Tarantula time again :)

HomeBrew2 · Aug 17, 2005

Something about the tarantulas coming out that makes this time of year in the country special. The "hawks" have been trolling for a few weeks now but this was the first I have seen of their prey ...

HomeBrew2 · Aug 17, 2005

Hawk and prey ... from 5 years ago ... hard for me to catch them in the act ... maybe this year again though ...

NevadaSmith · Aug 18, 2005

ahhh...tarantulas.....
reminds me of Marine boot camp in S. Cal where on an overnight bivwack we were told NOT to kill any tarantulas as they were one of G-d's creatures. Well...someone didn't listen and refused to share his pup tent with one. The drill sgt. found out and we stood there, all 200 of us while this clown dug a 6' deep hole to give the spider a full military burial! We capped it off by giving the poor spider a few hundred pushups. ugh.

beenthere · Aug 18, 2005

That's a good picture of the Tarantula wasp (hawk) attacking the tarantula. Guess that tarantula is going to be the 'home' or nest for its eggs?

Slamfire · Aug 18, 2005

Cute li'l fellers ain't they? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I think between them and the trapdoor spiders, they kept my youngest from joinin' a gang. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

ByronBob · Aug 18, 2005

Oh heck no........I wouldn't want anything to do with those things. Poisonous snakes, spiders and all these other deadly things can stay right where they are. I don't know if I coulkd share anything even remotely close as a tent with this thing and taking a picture of it would be out of the question.

NewToy · Aug 18, 2005

I always thought tarantula's came from the rain forrest somewhere. That thing gives me the willys.

John

HomeBrew2 · Aug 18, 2005

Yeh, the wasps are the things I give plenty of room to. They've flown full throttle into the side of my house then fall to the ground, just to shake it all off and start flying around again. The way I understand it, they're sting paralyzes the spider so the wasps babies can eat fresh food when they hatch.

turnkey4099 · Aug 18, 2005

( I always thought tarantula's came from the rain forrest somewhere. That thing gives me the willys.

John )

Nope. The southland has a lot of them. In west Texas when the mating season is on you can see them crossing roads in the hundreds. Also after frog stangler downpours that floods em out of the burrows. The literature says they aren't poisonous to humans or only mildly so but I don't think they have read the book /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Harry K

dmccarty · Aug 18, 2005

John,

If tarantulas give you the willies I guess you don't want to hear about people eating them. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I saw them deep fried on a TV show. Can't remember if it was National Geographic TV or a local station. I know one of the local museams has a bug eating event every year.

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Later,
Dan

JDGREEN4ME · Aug 18, 2005

I am sure glad we do not have any of them in good old PA! Did I mention I hate spiders? /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

sassafraspete · Aug 18, 2005

I'll trade you my yellow jackets for your tarantula. My kids never had normal pets... which I think somehow related to my wife's facination with weird creatures... (hey , she got me didn't she?). Anyhow, my daughter had the big lizard... (the name escapes me now, getting old), and my son had a tarantula for a pet. Both would on occasion escape from their homes. I once heard a big commotion, and looked up in time to see both the cat and lizard go flying off a second story balcony to the floor below and up a fern plant which was on a plant stand. That lizard could whip the living daylights out of me with his tail. I remember getting up one morning and was getting ready to head down the stairs, and looked down to see my bare foot missing the tarantula by a couple of inches. After doing the jig and almost falling down the stairs, I regained composure and yelled for my wife to "take care of it".

sassafraspete

HomeBrew2 · Aug 19, 2005

Thanks for reminding me pete, I need to dump my yellow jacket traps when I get home today /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

NewToy · Aug 19, 2005

Here in the last week I came to notice numerous mounds of dirt in the yard. At first glance they appeared to be medium sized ant hills. Upon closer inspection I observed a hole you could stick your thumb in and then HE came out. This thing was the biggest wasp I had ever seen. Probably 2" long and an aggressive looking set of yellow and red markings. I promptly mixed up some poison like 4X the reccomended strength and sprayed the 50 or so mounds. A few of the wasps came stumbling out of the hole and promptly fell over. Out of curiosity my wife took one of them down to the extension agent and it turned out to be a cicada killing wasp. Eats all the locusts around the house and aerates the soil, also harmless to humans. Probably the best bug to have around but they are no more. That sure was good poison.

John /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

HomeBrew2 · Aug 19, 2005

Very interesting. Finally found a pic. May be harmless to humans but a 2"er woulda scared the crap outta me ... similar to my reaction the first time I saw a tarantula wasp.
Cheers!

NewToy · Aug 19, 2005

Homebrew,
I read the thing about the wasps, hit it right on the head. That's why I was so intent on killing them, they seemed very aggressive. I thought they would sting like a spinal tap based on their behavior and sheer size. Thank's for the info.

John

Boomerang1 · Aug 21, 2005

I get home from work about 3am and have found tarantulas and scorpions on my back step. I leave my work boots out on the step and always check them well before putting them on. Tarantulas are not poisonous but the scorpions have a nasty sting. One morning, about 2am, I found a diamond back in my driveway.

turnkey4099 · Aug 22, 2005

( I get home from work about 3am and have found tarantulas and scorpions on my back step. I leave my work boots out on the step and always check them well before putting them on. Tarantulas are not poisonous but the scorpions have a nasty sting. One morning, about 2am, I found a diamond back in my driveway. )

Strangest place I ever found a rattler was in N Idaho. Had a tumble down barn. Winter had built a bit bank of ice in the north end. Early July I found one on the ice. He was so stiff I could have used him as a fence post.

Harry K