Brandon Whitmore Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 This guy is about the size of a silver dollar, and he looks hungry. I killed another one that was just inside the chimney. I really should have taken a picture before I pulled out the giant funnel web. Click to Enlarge 56.64 KB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Moore Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 I found this guy in a tub on Saturday. OK...not exactly a tarantula, but the biggest one I have ever seen around here. I was impressed enough that I had to measure him (her). Click to Enlarge 61.64 KB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmiller Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 Here is an informative guide on Hobo Spider indentification, or mis-identification by an entomologist who has provided training at the SPI seminars. http://pep.wsu.edu/pdf/PLS116_1.pdf Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Whitmore Posted August 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 Here is an informative guide on Hobo Spider indentification, or mis-identification by an entomologist who has provided training at the SPI seminars. http://pep.wsu.edu/pdf/PLS116_1.pdf Nice article-- thanks. I should have grabbed the one I killed I guess. I wasn't going to wrestle with the one in the crawlspace just to check out it's body parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Jones Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 You sure that's not an aggressive house spider? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWagar Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 I am under the impression that we do not have the Hobo Spider here in Oregon .... Am I wrong ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Jones Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 Hey Scott, They are actually notorious in this area. Here is a cool website about hobo spiders. http://www.hobospider.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWagar Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 Thanks for the info... I think I typed before I thunk. I was thinking about the Brown Recluse not being up here in the PNW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Whitmore Posted August 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 I was thinking about the Brown Recluse not being up here in the PNW. Was that about 10 years ago when someone smart determined that they were not brown recluses, but hobo spiders in our area? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 Those are cool, but did they chase you? I had a wolf spider in my camper a few weeks ago, bigger than a penny but smaller than a nickle, when he realized I was too close to him he raised his front legs above his head and charged at me like an angry dog. I almost felt guilty for stepping on him, but the futility of his attack made me laugh. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 I was thinking about the Brown Recluse not being up here in the PNW. Was that about 10 years ago when someone smart determined that they were not brown recluses, but hobo spiders in our area? The people who know spiders always knew that we don't have brown recluse spiders up here. Not even close. The rumors came from doctors who were trying to ID spider bites on patients. The docs concluded that they were brown recluse bites because they matched the pictures in the textbooks. A hobo bite and a brown recluse bite are nearly identical. Both cause the same, rather horrible and painful consequences. Hobo spiders and aggressive house spiders are the same thing. "Hobo spider" is the more recent, preferred name. I see quite a few very large, Hoboish looking spiders every fall in crawlspaces, but I rarely see them the rest of the year. If you want to see something really cool, the next time you find one of those giant spiders, use some tweezers to expose it's fangs. They're enormous. - Jim Katen, Oregon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 According to a Dr. Antonelli, an entomologist down at WSDA, the brown recluse is in Washington State. It was imported into the state somehow and numbers are growing. OT - OF!!! M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 According to a Dr. Antonelli, an entomologist down at WSDA, the brown recluse is in Washington State. It was imported into the state somehow and numbers are growing. OT - OF!!! M. How long ago did you hear that? The last time I heard him speak -- 2007 I think -- he said the opposite; that more brown recluse spiders were being accidentally imported into the state but that they didn't seem to be able to thrive here. Rick Vetter still seems to think that they can't thrive in the west-coast states. - Jim Katen, Oregon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Whitmore Posted August 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 Spider of the day: Click to Enlarge 2.88 KB Sorry 'bout the small pic. I see quite a few very large, Hoboish looking spiders every fall in crawlspaces, but I rarely see them the rest of the year. All of the sudden, I'm seeing these guys all over the place. The one in this picture is quite a bit smaller than the one from the original post, but it's still big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inspectorjoe Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 Jeez, I'm thankful that we don't have brown recluse or hobo spiders around here. We do have big spiders though - REALLY big spiders. Check out this Argiope aurantia or zipper spider, that I saw in my backyard. Click to Enlarge 72.13 KB Click to Enlarge 54.38 KB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Whitmore Posted August 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 How far back is your hand from that spider? I'll quit whining about our large spiders, but..... do yours attack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inspectorjoe Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 My hand was about an inch away from the web. They have poor eyesight, so they rely mostly on vibrations from the web. They're not an aggressive spider, but will bite if provoked. Their bite is venomous, but it's not harmful to humans. I'm fascinated by spider web construction. "Web construction is complicated. To start the web, Argiope firmly grasps a substrate like a grass stem or window frame. She lifts her abdomen and emits several strands of silk from her spinnerets that merge into one thread. The free end of the thread drifts until it touches something far away, like a stem or a flower stalk. She then creates bridge lines, and other scaffolding to help her build the framework of the web. She builds a hub with threads radiating from it like a spokes of a wheel. She switches to sticky silk for the threads spiraling around this hub that will actually catch her prey. It may take a few hours to complete the web, then she eats the temporary scaffolding and the center hub. Argiope spiders often add stabilimenta, or heavy zig-zagging portions, in their webs. A stabilimentum may or may not aid prey capture (see below). The entire web is usually eaten and then rebuilt each night, often in the same place." Wiki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 According to a Dr. Antonelli, an entomologist down at WSDA, the brown recluse is in Washington State. It was imported into the state somehow and numbers are growing. OT - OF!!! M. Hi JIm, Well, hell, I heard him speak on the subject around 2001. Guess he's changed his presentation since then. OT - OF!!! M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now