Swarms of aggressive spiders attack town!

i hate spider, CENTIPEDES. anything that has funny legs

I know this is a reputable site, but I still think some one should do some more follow up on this story. Sometimes stories from India seem a little phony.

reply to post by maus80


I agree! I'm a huge arachnophobic, a medium/big spider can make scream like a little girl, but jumping spiders seem to be the cutest! I haven't seen one myself, I don't think we have those kind in my country, but seeing them in pictures make me feel I wouldn't feel threatened by them at all and in fact I wouldn't freak out at all if one would decide to jump at me. Wish all kinds of spiders were as cute as them!

Originally posted by LafingWithTears
reply to post by Heehaw

 

Yes, I was working on a fence driving a fence staple into the post where it lived; banging on the post with the hammer could have provoked it? It seemed angry when it came out of the crack (anthropomorphic I know)
The one that bit the ant did just that it made a little circle around the ant came up behind and bit it then ran. I dont think it had any luck coming back later because this happened on a wall and the ant had a...?seizure? and fell of the wall the whole thing was kinda darkly humorous.

The vibrations probably startled the spider or ticked it off.

Ants are twitchy. Often times I accidently brush one, barely touching it, and it spazzes out and seems injured, but a moment later it cleans itself off and walks off like nothing happened. Chances are the bite, or perhaps just being startled, caused what seemed like a seizure. Try barely brushing an ant with your finger and watch how it reacts. Probably spasms, them a frantic cleaning session.

Spiders have tiny brains so I imagine it didn't consider the fact the ant could fall.

I'm with you on the darkly humorous bit. I enjoy poking and prodding stuff to see how it reacts. Funny enough, in my area Aphaenogaster fulva (3mm long, no soldiers) are highly aggressive and will readily bite me if I provoke them, but Camponotus castaneus (soldiers a cm long) will run away like wimps. Their queens honestly seem more aggressive as I've had them come straight out of test tubes to bite my fingers before and all I was doing was offering her some honey.

For a size comparison (pay attention to the scale line):

Aphaenogaster fulva: www.antweb.org...

Camponotus castaneus soldier: www.antweb.org...

For me, this is even worse than a zombie attack. I hate spiders, lets just hope it stays in india. Im already having nightmares!!

Originally posted by iamusic
I know this is a reputable site, but I still think some one should do some more follow up on this story. Sometimes stories from India seem a little phony.

Go ahead and drive up to Hwy 2. Errrrr Los Angelas Crest Hwy. It's Tarantula season up there. Go ahead and have a look around. That's not India my friend. That's So. Cal.
I've seen it with my own eye's.


NO .... YOU go. Been there...done that. And roll up your windows.

reply to post by maus80


ya generally,they are a friendly lot,but the black n' white ones are a bit aggressive!
been bit a few times(doesn't hurt!) but it may be because i moved too quick for them and they get scared!
but,yes,they sure are cute!!!

reply to post by jb1958


i did not say they are on the 'hunt' for humans,or they attack us!!!!!!!
i just said for their size,they sure have no fear!
all spiders bite,and jumping spiders are no exception.
i have been bit by them,probably my own fault mind you,and no i wasn't being mean to them!
i just think they are cool!

Eywa has heard you!!!!!

reply to post by Agit8dChop


an organised attack perhaps? sounds like it.
wonder if humans encroached on their forest/habitat and they were sick of it.

sent by mother nature perhaps?

karma?

reply to post by rapunzel222


spiders are very brave. i used to kill them when i was younger but now i feel bad about it. (because i have severe arachnaphobia and was terrified of them...) still am but now i dont kill them.

they will fight you even tho your many times bigger than them; even when they're tiny. if they are cornered, they turn and attack you.

i like that quality in them. they are actually quite nice and have nice little souls, you can see it.

it's just that they come in a scary looking package, and their abilities i think - as hunters, etc scare us.
they can lie in wait, leap long distances, and from very high up without injury; hold their breath etc. they are very intelligent.

do you know in the congo the villagers talk of the jba fofi spider, which often lives (or used to live) near the villages. these are four - five feet across, and kill and eat a dwarf species of deer that live in the forest....

imagine one of those hunting you.

you know Lord of the Rings really wasn't far-fetched...

i was planning a trip to india, but i think that's out now....

Originally posted by SpaceJockey1
Well this is sure bad enough, but what we don't want happening now is a further evolving into TOXIC ZOMBIE MONSTER SPIDERS, due to nuclear fallout from Fukushima!!!

i'd have to leave the planet.

Originally posted by PhoenixOD

Originally posted by UltimateSkeptic1
Great.

I'm planning on being in India in few months.

Serious question: Is it counter to Indian culture to kills spiders?

I think the Buddhist religion frowns against killing any living creature.

there is a lot of ppl saying they 'hate' spiders here. speaking as an ex-spider killer and complete arachniphobe (i'm fighting it but i live in australia and they are as big as dinner plates, literally, here), i have to say over time, i have come to observe that they really have sweet little souls. like any animal. they are NOT evil; they just look scary.

people's hate comes from their fear.

speaking as someone still fighting their own fear of them, i'd encourage everyone to try not to kill them, but to fight their fear because they are just like any other animal.

reply to post by rapunzel222


I'm also in Australia, gotta say even the smallest spider makes me incredibly uncomfortable. I have a hard time dealing with them, even if they mean no harm generally lol.

Surprised no one has mentioned these; although they are not large or aggressive millions of spiders, some of different species, banding together is scary!
"A warning: If the thought of tens of millions of tiny spiders spinning a web 24 hectares - 60 acres - in size and crawling all over it scares the wits out of you, you might want to tread carefully over the following"
flatrock.org.nz...
texasento.net...
l.yimg.com...://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/thesideshow/SpiderFlood.jpg

There are also reports of Yellow Jacket (a type of wasp in the U.S.) nests several tons in size. Insects seem to coming together in huge numbers.

My nephew was recently on a trip to Arizona - he stopped at a rest stop and a large black spider followed him out of the restroom and actually chased him for over 100 yards.

reply to post by reficul


Yeah I self-diagnosed myself with arachnophobia a few years back, but those jumping spiders are way tooo damn cute!!

Fluffy little monsters

seems this story may be a bit exaggerated

www.cnn.com...

I am not a fan of spiders either so this was a creepy read. I have been seeing lots of big spiders this year where I live as well. S and F for a good thread.

However, I have to say I'm skeptical of the story only because when I was trying to find any other information and/or pictures/videos of the spiders, I wasn't able to find anything. I was only able to find sources using stock photo pictures in their articles.

If anyone has any real pictures of the spiders from this story, I would be interested in seeing them. (Is the photo in the CNN article supposed to be the spider in question? I don't think so since the caption says, "similar to this tarantula")

reply to post by jazz10

I actually hoped that someone would create a thread regarding their religion.

What a can of worms that would be. Wanna talk about the myriad of "denominations" that occur in all of India? Their dietys, practices and corruptions are as rife as any major religion(ism). Even more so in Hinduism. I am surrounded by Indians where I live. They work at Apple. The men don suits and briefcases and dash off to work in their Mercedes, while the women and gaggle of kids stay home.

They only associate with each other, ignoring everyone else. The kids run riot, breaking all the rules while the parents watch. They constantly occupy all the facilities and leave them a mess for others. When you try and say hi, they just ignore you.

And don't start with the wildlife. For some reason they chop down all the foliage around their entry ways. I don't mean remove it, like you would a tree or bush, they just hack it to ground level and leave it. If it grows back they hack it some more.

They don't keep pets. Pets scare them to death. I have a little dog and the kids are so fearful of her. They freak and run or freeze up when they see her. On the other hand they deify some animals (like rats) and leave little food "offerings" around the complex. The county maintains rat traps or "bait" stations to control their population and here and there are little bits of rice and meat or fruit on little doilies that my dog is always pointing out to me.

They throw trash over their fence and sweep it out their back gate. The kids rugby the lawns to dust, scuff the sidewalks with their scooters and bikes. They will run you over or block your path until you move for them. Same with the women who push strollers around all day. Get out of their way. They only hire from within their community and hoard all the wealth to themselves. Their garbage overflows with uneaten rice and beans and stains the ground on garbage day. You have to hose it down to be rid of it.

They come to this country (on visas) to enjoy the benefits but carry the baggage of their world with them.They live 9 to a unit. Where do they think all those kids are going to earn a living when they grow up? At Mcdonalds? I think if they had their way they would take over this place (they already are, when a house sells it is sold to Indians) and turn it all to dust with cattle laying about chewing their cud.

I know all about the difference between their apparent good intentions and the actual practice they employ from day to day. They are hypocrites just like me. Which makes them human and why I just continue to walk around them and smile and say hello, when we meet. At least I can behave like a human being to them.