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pitbulllady — Jewel Spider
Published: 2006-07-05 05:19:53 +0000 UTC; Views: 5169; Favourites: 27; Downloads: 47
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Description
That's another common name for these Gasteracantha canceriformes. This is the first one I've ever seen with red on her carapace like this.pitbulllady
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Comments: 41
Well, THERE'S a spider I've never seen. Even on tv. O_O
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Really? These are EVERYWHERE in these parts right now; you can hardly walk two steps outside without running into one of their webs, since they seem to always construct a web right where people walk for some reason, and you usually can't see them until it's too late to avoid the web. The spiders themselves aren't large at all, only about the diameter of a typical pencil eraser, but the webs are often 2-3 yards across. In a few more weeks, though, there won't be a single specimen left, as they live out their entire lives within a single season.
pitbulllady
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What an odd little creature. I've never seen one like it. Where do they live?
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They are very common in the Southeastern US during the mid-late summer months, and their range extends down into Central America and to many of the Caribbean islands. They've been introduced to Hawaii and some other Pacific islands and parts of Australia, too, probably via "ballooning" as hatchlings. They are beautiful little spiders, but can be annoying as heck because they always tend to construct their large webs across paths where people walk, and the webs are often several feet across, even though the spider itself is only about 1/4 inch wide.
pitbulllady
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Thanks for the info. I live up north, so I've never seen any before. They look like little aliens! Not at all like any spider I've seen!
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Idc what kinda spider that is....I DONT LIKE IT snakes i love spiders nu uh. But nice photo
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Now that is one of the coolest things I have ever seen on dA! it looks like an alien flying saucer.
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we have these guys where i live, they are so small, my photos havent worked well enough to upload, but they are beautiful, i love there shape
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You ever realize that, at this angle, the pattern looks like a cat face? Two ears at top, four whiskers, the eyes and the nose and the smile...
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I haven`t ever seen anything like this little one before!!! I wonder if they live in Mexico. (by the way, great photo)
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I saw something like that in hawaii two years ago. I couldn't get it discernable on picture it was so small.
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This spider is very strange...hehehe. But so interesting too...I could see one for a month, aproximately (I'm a biology student...therefore, I love these things...hehe)
But, I know it as being Gasteracantha cancriformis. Synonimous?
Here, in Brazil, I've never seen such a pattern. I have one Gasteracantha's photo in my page...and an Argiope too. Could you identify it?
Cheers..
Thiago
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Wow, that's gorgeous o: Don't think I'd recognize it as a spider had I found it. Wicked picture ♥
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When I was younger, I lived in alabama and would find those spiders everywhere! I never knew if they could hurt me, but they didnt seem so bad and was too young to really THINK about it, so I would always pick them up. Currently, I have one of the biggest fears of spiders, but when I was younger, they weren't so scary. That was the ONLY spider, aside from daddy long legs, that I would ever pick up. It was neat though that you could sit there and they would just spin webs along your fingers as if everything was normal. I actually find spiders to be very pretty and nice to look at, but if one ever gets near me, I'll freak. Part of me really wishes that I wasn't so afraid of them, and I really do hate to kill them just because I'm scared so I TRY (sometimes they escape and I freak out even more) to catch them (in a container) and let them go outside...all the while crying and screaming and probably scaring them more then they scare me! lol. anywho, I'm kind of happy I saw this picture cause I haven't seen any of those spiders since I was a kid.
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thats just like the pic i took of the spider that i saw!!! yah, mine didnt have the red on the carapace. thats really cool looking!
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God, beautiful picture. I've always wanted to see one. The only specie I managed to see so far (one made her web from the garage to the garden hose, I almost ran straight into it) is the spined Micrathena (Micrathena gracilis) which I managed to get a very crappy picture. They're beautiful little spiders.
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wow, you know i've never seen this type of spider before in my whole life. Oo; it's beautiful too, do you know if there native to TN as well? i'd love to see one of these in real life.
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I know that they are found in TN, though whether they are found over the entire state or not, I'm not sure. What part of the state are you in? My best friend lives in Hohenwald, and she says that Gasteracanthas are EVERYWHERE in the woods out where she lives, and she has the same problems of walking into their webs while out feeding her dogs that I do.
pitbulllady
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All spiders are venomous? What aboue daddy long legs? Are they venomous? Even if I don't like spiders I love the picture. It makes me a bit squeamish....
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It depends on what you call a "Daddy Long-Legs", since here in the United States that term is usually applied to an arachnid called a Harvestman, which is NOT a spider, but a harmless vegetarian creature more closely related to mites. These are the ones you often see crawling on walls outside of buildings and scuttling across leaves on the forest floor, with the very long, thin, hair-like legs. They do not have venom, do not have fangs, and cannot make silk, and only have one body part, while a spider has two. In Australia, people call the Cellar Spider(Pholcus phalangiodes)a "Daddy Long-Legs", and it IS a true spider, which spins a web, and like all spiders, it does have venom and hollow fangs for delivering it, though its venom is not especially strong, in spite of an "Urban legend" that claims it's the most venomous spider on the planet, but has fangs too small to bite a human. They certainly COULD bite us IF they wanted to, since they can kill far more venomous spiders, that are much larger than themselves, but I have never, ever known one to bite, even when grabbed and held in my hand.
pitbulllady
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OH MY GOD, THEY CAN ACTUALLY BITE YOU?!!?!
IVE HELD SO MANY!!!
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Are you referring to the Cellar Spider, Pholcus phalangiodes? Yes, they COULD bite, since like I said, they kill spiders much larger than themselves, but they DON'T bite, not humans, anyway. That says a lot about the true nature of these creatures, doesn't it? I've held countless Cellar Spiders, and never been bitten, either. Now, what we call "Daddy Long-Legs" in America aren't even spiders, but "Harvestmen", related to mites. They cannot bite, as they have no fangs or venom.
pitbulllady
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Oh...... I didn't know that....... hmm... You must like spiders right? Wow, I learned something new today. 
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There are some really beautiful creatures out there!
Funny thing is that he seems to have a ski-mask on his back streched out!
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WOW! I hate spiders but this one is beautiful!!! Is she venomous?
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ALL spiders are venomous, and are predators. Without venom they could not kill or digest their food. This one is very small, no larger in diameter than a pencil eraser, and she is fully-grown. Her fangs would probably not be strong enough to penetrate human skin if she did try to bite, but I've never had one bite me in any case. This time of year, these are EVERYWHERE outside, especially if there are trees or anything else they can hang a web from. I can't avoid walking into the webs when I'm outdoors feeding my dogs, and I've had these spiders crawling around all over me, so if they had a tendency to bite, I probably would have been bitten by now.
pitbulllady
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I meant are they able to injure or kill a human... lol... Your yard sounds scary lol... But at the same time these spiders are so beautiful that it would almost look inviting...
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No, she could not kill or injure a human. I doubt her fangs would even be long enough to penetrate human skin, since she herself is so tiny. I've never been bitten by one, in any case, even though I've handled them, walked into their webs(which does NOT make them happy), had them crawling on my face, etc. If they were prone to biting at all, I probably would have gotten bitten by this species many times by now, since walking into the webs is almost unavoidable this time of year. We only have two spiders here that can kill or cause serious injuries to a human-the Black Widow female(Latrodactus mactans)and the Brown Recluse(Loxoceles reclusa), and the latter is a very plain, oridinary-looking brown spider. We have several which are big enough and have strong enough venom to HURT like crap, but not to cause any serious problems unless you are severely allergic to the venom, which is actually extremely rare.
pitbulllady
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lol... I think we too get the Brown Recluse or something like it... My mum was bitten by a Funnel Web Spider... Caused a nasty hole in her hand and was eating the flesh from the inside out which wasn't very nice and now that it is gone it can come back in all different places every year at the same time apparently!
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You don't have the Brown Recluse-that one is only found in certain parts of North America, but you DO have the White-Tailed Spider, I think, and it can cause a similar effect if it bites a human.
pitbulllady
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Yeah lol I knew we have the white tailed spider but there was something close to the word "recluse" we have ... Something the doc thought it was!
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Purty. I really need to take a picture of the inch-long Zipper Spider we hace on the AC unit...
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Jewel spider, jewel picture
Awesome spider and a great detailed pic
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this looks exotic - very beautiful spider and nice catch
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Yes--jewel spiders--they are neat little guys aren't they!
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I love those little critters <3
Her carapace markings look like...a smiling hippo to me X}
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Sweet I have never seen a spider like that. It's awesome.
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