Check out this massive Spider

[southpaw]

This thing has set up shop on the outside of my garage. It lives under the motion sensor between a pair of floodlights at the corner of the garage door and builds an enormous circular web.

I think it is called a Giant Lichen Orbweaver. Can anyone confirm or correct my identification?

[suninvited]

1. When he starts

activating the motion detectors...worry !

[southpaw]

4. Oh, that's already happened.

I kid you not.

If those floods come on during the night, they are visible through my bedroom window. They had been on and off a few times for a couple of nights in a row right before I noticed the web and, subsequently, it's horrific architect.

My 7 year old son and I spent nearly an hour observing and photographing this beast after dark a few evenings ago. This and a few other photos are one of the results. The other was that my son had nightmares about giant spiders that night.

[begin_within]

2. You might try this site

http://whatsthatbug.com/

[southpaw]

6. That site seems to confirm my original ID

Giant Lichen Orb Weaver


A pretty spot-on likeness... wouldn't you say?


Thanks for the link.

[begin_within]

10. Yeah there is a family resemblance

I think that Orb Weavers are not supposed to be dangerous, but we have some in San Diego that are red-orange and brown, with no green, and they are all over the place in the summer. Everyone says they are not dangerous, but I know of one elderly man who was bitten by one, and was sick for a while, and eventually died - but he was in poor health anyway, so the spider bite was only a contributing factor. They seem to be able to construct huge, elaborate webs overnight.

[mainegreen]

3. I wouldn't worry until she captures your car in her web.

When that happens, pray. Or just make sure you have a juicy pet to offer to her as you run away.

[Maddy McCall]

5. How big is that thing?

I have golden orbweavers here...but they look nothing like that. Cool bug!

[southpaw]

8. It's about 2" including the legs

I have a pic that puts it into scale... give me a sec and I'll upload it.

[supernova]

7. So how big is it?

Hard to tell from that photo, which is spectacular, btw.

[southpaw]

13. Here's another pic with more scale

Alas, not as sharp as the previous photo...

[mikeytherat]

9. Here's one I had in my house for a while:

A North American Fishing Spider. We called him Otto. He lived in the basement for over a year, keeping it very bug free. Alas, they move very slow and our cats are very quick. He was a big spider (in the photo he is next to some of my boxing equipment and a clothes dryer).

mikey_the_rat

[begin_within]

11. Yikes

Even though I know they are not all dangerous to humans, all spiders scare me, the bigger ones the most.

[mikeytherat]

12. These guys are non-venomous, they don't build webs (they are like wolf

spiders, in that they hunt their prey), and move very slowly. Still, the sheer size of him did freak me out on occasion (he was about 5-6" diameter with the legs).

mikey_the_rat

[southpaw]

14. We have those around, too.

With five cats in the house, those who dare to venture indoors typically don't last very long.

[mikeytherat]

16. With three cats, I'm amazed he lasted as long as he did.

Our males, especially, are "bug hunters," so kudos to Otto for longevity.

We get these guys indoors from time to time (we have a lake behind the house where they seem to originate).

mikey_the_rat

[southpaw]

18. Actually, that is probably a different species

The ones we see are lighter in color with two dark stripes running from head to tail. Also, they don't appear to be as large as Otto. Maybe we just haven't seen an adult yet. My wife jokes that if they were any bigger, it would be the cats in danger of being eaten.

[Connonym]

15. oh god, I knew I shouldn't have looked

I have goosebumps and not the good kind. Spiders really creep me out

[southpaw]

17. Then you certainly don't want to look at THIS:

And no, I didn't take this picture. This is a huntsman. I think they are from Australia. The stuff of nightmares.

[LeftyMom]

20. Is that loo roll or paper toweling? I need to know how horrified I am.

:scared:

[southpaw]

22. I'd guess that it's buttwipe

So your horror level is perhaps not as great as it could be.

Still, since seeing this picture, I never reach for the toilet paper without looking first.

[NewEnglandGirl]

19. I don't wish them any harm

but I would never want to encounter any of them, especially the one on the toilet paper. JC. :scared:

I never heard of this type of spider (lichen) and don't understand why it's called that. In a way it reminds me of a tarantula except for that green stuff on it. :shrug:

[southpaw]

21. It's the green coloring that gives it the name

Lichen is that crusty looking stuff that grows on trees and rocks. It is usually a grey-green color and is actually a symbiotic union of a fungus and an algae.

The Giant Lichen Orb Weaver is so named because it's green to grayish-green coloring resemble the appearance of lichen.



I don't kill spiders, and I'm frankly fascinated by them. But if one gets on me I shriek like a frightened three-year-old.

[NewEnglandGirl]

25. Ok, that's the part I was wondering about

cause on one of the pictures the spider looks like it actually has lichen scale but not on the others. So it's the resemblance to that. Thank you for explaining that, I love science and learning about things like that. :) I hear you about having them on you. :scared: :scared: :scared: I saw a picture of one called a "jumping spider" and that would be my worst nightmare. (well almost). ;(

[Shakespeare]

23. Yeah, I'd have already moved, thanks.

:scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared:

[stuntcat]

24. that's a great picture!

I like spiders but ... well I wouldn't be able to kill that one anyway, what a mess it would make! Is it gonna make babies? yike. I like how it looks though, it's beautiful, as spiders go!

[southpaw]

26. Thanks!

I'm surprised it came out as well as it did.

Canon PowerShot A560 7.1 megapixel digital camera that cost me about $150.00

[stuntcat]

29. rock on, Canon PowerShot!

That's what I use to take bee pictures. When I figured out the MACRO feature I went nuts.
Bugs are Teh Best! :headbang:

[southpaw]

30. Hmmmm... What is the MACRO of which you speak?

That's an AMAZING picture, by the way! I need to pull out the owner's manual an learn how to get the most out of my little Canon.

[stuntcat]

33. yah the manual!

It's in there somewhere, but it looks like you've figured out how to take them pretty good. My aunt took the greatest bug pictures I've ever seen and I wanted her to teach me how and finally she said "MACRO, look up macro in your manual" and I finally figured it out, then went crazy on my bees.

I guess that's what it's usually called, zooming in on the little things, macro. I was happy to learn it :headbang: Your spider looks like about as good a shot as I can take too, that's more than I even needed to know about that spider :o

[SallyMander]

34. I loves me some macro!

It's the only way to get good salamander shots. :D

:hi:

:loveya:

[stuntcat]

35. omg I can *feel* that one

want to tough it :* :loveya:

[ceile]

27. Wow.

He's kinda pretty. In that creepy, "I never want to see one in real life" kind of way.....

[greenbriar]

28. it would be on the bottom of my hubby's shoe

at my home

[southpaw]

31. Yeah. My wife is pretty inclined to squish spiders and bugs

I've been known to scoop them up with a magazine or newspaper and release them outside.

[Connonym]

36. I would be too afraid to get close enough to do either of those things

but I would seriously consider lobbing a hand grenade at it

[LadyoftheRabbits]

32. Why do I always do this?

I never should have looked. x( :scared:

[Arkansas Granny]

37. I had a spider a few years ago that would make a web on my front porch

every evening. In the morning she would snip the support threads and dismantle it and build a new one after dark. I couldn't bring myself to get close enough to ID her, but as long as she stayed up out of my space I didn't disturb her. Spiders really freak me out.

[quakerboy]

38. we have slightly smaller orangybrown

ones here. At one point there was a bush right outside our door that was jam packed with the buggers. It was interesting to catch and examine at first. Always put them back. Or fed them to the turtle, if we were ever low on turtle food money.

Then one big one dropped out of the tree onto my face. So I went and caught a few (ok, fine, a lot) preying mantises and tossed them in the bush. That gave us a break from the spiders.