the spiders so the haters dont have to actually look at them.

Look. I openly admit that I am afraid of most of them.

I have tried to reason with them. To make a deal. If they would stay OUT of my house, I would NEVER kill one outside.

THEY DONT LISTEN. The dirty buggers think it is cool to hang out on the ceiling, over my bed, while I sleep.


I know they are important. I know they have a job to do. If I didn't find them running at me, across the back of the couch, while I'm watching a movie, we would not have a problem.
They just don't belong in my house!
I really do leave them be, when they are outside. Even in the pole barn. (I can't help it if the chickens eat them.)

originally posted by: chiefsmom
They just don't belong in my house!

On the contrary, we just moved into and build on their house.

a reply to: Ghost147

Like this!

I only hate spiders when they crawl on me or surprise me.

Here is some of my avatar spiders i have used or use if needed.

Hey Ghost,

I was preparing a tarantula thread today. I have kept them since the 90s (67 species at one point). I grow them on from 0.5cm.

Captive-bred Martinique Tree Spiders (Avicularia versicolor) are the most challenging to keep. They need very high humidity with lots of fresh air. If you get the ventilation wrong they get fungal infections and die. Some keepers have fans blowing through numerous air holes in the tank and mist the containers every 4 hours. I have not managed to grow one on further than 5 months.

Poecilotheria (referred to as pokes or pokies) are the only tarantulas with a medically significant bite. I had 2 species, the metallica and a regalis.

originally posted by: mekhanics
a reply to: Ghost147

Like this!

I found the mom and baby family photo to be pretty entertaining

You left off black widows. Say what you will but the red/black pattern is still attractive.

S+f for this,i Love beautiful spiders! now on to see the gallery

originally posted by: Morrad
Hey Ghost,

I was preparing a tarantula thread today. I have kept them since the 90s (67 species at one point). Grow them on from 0.5cm.

Captive-bred Martinique Red Tree Spiders (Avicularia versicolor) are the most challenging to keep. They need very high humidity with lots of fresh air. If you get the ventilation wrong they get fungal infections and die. Some keepers have fans blowing through numerous air holes in the tank and mist the containers every 4 hours. I have not managed to grow one on further than 5 months.

Poecilotheria (referred to as pokes or pokies) are the only tarantulas with a medically significant bite. I had 2 species, the metallica and a regalis.

Ah very cool! I've been thinking about starting up a terrarium using some kind of communal species, not sure which to go with yet, though.

a reply to: Ghost147

OMG cute overload

I must repay this favor

www.flickr.com...

a reply to: ketsuko

An elegant dame who takes no prisoners

a reply to: Ghost147

The golden orb weaver is a Fabulous spider! when we lived in the town 14 years ago we had one as an outside pet,it lived for quite a few months - then one day we went to say hi and it was just a dry husk I felt an actual sense of loss

a reply to: Mianeye

Ohh what a treat!! cute dear lil things- i always have a few jumpies on my bedside table,and one by my p. I watched it devour a hapless little moth few hours earlier. What an appetite. It threw the leftovers down on my pc table when it was finished. Boys..

a reply to: Ghost147

I will hopefully have my thread up tomorrow with some info on species and management.

Might be of interest to you.

Those spikey ones and those massive yellow/red ones that hang around in Thailand like they own the place freak me out.

Great though aren't they. Loafs of eyes, loads of legs, make webs which would pass any modern day engineering test of structural stability.

Mega strong silk that can stop a bullet.

Fast as hell, can jump even faster.

AND for some reason we have (or many if us have) an innate fear.

My wife is deathly afraid of spiders (at one point she got mad and locked me out of the house when she found out I hadn't bumped off a spider she'd asked me to kill months ago.) And, to be honest, when those big spindley-legged bastards are ON me, i'm not happy and i'll probably try to swat them off me. But the short-legged fuzzy jumping spiders I've always thought were probably the cutest you can get for arthropods. We've got the black ones with the shiney-green mouthparts and the little zebra-colored ones.

Does the spider dance of jumping up and down and yelling, "KIll it! Kill it!." Ok, some are rather colorful and interesting looking, but as a rule, they freak me out! And yes...I have done the spider dance many times.