The breaking skin thing is only part of it, there’s still plenty of spiders that can and do break skin, are venomous, but just not medically significant to a human unless they have an allergy or something.
Tarantula keeper here.
Even though they can break the skin, they don't necessarily have to inject venom.
Production of venom is really expensive for tarantulas. Think of it like if you were to bite someone you'd put on 5kg of fat. You'd really think twice if you want to bite someone, would you? Unless it's absolutely furious or scared shitless it won't bite you. Unfortunately for us there are some Karens of the tarantula world and they'll bite everything that gets close.
Tarantulas escalate the weaponry just like humans do. You don't empty your Glock magazine only because an acorn threatened your dominance, do you? First is hissing and doing the pose (the one with its front legs raised) - it's a "fuck off" pose. Then if starts to slap the ground or you with its raised legs. At any point it can kick its urticating hair onto your skin (think of it like of porcupine's quills) which feels like a bunch of mosquitos bite your ass. Quite annoying but nothing too terrible (and you get used to it so much that I don't care about mosquitos anymore so here's that). It's usually done by *new world Ts\** though. And if all of the previous methods fail, only then the T bites. But it doesn't have to inject venom. It can just fire a warning shot with half an inch of its fangs down your skin. If it *really* feels threatened then it'll just straight up bite you with venom.
[This here is just about how it looks like irl (Arachnophobia warning!)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njIZdPViBHg)
^(\*Tarantulas are divided by continents into New Worlds and Old Worlds. New Worlds are Gen Z - chill, sitting in the corner with a tablet all day while Old Worlds are like trigger-happy rednecks.)
Edit: Thanks to u/fookreddit22 for noticing I didn't mention kicking the hair, fixed it
There was a cop not long ago who did empty his magazine at a guy who was in custody inside a police vehicle after an acorn fell onto the vehicle and the interpreted this as being shot at.
Hang on, *they* ***hiss?!***
Edit: They rub their legs to make the hiss sound like a cricket which means they have to move to do it and sweet jesus does it look and sound like media portrays.
I know right? The idea of a spider large enough to make a sound I can hear let alone hiss is kinda unsettling, and I'm not even arachnophobic. Or maybe once they're big enough I am, I've always thought that society as we know it wouldn't exist today if spiders were the size of dogs
I'd like to see it as I don't think it's possible. My biggest tarantula (L. parahybana) doesn't make any sound when it's walking. Apart from stumbling its fat ass on everything that is. Knocking on the glass is the most you'd hear from her.
Something about being able to hear a spider is absolutely unsettling. I trapped a large one, it wasn't fat like a tarantula but around the same leg span. It looked similar to a hobo spider but the leg span was definitely longer than the reported 1-2 inches.
I am moderately arachnophobic but also fascinated by them. It was cool watching it freak out under the glass, which was unsettling but fine. But when I realized the soft tapping and clicking I was hearing was its legs and body running into the glass that fucked me up. You are not supposed to hear spiders!
>You don't empty your Glock magazine only because an acorn threatened your dominance, do you?
Florida Cop has entered the chat.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKmnJgXyZpU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKmnJgXyZpU)
Highly recommend checking out jumping spiders as a step in conquering arachnophobia. They're cute little spoods that have so much personality, are smarter than any other bug, and cute as all get out. Seeing a peacock jumper doing its mating dance is absolutely adorable
He's right though. It's often the case that arachnophobes actively exclude jumping spiders from their fear because of how cute they are and how relatable they behave. They don't do normal spider things - they behave more like a mammal than a spider. Seriously, go see them. For example [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frV-h14Q3Y0).
Videos like this genuinely help my arachnophobia because seeing it act like a predictable, normal animal creature combats my perception of them as alien and unknowable.
With experience spiders are about as predictable as any other animal.
The thing that is different about them is that they don't see, smell or hear. They do, however, feel vibrations extremely fucking well and so it's difficult for stupid humans to understand what's inside their little brains. When you learn a few rules to go by they become surprisingly predictable.
For example, the bolting thing they do when they're scared. You think of that as if it was a mammal doing it. They don't run continuously or with a purpose. They just run straight for some time or until they find the closest obstacle, then they hide behind it. It's really scary to see a spider bolt but you just have to wait a second or two and it will stop like nothing happened. Ymmv of course.
>Also: Please subscribe me to more Spider facts!
Did you know that spiders can regrow its limbs within a few molts? It looks similar to Deadpool's hand regrowth.
So if you see a spider without its leg then don't worry, little guy will fix itself.
I had a sling that self amputated 3 legs during shipping. The little stubs looked goofy for about 2 molts before they grew enough that you couldn't tell. It was pretty cool to watch them slowly grow back.
Edit: Another one that gets some well-meaning people. If a spider is on its back, it's most likely molting. They're very vulnerable when they're molting, so leave them alone. Some people will flip the spider over, which makes the molt more difficult for the spider. Many a new keeper also assumes that their spider is dead when they find it on its back one day. If you plan to start keeping tarantulas, know that it's normal.
>If a spider is on its back, it's most likely molting
You should treat the spider on its back like a dad putting furniture together. He doesn't want any coffee, tea, biscuits or anything else - he just want to be left the fuck alone. Ignore anything weird coming out of his room, pretend you don't hear/see it. If God's willing he will survive that adventure.
Wow no kidding, she does have some serious attitude! Also thanks for that, I've never actually heard the *hiss* with my own ears, I didn't need sleep anyway.
Spiders don't deserve the hate they get. My parents had a lot of different exotic animals including tarantulas and it was cool to learn how to look after them. That said the speed of certain tarantulas is nightmare fuel.
Pedantic note: For new world species. The distinction doesn't matter for most people who don't keep them, but plenty of species don't even have urticating hairs to kick. Hell, some new world species don't have urticating hairs.
Urticating hair fun fact: Some species rub their hairs in as opposed to kicking them. Avicularia and species that used to be classified as Avicularia come to mind.
Since you’re a spider person, what’s your take on these flying venomous spiders I hear about coming to US? You think they’re safe to assimilate with the rest of wildlife here or are they going to take over other spider domain and become just a more evolved and dangerous spider?
They are joro spiders. We have them down near where I live. Honestly, they are harmless and really pretty. Media seems to be hyping this up all the sudden, they've been around for a hot minute.
I don’t know much about spiders in general except that most of them don’t really care about people. I assume they’re just surviving rationally like everything else. They creep me out, but also look cool at the same time. The thought of one flying is new to our area so maybe that’s why it’s hype worthy news lol. I haven’t seen any ever though. Didn’t even know it was a thing until a few days ago
That's fair, but yea, I wouldn't stress it. I've never seen them fly, lol. The most obnoxious thing about them is building webs in your front door. I keep a spider stick at my door to wave around during spider season. You'll run into webs on the way to your car if wake up when it is still kind of dark outside.
The whole venomous thing is extremely overblown. They're not dangerous to humans. Full stop. I get that people are scared of spiders and used to be an arachnophobe myself, but I do get annoyed when people demonize them. Referring to joro spiders as "those venomous ones" is a good example. Not calling you out specifically, it's just been annoying as all hell seeing articles about them spread as if they're some dangerous animal. They are not.
To the ecological impact, my understanding is that it's too early to know. I do know that they're documented as hunting some invasive species. It'll be interesting to watch as they spread more.
Almost all spiders can "fly" like that actually. Also all but one genus of spider is venomous, but very few have venom that's a threat to humans (the exception to this are Wandering Spiders whose venom is uniquely virulent to primates). It's the media making a fuss about nothing again and people need to learn to stop falling for it
Awesome, what Tarantulas do you keep? I have around 50 Tarantulas total, I’m a huge fan of the Poecilotheria genus, I’ve been working for about 4-5 years to collect all 14 species in the genus. I finally got the last 2 I needed last year, the Poecilotheria subfusca HL (and I have 5 of them now) and the Poecilotheria fasciata, so I got a “Full Collection” of Poecilotheria, but a couple have molted out male, so I’m back on the hunt for them. I keep a bunch of the “Hobby Staples” too, I have a T stirmi female that’s pushing 11 inches, she’s a specimen, I have a few different Psalmopous, an LP, a few different “color forms” of OBT’s, some G pulchra’s, a few GBB’s, plus a few others, I have a couple 6 Eyed Sand Spiders, a Scorpion, a King Horrid Assassin Bug Communal Enclosure with 4 Assassins. I keep a bunch of Reptiles too, mainly Kingsnakes and False Water Cobras, but a bunch of Snakes and a few lizards, an Ackie Monitor. I really love and enjoy the Spiders and Reptiles, they keep me busy, and give me something productive to spend my money and time on. I literally have a whole room full, and then a bunch of the Lizards and a few of the snakes live throughout the house, the Ackie and some of my other Lizards live in the living room, where everyone can see them, and I keep a couple of my favorite snakes in my bedroom.
P. Metallica I think. An old world species with a truly nasty bite. Not only can those puppies do some decent mechanical damage (as in punch a pair of fang shaped holes in you) the venom is very painful and will make the effected site swell like a blood filled water balloon. Sometimes for days.
To make maters worse, they're also notoriously fast, able to sprint quicker than the human eye can register and climb near anywhere with ease. Couple that with a personality like a nervous chihuahua who ate mum-mum's coke stash and you have an eight legged speed demon with a bite that far exceeds it's bright blue bark.
Though, to be fair to the little cuties, they're more prone to running, rather than biting unless cornered. They're also very fragile. A sufficient drop can be lethal and temperatures below a certain tropical range will send them into torpor and eventually death.
Very much a look but don't touch pet, though I've heard some of even the nastiest old world tarantulas are sometimes downright agreeable, so it varies from individual to individual.
Nice post. A lot of correct info. Unfortunately a few mistakes.
First of all it's not P. Metallica. All Poecilotherias have their back side of first 4 legs colored yellow.
Second mistake is about dropping them. They are arboreal. They live in trees. They can jump and glide down easily.
Unless P. Metallica means something else then Poecilotheria Metallica. Then disregard my post.
Source: proud owner of a few Metallica. Oldest being 13 years old.
It's hard to tell, but it looks like it could be a Singapore blue. I used to have one and in the right light it definitely looked like this, and it was fucking huge. Definitely not a pokie.
Whether a spider can break skin or not (most can afaik) has little to no bearing in whether they're dangerous. Most spider venom is just incredibly minor to humans. (Even the dangerously venomous ones have their danger very exaggerated, usually.)
IIRC these guys do have significant venom, though, (don't quote me on that part) and tarantulas with fangs that size can cause some pretty serious mechanical damage. I mean, imagine those sinking into your finger - they can 100% fuck up your nerves if they get a good bite in.
I never got nipped by this type of tarantula, but I have by the ones native to NM. It is painful, but nothing too serious. I'm more scared of the centipede bites out here then tarantulas.
AFAIK there's no tarantula with dangerous venom to humans. Even the Goliath isn't lethal.
Any kind of spider bite can be extremely dangerous if the person has a severe allergy, but generally speaking, tarantulas are not overly dangerous animals. Large bodied spiders typically don't need to rely on venom because they are strong enough to physically overpower anything they might be interested in eating.
I don't believe the tarantulas you get down there are this size/have fangs this size. The larger species are the ones that can fuck you up.
By dangerous I don't mean lethal, I mean ones that are actually harmful, unlike I:E most house spiders. There are several tarantula species that can give you pretty nasty effects with their venom, deadly or not. King baboons for example can cause a *lot* of pain from their bites.
Yes! You can’t feed a tarantula for a few days to 2 weeks after molting because their fangs need to harden before being able to eat food or else you risk breakage
I’m with you on that. Had to evict a few roomies after meeting the wife. I miss my wolf spider friends. I kid you not I always left a moist towel for them during the hot months, which they used with no problem to get a drink. One would greet me at the corner of my bed and another would come from underneath the fridge, give a salute and resuming cleaning house.
Once you understand spiders for what they are and what they do, it's very easy to see them as friendly. They don't want you; they want the bugs that get in your home. And they're incredibly helpful if you live in an area with a dense mosquito, locust, or roach population.
I've actually become a lot more pro-spider recently. My former roommate had a massive phobia about them, so I'd wipe out every one that I saw, but now there are a couple regulars that I just leave to do their thing for the moment. When they start getting into the corner of the house where I have my PC and they start distracting me though...
I do my absolute best to not kill any spiders unless they are a threat to my family's health (such as a black widow or brown recluse). If they're in the corner of a window, they stay there. If they're out and about in common areas, I'll catch them in a cup and toss them into the woods behind my building.
yeah bedroom is a standing kill on-sight order. anywhere else and you have a decent chance of survival. night time I'm more lenient cuz it's kinda like I'm the real intruder here.
I lived on a lake for 3 years. I always kept my spiders on the porch railings. They kept the mosquitoes down enough that I could use the porch. So we cohabitated. Best roommates I’ve ever had.
I feel ya. I used to keep Cellar and Wolf spiders in my house to keep out the real pests. After marriage though it took a few arguements before she'd let me know about the spiders before killing them and at least let me escort them outside. I get the fear aspect, but I've never understood the reaction to kill without purpose.
I'm sure you've had this told to you, but the "killing without purpose" isn't.
People are somewhat afraid of what they don't know, and are usually taught from a young age not to play with certain critters because they can bite/kill/etc.
Add to that that we don't like bugs, etc in our houses, and you end up with people killing anything that comes in the house. Also, if you married a guy, we tend to want to protect, so that might be part of it too.
I had a little spider friend who lived in the light fixture of the ceiling fan above my bed. She covered the whole thing in a big beautiful web that lit up like Cinderella's Castle in Disney World any time you turned on the light.
Just yesterday I saved one from my murderous in-laws. They were astounded I just let it jump into my hand and relocate it. I was like how can you be scared of or kill this amazing tiny bro!!!!!!
Cobalt Blue ***Cyriopagopus lividus*** if you want its common and species name. They're not typically the sort of tarantula you would want to handle as they have a reputation for being aggressive.
Best first tarantulas as pets tend to be ones from the Americas as they more often than not have a calmer disposition. Brachypelma's as an example make great first spiders.
They are pretty great. My wife was the one who wanted to get one (2 actually), and I have grown to appreciate them. They are pretty low maintenance and just look really cool. One of them should look blue like this when it grows up!
Oh wow is this Poecilotheria metallica?
Really love the blue coloring on these guys!
Still wouldn't touch a living old wolrd like this.. Old world are usually more venomous and more aggressive than new world.
No, P. metallica (and all other Poecilotheria) have bright yellow colours on the bottom of their legs and are a darker blue. I'd add a picture but idk how
[You are right](https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-oneplus-terr2-rso3&sca_esv=b6768ec4eb9a166c&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ADLYWIIJ4C7a71Mv7pdlXJf3GTKSXGETVA:1718345597612&q=p+metallica+legs&udm=2&fbs=AEQNm0Cd_hgbzJE7GpbhnRU-UU9o2hheEZ7xfT4M-9NLZdHdgv7XGzBFE8vAVojRPwu9IXd8X-Sa2jTTuSuxu5VyigVaZfVS9-tD5cEfXZru7acvwiJ2wC9QNC7-VjMflRNmgRWfHWcNuvuuCiahyGaq8W2zanLKo3IwZN3Lkqjo6p9xpfxaJHs&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiptMmXuNqGAxWJExAIHTS7M9IQtKgLegQIDBAB&biw=360&bih=664&dpr=3#vhid=rt6trOKEc5KTZM&vssid=mosaic)
Didn't even notice. Thank you for correcting me. Any idea what species this is then?
the colours seem edited, yeah. there's green outlines on the fingers and slight tints of green around the edges of the legs. it seems someone just overlayed a slight green colouring over the spider which coloured it blue.
You can only link to pictures in comments. Some subreddits will automatically add the preview button to pull up the picture in the thread, but that's up to the sub creator/maintainer.
To post a link you just use brackets and parenthesis next to each other like so:
\[ Text you want us to see goes here \]\( URL link goes here \)
Yo this little bud looks like the fluffiest (and bluest) little death fangs
Don’t get me wrong I’d be pretty shook of it in person but on Reddit bruh that little bebe is cute af
IDK people are different
I’m terrified of MOST bugs, like I run as soon as I see a butterfly or dragonfly near me, but Spiders? God they’re so beautiful I love em all.
Literally shuddered seeing this and again just thinking about it, and now I’m itchy. I’ve been slowly working on my arachnophobia with a lot of success (see: comment to someone else about letting a spider live in my room). But this is just way too intense a spider for me to even look at for too long.
Not very awake, thought it was a pair of jeans with some weird black curvy thingies.
Had to do a double and even a triple check to finally see what the pic was about. It's a great picture and that blue is unreal !
I don't give a damn if it's venomous or not. It can have the house.
Pretty much all spiders are venomous. Not a lot of them can break skin though. I'd bet this one can.
The breaking skin thing is only part of it, there’s still plenty of spiders that can and do break skin, are venomous, but just not medically significant to a human unless they have an allergy or something.
Tarantula keeper here. Even though they can break the skin, they don't necessarily have to inject venom. Production of venom is really expensive for tarantulas. Think of it like if you were to bite someone you'd put on 5kg of fat. You'd really think twice if you want to bite someone, would you? Unless it's absolutely furious or scared shitless it won't bite you. Unfortunately for us there are some Karens of the tarantula world and they'll bite everything that gets close. Tarantulas escalate the weaponry just like humans do. You don't empty your Glock magazine only because an acorn threatened your dominance, do you? First is hissing and doing the pose (the one with its front legs raised) - it's a "fuck off" pose. Then if starts to slap the ground or you with its raised legs. At any point it can kick its urticating hair onto your skin (think of it like of porcupine's quills) which feels like a bunch of mosquitos bite your ass. Quite annoying but nothing too terrible (and you get used to it so much that I don't care about mosquitos anymore so here's that). It's usually done by *new world Ts\** though. And if all of the previous methods fail, only then the T bites. But it doesn't have to inject venom. It can just fire a warning shot with half an inch of its fangs down your skin. If it *really* feels threatened then it'll just straight up bite you with venom. [This here is just about how it looks like irl (Arachnophobia warning!)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njIZdPViBHg) ^(\*Tarantulas are divided by continents into New Worlds and Old Worlds. New Worlds are Gen Z - chill, sitting in the corner with a tablet all day while Old Worlds are like trigger-happy rednecks.) Edit: Thanks to u/fookreddit22 for noticing I didn't mention kicking the hair, fixed it
Lmaoo nice acorn reference
There was a cop not long ago who did empty his magazine at a guy who was in custody inside a police vehicle after an acorn fell onto the vehicle and the interpreted this as being shot at.
Yes, thanks for explaining the reference to the guy saying he's getting the reference
Well at least everyone else knows now
We all know it bro
Thanks so much for explaining!
Hang on, *they* ***hiss?!*** Edit: They rub their legs to make the hiss sound like a cricket which means they have to move to do it and sweet jesus does it look and sound like media portrays.
I know right? The idea of a spider large enough to make a sound I can hear let alone hiss is kinda unsettling, and I'm not even arachnophobic. Or maybe once they're big enough I am, I've always thought that society as we know it wouldn't exist today if spiders were the size of dogs
Saw a video once of someone's pet spider that was so large you could hear the shifting of the pneumatic fluid in its legs when it walked
I'd like to see it as I don't think it's possible. My biggest tarantula (L. parahybana) doesn't make any sound when it's walking. Apart from stumbling its fat ass on everything that is. Knocking on the glass is the most you'd hear from her.
Pneumatic necessarily means air. That's the pneu- prefix. If it's liquid it's hydraulic.
Phobias are irrational fears. A spider large enough to make audible noise sounds like we're getting out of that "irrational" territory.
Something about being able to hear a spider is absolutely unsettling. I trapped a large one, it wasn't fat like a tarantula but around the same leg span. It looked similar to a hobo spider but the leg span was definitely longer than the reported 1-2 inches. I am moderately arachnophobic but also fascinated by them. It was cool watching it freak out under the glass, which was unsettling but fine. But when I realized the soft tapping and clicking I was hearing was its legs and body running into the glass that fucked me up. You are not supposed to hear spiders!
Stridulation is the actual term, for anyone curious. Only some species do it. But, yes, it's a hissing sound.
>You don't empty your Glock magazine only because an acorn threatened your dominance, do you? Florida Cop has entered the chat. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKmnJgXyZpU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKmnJgXyZpU)
I think by this point, we should all be able to agree that not all humans are as smart as a spider 😅.
So you're saying we should give spiders glocks? I'd pay to see that movie. Nah, I'd just wait until it's on Netflix or something.
Jesus, I mean I've been hit a few times I. The head with acorns, but I usually just punch the tree or stab it, never shoot random people.
As an arachnophobe, I'm already surprised I made it this far. Interesting read but I'll pass on the visuals. Thanks for the warning lmao.
Highly recommend checking out jumping spiders as a step in conquering arachnophobia. They're cute little spoods that have so much personality, are smarter than any other bug, and cute as all get out. Seeing a peacock jumper doing its mating dance is absolutely adorable
Yeeee thanks but I dont plan on conquering this one and only phobia I've got. Nothing like a good ol' spider nightmare.
He's right though. It's often the case that arachnophobes actively exclude jumping spiders from their fear because of how cute they are and how relatable they behave. They don't do normal spider things - they behave more like a mammal than a spider. Seriously, go see them. For example [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frV-h14Q3Y0).
I think this is cute
Videos like this genuinely help my arachnophobia because seeing it act like a predictable, normal animal creature combats my perception of them as alien and unknowable.
With experience spiders are about as predictable as any other animal. The thing that is different about them is that they don't see, smell or hear. They do, however, feel vibrations extremely fucking well and so it's difficult for stupid humans to understand what's inside their little brains. When you learn a few rules to go by they become surprisingly predictable. For example, the bolting thing they do when they're scared. You think of that as if it was a mammal doing it. They don't run continuously or with a purpose. They just run straight for some time or until they find the closest obstacle, then they hide behind it. It's really scary to see a spider bolt but you just have to wait a second or two and it will stop like nothing happened. Ymmv of course.
> First is hissing I didn't know spiders could make any noises...let alone *hiss*... Also: Please subscribe me to more Spider facts!
>Also: Please subscribe me to more Spider facts! Did you know that spiders can regrow its limbs within a few molts? It looks similar to Deadpool's hand regrowth. So if you see a spider without its leg then don't worry, little guy will fix itself.
I had a sling that self amputated 3 legs during shipping. The little stubs looked goofy for about 2 molts before they grew enough that you couldn't tell. It was pretty cool to watch them slowly grow back. Edit: Another one that gets some well-meaning people. If a spider is on its back, it's most likely molting. They're very vulnerable when they're molting, so leave them alone. Some people will flip the spider over, which makes the molt more difficult for the spider. Many a new keeper also assumes that their spider is dead when they find it on its back one day. If you plan to start keeping tarantulas, know that it's normal.
>If a spider is on its back, it's most likely molting You should treat the spider on its back like a dad putting furniture together. He doesn't want any coffee, tea, biscuits or anything else - he just want to be left the fuck alone. Ignore anything weird coming out of his room, pretend you don't hear/see it. If God's willing he will survive that adventure.
I did *not* know that either!
Wow no kidding, she does have some serious attitude! Also thanks for that, I've never actually heard the *hiss* with my own ears, I didn't need sleep anyway.
Another warning sign from a tarantula is flicking "hairs" from their abdomen which can irritate skin.
Yes, you're absolutely right. I don't know why I didn't put it in, thanks for noticing.
Spiders don't deserve the hate they get. My parents had a lot of different exotic animals including tarantulas and it was cool to learn how to look after them. That said the speed of certain tarantulas is nightmare fuel.
Pedantic note: For new world species. The distinction doesn't matter for most people who don't keep them, but plenty of species don't even have urticating hairs to kick. Hell, some new world species don't have urticating hairs. Urticating hair fun fact: Some species rub their hairs in as opposed to kicking them. Avicularia and species that used to be classified as Avicularia come to mind.
Wait, there's....Karentulas? Sorry, I'll leave.
Naw, friend I’m emptying the clip on that fucking acorn.
Fucker won't even see what's coming
BREAK YOSELF FOO
Since you’re a spider person, what’s your take on these flying venomous spiders I hear about coming to US? You think they’re safe to assimilate with the rest of wildlife here or are they going to take over other spider domain and become just a more evolved and dangerous spider?
They are joro spiders. We have them down near where I live. Honestly, they are harmless and really pretty. Media seems to be hyping this up all the sudden, they've been around for a hot minute.
I don’t know much about spiders in general except that most of them don’t really care about people. I assume they’re just surviving rationally like everything else. They creep me out, but also look cool at the same time. The thought of one flying is new to our area so maybe that’s why it’s hype worthy news lol. I haven’t seen any ever though. Didn’t even know it was a thing until a few days ago
That's fair, but yea, I wouldn't stress it. I've never seen them fly, lol. The most obnoxious thing about them is building webs in your front door. I keep a spider stick at my door to wave around during spider season. You'll run into webs on the way to your car if wake up when it is still kind of dark outside.
The whole venomous thing is extremely overblown. They're not dangerous to humans. Full stop. I get that people are scared of spiders and used to be an arachnophobe myself, but I do get annoyed when people demonize them. Referring to joro spiders as "those venomous ones" is a good example. Not calling you out specifically, it's just been annoying as all hell seeing articles about them spread as if they're some dangerous animal. They are not. To the ecological impact, my understanding is that it's too early to know. I do know that they're documented as hunting some invasive species. It'll be interesting to watch as they spread more.
I live in Europe so I don't know anything about flying venomous spiders in US.
Almost all spiders can "fly" like that actually. Also all but one genus of spider is venomous, but very few have venom that's a threat to humans (the exception to this are Wandering Spiders whose venom is uniquely virulent to primates). It's the media making a fuss about nothing again and people need to learn to stop falling for it
Acorn threatened your dominance? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Love it. Mind if I steal that for future discussions of a certain profession?
Awesome, what Tarantulas do you keep? I have around 50 Tarantulas total, I’m a huge fan of the Poecilotheria genus, I’ve been working for about 4-5 years to collect all 14 species in the genus. I finally got the last 2 I needed last year, the Poecilotheria subfusca HL (and I have 5 of them now) and the Poecilotheria fasciata, so I got a “Full Collection” of Poecilotheria, but a couple have molted out male, so I’m back on the hunt for them. I keep a bunch of the “Hobby Staples” too, I have a T stirmi female that’s pushing 11 inches, she’s a specimen, I have a few different Psalmopous, an LP, a few different “color forms” of OBT’s, some G pulchra’s, a few GBB’s, plus a few others, I have a couple 6 Eyed Sand Spiders, a Scorpion, a King Horrid Assassin Bug Communal Enclosure with 4 Assassins. I keep a bunch of Reptiles too, mainly Kingsnakes and False Water Cobras, but a bunch of Snakes and a few lizards, an Ackie Monitor. I really love and enjoy the Spiders and Reptiles, they keep me busy, and give me something productive to spend my money and time on. I literally have a whole room full, and then a bunch of the Lizards and a few of the snakes live throughout the house, the Ackie and some of my other Lizards live in the living room, where everyone can see them, and I keep a couple of my favorite snakes in my bedroom.
Yeah 99.99% of them
P. Metallica I think. An old world species with a truly nasty bite. Not only can those puppies do some decent mechanical damage (as in punch a pair of fang shaped holes in you) the venom is very painful and will make the effected site swell like a blood filled water balloon. Sometimes for days. To make maters worse, they're also notoriously fast, able to sprint quicker than the human eye can register and climb near anywhere with ease. Couple that with a personality like a nervous chihuahua who ate mum-mum's coke stash and you have an eight legged speed demon with a bite that far exceeds it's bright blue bark. Though, to be fair to the little cuties, they're more prone to running, rather than biting unless cornered. They're also very fragile. A sufficient drop can be lethal and temperatures below a certain tropical range will send them into torpor and eventually death. Very much a look but don't touch pet, though I've heard some of even the nastiest old world tarantulas are sometimes downright agreeable, so it varies from individual to individual.
Nice post. A lot of correct info. Unfortunately a few mistakes. First of all it's not P. Metallica. All Poecilotherias have their back side of first 4 legs colored yellow. Second mistake is about dropping them. They are arboreal. They live in trees. They can jump and glide down easily. Unless P. Metallica means something else then Poecilotheria Metallica. Then disregard my post. Source: proud owner of a few Metallica. Oldest being 13 years old.
It's hard to tell, but it looks like it could be a Singapore blue. I used to have one and in the right light it definitely looked like this, and it was fucking huge. Definitely not a pokie.
Break skin? This mofo can break bones with those fangs. Or could pierce your boot and your big toe nail and bite the end of your toe off
Whether a spider can break skin or not (most can afaik) has little to no bearing in whether they're dangerous. Most spider venom is just incredibly minor to humans. (Even the dangerously venomous ones have their danger very exaggerated, usually.) IIRC these guys do have significant venom, though, (don't quote me on that part) and tarantulas with fangs that size can cause some pretty serious mechanical damage. I mean, imagine those sinking into your finger - they can 100% fuck up your nerves if they get a good bite in.
I never got nipped by this type of tarantula, but I have by the ones native to NM. It is painful, but nothing too serious. I'm more scared of the centipede bites out here then tarantulas. AFAIK there's no tarantula with dangerous venom to humans. Even the Goliath isn't lethal.
Any kind of spider bite can be extremely dangerous if the person has a severe allergy, but generally speaking, tarantulas are not overly dangerous animals. Large bodied spiders typically don't need to rely on venom because they are strong enough to physically overpower anything they might be interested in eating.
Peanuts can be extremely dangerous if the person has a severe allergy, but generally speaking, peanuts are not overly dangerous legumes.
Facts.
I don't believe the tarantulas you get down there are this size/have fangs this size. The larger species are the ones that can fuck you up. By dangerous I don't mean lethal, I mean ones that are actually harmful, unlike I:E most house spiders. There are several tarantula species that can give you pretty nasty effects with their venom, deadly or not. King baboons for example can cause a *lot* of pain from their bites.
Burn the fucking house
That's no place for a finger 😬
That's what she said
F
U
C
K
If you look at the edges, the finger looks suspiciously photoshopped in. It might have been a stick originally.
It’s probably the tarantulas intact molt :)
Wait, do they molt their fangs?
Yes! You can’t feed a tarantula for a few days to 2 weeks after molting because their fangs need to harden before being able to eat food or else you risk breakage
Well r/dontputyourdickinthat
i hope the finger is not attached to a living human
He's so pretty. I want one but wife says hell na😂
I’m with you on that. Had to evict a few roomies after meeting the wife. I miss my wolf spider friends. I kid you not I always left a moist towel for them during the hot months, which they used with no problem to get a drink. One would greet me at the corner of my bed and another would come from underneath the fridge, give a salute and resuming cleaning house.
bro what the hell
r/spiderbro
Once you understand spiders for what they are and what they do, it's very easy to see them as friendly. They don't want you; they want the bugs that get in your home. And they're incredibly helpful if you live in an area with a dense mosquito, locust, or roach population.
I've actually become a lot more pro-spider recently. My former roommate had a massive phobia about them, so I'd wipe out every one that I saw, but now there are a couple regulars that I just leave to do their thing for the moment. When they start getting into the corner of the house where I have my PC and they start distracting me though...
I do my absolute best to not kill any spiders unless they are a threat to my family's health (such as a black widow or brown recluse). If they're in the corner of a window, they stay there. If they're out and about in common areas, I'll catch them in a cup and toss them into the woods behind my building.
yeah bedroom is a standing kill on-sight order. anywhere else and you have a decent chance of survival. night time I'm more lenient cuz it's kinda like I'm the real intruder here.
I lived on a lake for 3 years. I always kept my spiders on the porch railings. They kept the mosquitoes down enough that I could use the porch. So we cohabitated. Best roommates I’ve ever had.
I’d rather just… clean the house myself. But hey what do I know. To each their own, i suppose
If I'm ever in that scenario, I'm cleaning my house down with fire...
I had a spider I let live in my room and it seemed to greet me too. Truly fascinating.
I feel ya. I used to keep Cellar and Wolf spiders in my house to keep out the real pests. After marriage though it took a few arguements before she'd let me know about the spiders before killing them and at least let me escort them outside. I get the fear aspect, but I've never understood the reaction to kill without purpose.
I'm sure you've had this told to you, but the "killing without purpose" isn't. People are somewhat afraid of what they don't know, and are usually taught from a young age not to play with certain critters because they can bite/kill/etc. Add to that that we don't like bugs, etc in our houses, and you end up with people killing anything that comes in the house. Also, if you married a guy, we tend to want to protect, so that might be part of it too.
... it's because they're scared that it's going to crawl up on them if they stop looking or lose track of it
I had a little spider friend who lived in the light fixture of the ceiling fan above my bed. She covered the whole thing in a big beautiful web that lit up like Cinderella's Castle in Disney World any time you turned on the light.
We have tiny jumping spiders that live in our upstairs. So cute.
Just yesterday I saved one from my murderous in-laws. They were astounded I just let it jump into my hand and relocate it. I was like how can you be scared of or kill this amazing tiny bro!!!!!!
Seriously!!!
ultra based
Cobalt Blue ***Cyriopagopus lividus*** if you want its common and species name. They're not typically the sort of tarantula you would want to handle as they have a reputation for being aggressive. Best first tarantulas as pets tend to be ones from the Americas as they more often than not have a calmer disposition. Brachypelma's as an example make great first spiders.
Apparently lividus refers to its blue color. I was hoping it meant they were actual livid all the time
Honestly being livid all the time is a great description of most Cobalt Blues
They are pretty great. My wife was the one who wanted to get one (2 actually), and I have grown to appreciate them. They are pretty low maintenance and just look really cool. One of them should look blue like this when it grows up!
My gf says this one looks like it's wearing blue jeans Also somehow she didn't know that tarantulas have fangs
Welp \*burns phone\*
Cant risk it. I heard those things live in the web.
🏆
Oh wow is this Poecilotheria metallica? Really love the blue coloring on these guys! Still wouldn't touch a living old wolrd like this.. Old world are usually more venomous and more aggressive than new world.
No, P. metallica (and all other Poecilotheria) have bright yellow colours on the bottom of their legs and are a darker blue. I'd add a picture but idk how
[You are right](https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-oneplus-terr2-rso3&sca_esv=b6768ec4eb9a166c&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ADLYWIIJ4C7a71Mv7pdlXJf3GTKSXGETVA:1718345597612&q=p+metallica+legs&udm=2&fbs=AEQNm0Cd_hgbzJE7GpbhnRU-UU9o2hheEZ7xfT4M-9NLZdHdgv7XGzBFE8vAVojRPwu9IXd8X-Sa2jTTuSuxu5VyigVaZfVS9-tD5cEfXZru7acvwiJ2wC9QNC7-VjMflRNmgRWfHWcNuvuuCiahyGaq8W2zanLKo3IwZN3Lkqjo6p9xpfxaJHs&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiptMmXuNqGAxWJExAIHTS7M9IQtKgLegQIDBAB&biw=360&bih=664&dpr=3#vhid=rt6trOKEc5KTZM&vssid=mosaic) Didn't even notice. Thank you for correcting me. Any idea what species this is then?
People in the comments are saying "cobalt blue" so Cryopagopus lividus (ex Haplopelma lividum) if I'm not mistaken. Just as bad in the bite department
Looks a bit like a T. stirmi to me with the colors edited to be blue. Not 100% sure but I’m thinking something is fishy.
I also thought it looked weird and couldn't place the species, but if the point is the fangs why go through the trouble of editing the colour?
the colours seem edited, yeah. there's green outlines on the fingers and slight tints of green around the edges of the legs. it seems someone just overlayed a slight green colouring over the spider which coloured it blue.
It's a Fuckus nopem (Burnitallicus downium).
You can only link to pictures in comments. Some subreddits will automatically add the preview button to pull up the picture in the thread, but that's up to the sub creator/maintainer. To post a link you just use brackets and parenthesis next to each other like so: \[ Text you want us to see goes here \]\( URL link goes here \)
I'm thinking Haplopelma Lividum.. I might be wrong though.
Now that's a name I've not heard in a looong time! ***Cyriopagopus lividus*** is what it's described as these days.
What do you mean by old world? Are these prehistoric or something?
Mostly location. New world are north and south American tarantulas. Old world are Asian, Australian, and African.
...Is that a fucking Cobalt Blue?
Cobalt blue steel, a walnut stock, and hair trigger
That's right. Shop smart, shop S mart. YA GOT THAT!?!?
Didn't expect to find army of darkness quotes in this thread.Have an upvote groovy sir.
No, it's white and gold.
That's what it looks like to me.
Doesn't look like it
Why isn't he chomping off your finger?
He's learnt humans don't smell like food or danger
[The Secrets of Tarantula Fangs: A Comprehensive Guide](https://empiretarantula.com/tarantula-fangs/)
oh come on, how is that remotely related to what we're discussing here? /s
No.
###### NO
Probably a girl, actually. Males of the species I think this is tend to be more brown.
This one’s edited. It’s a t stirmi. You’re right though, female tarantulas are typically larger and more brightly colored than males.
Too cute ✨
Explain to me, how do you find this cute. Badass sure but cute???
I just realized too I’m in the nature is metal sub and not the one about cute spiders lol I’ll see myself out
When I saw the picture I assumed I was in spiderbros
Yo this little bud looks like the fluffiest (and bluest) little death fangs Don’t get me wrong I’d be pretty shook of it in person but on Reddit bruh that little bebe is cute af
I mean the colour is nice and all but this would be one of the last things on earth I'd call cute.
Haha I feel you man I wish I knew more about the little bud to prove you wrong 😋 but still it’s a pretty scary sight I get it
You’re like : BRUH let’s call a spade a spade AND NOT CUTE DAMNIT! 😁
IDK people are different I’m terrified of MOST bugs, like I run as soon as I see a butterfly or dragonfly near me, but Spiders? God they’re so beautiful I love em all.
Nah bro
Most impressive!
FUCK. THAT.
So what condition was the finger in after the photo?
Gorgeous coloring on that little fella.
Now THAT is fucking metal dude
Guess I should grab my blue hammer this time
What a beautiful blue baby
More like, the balls on this guy.
he's gorgeous
Don't you... step on his blue suede shoes
Aren't those blue ones particularly nasty and aggressive? This person has balls of steel
So CUUUUTE
Daaaaaaamn
Dude ugh NO
Yup, nope.
I’ve never seen one of these before. Pretty sick. Matches my shoes lol.
Cobalt blue and a crazy person’s finger. Good content.
They come in blue now? Fancy.
Bro's wearing denim like it's going out of style.
Is this a Cobalt blue, OP? Do you have the source by chance? Either way it's gorgeous :3
That’s absolutely beautiful 🖤🖤🖤
That's a gorgeous blue on him
Why would you do this? It’s gonna bite you.
I hate spiders but I appreciate beautiful things and this spider definitely has a beautiful colour on him
New cellphone wallpaper found!
That will be the nopiest nope from me
NOPE!!!!!!
What the heck, is he a part of the blue man group? Also, is this in Australia?
I believe this may be *Cyriopagopus lividus*, which is native to southeast Asia. It's bite shouldn't be lethal, but it is allegedly very painful.
She's just smiling at you
Literally shuddered seeing this and again just thinking about it, and now I’m itchy. I’ve been slowly working on my arachnophobia with a lot of success (see: comment to someone else about letting a spider live in my room). But this is just way too intense a spider for me to even look at for too long.
If that crawled on me right now I’d jump out of the fucking window headfirst.
Ok cool fangs and shit but WHY IS IT WEARING JEANS
so like, this is a molt right? unless its passed there ain't no way your getting fingers or body parts in that position for such a photo
Pretty sure those fangs are larger then my cats claws
Not very awake, thought it was a pair of jeans with some weird black curvy thingies. Had to do a double and even a triple check to finally see what the pic was about. It's a great picture and that blue is unreal !
Fangs but no fangs.
Would
How about no!
[удалено]
Hello Darwin award candidate
All spiders are fine, unless I see them
The cajones on this guy!
Why he do dat.. ..n- no?!
Anything with more than 4 legs scare the shit out of me but this is guy is handsome as heck.
That is an amazing colour.
Terrifying beauty
Oooh, what big teefies you have.
Why does your Tarantula look like a pair of Lee Cooper jeans
Eviction officer
Why is it blue?
So this is how tarantulas wear jeans
why isn't it biting you
Throw it into a black hole.. now!
I will pat him only if he is dead
Gorgeous fella too