An unwelcome guest

[melev]

My son happened to glance out the back patio door the other day and saw a tarantula working its way across the lawn. How he saw it is mind boggling, because my yard isn't tiny and there really is so much more to see, and to happen to notice a spider in my lawn is pretty miraculous. It isn't like it was some huge animal.

We took a few pictures, but opted to not bring it indoors.






In this picture, it was staying very still, possibly waiting for something to prey upon. We saw ants walk on the head, legs and body of the spider and it didn't move or care.

[Reptoreef]

It looks like an Arizona Blond... probably a male due to the shape and size of the abdomen as well as what looks like pedipalps on the front 2 legs.

[carpenterwrasse]

are they native to your area? if one of those were from around here it would be odd.

[Reptoreef]

http://www.centralpets.com/animals/i...s/tar4088.html

[Sweetpea]

Wow!!! I don't know how I would react to seeing a spider that big near my house. I was telling my grandmother about these pictures, and she told me that (long ago) when she lived in Oceanside CA, she had two of them come into her house. She was so scared of them she had to get the neighbors come and catch them for her!

As far as I'm aware, we don't have any spiders nearly that large in my area, but we do have some beauties. Here's a pic I took last month, right out of my front door.

She's a Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia- easily identified by the beautiful coloring and the distinctive zig zag in her web), and she was almost 4", including legs. As soon as I saw her I ran to get the camera. Of course that got my son's attention, so he had to come look, too... I don't want to embarass poor SharkBait, so let's just say that he wasn't as excited to see her as I was!

[Sweetpea]

A couple of days after I took this pic, the main water line into our house burst, and the plummer had to dig a huge hole in "her" flower bed. I begged him not to disturb her, lol! He did a great job of not tearing her web, but she moved out the next day.

[hummer]

yuck i HATE spiders any spider by mi is a dead one

sorry to offend any one ..... give me a snake any time...lol lol

[RHAPALA]

I'D HAVE TO AGREE WITH HUMMER ME AND SPIDERS DONT GET ALONG