Spiders in Australian Urbia

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For some reason, the eight-legged wildlife around my house is being surprisingly cooperative... in some cases, a little too cooperative for comfort.

 "Good" Spider 


Unidentified Garden Spider - (c) 2013 C.M. Simpson
  • Outside (in the garden where it belongs);
  • very small (less than half my little finger nail);
  • probably not deadly;
  • prefers to hide;
  • will run from plastic ruler used in attempt to measure it (don't ask);
  • Did I mention it's outside?










"Bad" Spider

Possible male mouse spider - (c) 2013 C.M. Simpson
  • Inside (where it definitely does NOT belong);
  • not so small (one to one and a half inches long);
  • INSIDE!!!!
  • poisonous, deadly to some, makes others extremely ill;
  • will attack plastic container used in attempt to capture (also don't ask);
  • possibly male mouse spider... need to work on positive identification in case someone gets bit;
  • Did I mention it was INSIDE?????
  • Plus, it looks like it's been chasing parked cars.

"Good-but-Slightly-Unnerving" Spider

Unidentified possible Orb Weaver - (c) 2013 C.M. Simpson
  • OUTSIDE (using eaves and back gate as anchor points for web - not real great, but I think I can live with it for a while);
  • Not aggressive;
  • Probably poisonous, but probably not deadly... maybe;
  • Very photogenic;
  • ... and cooperative;
  • Abdomen is about an inch (no, I am guessing; no plastic rulers involved);
  • Total body and legs approximately 2-3 inches.






NOT a Spider

A cricket.

Cricket and Shoe - (c) 2013 C.M. Simpson
  • Crickets are disgusting...
  •  ... my dog is also disgusting.
  • Crickets are not poisonous, as far as I know;
  • They are nocturnal;
  • They eat dog vomit - NOT something I wanted to find out;
We tried to put the cricket outside, but it had run away, so we cleaned the shoe, and floor.




Also, you should know, the first cricket shot is mine; the ones following are taken by my son, who has worked out how to manually focus the camera better than I can... for now.


As you can see, he has laid down a serious challenge.

Cricket - (c) 2013 C.J. Simpson
Cricket - (c) 2013 C.J. Simpson


























Oh, and one more:

"Good" Spider

Young Huntsman - (c) 2013 C.M. Simpson

Even if it was a bit too close to the washing line for comfort.
(I was too scared to get closer with the camera, because these things can jump, and even if they're not poisonous, their bite is quite painful)

Location: Canberra ACT, Australia

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