Cynthia St. Charles Store

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Gigantic Spider

Warning! This image may be disturbing to those who fear spiders.






We get these gigantic spiders at our place. This one was on the exterior wall next to the front door. I've never seen a spider this big anywhere. They don't appear frequently. Perhaps we see one per year near the house. However, this is the third one I've seen this year. I am surprised that it survived our 20 inch snow storm a few weekends ago. It seems quite healthy.

I've looked through all my books repeatedly trying to identify it. The closest I have come is that it appears to be some kind of wolf spider and there are many types of wolf spiders. My book says they don't get bigger than 1 1/4", though. It is plain to see that this creature is significantly larger than that.

Another really remarkable thing about these spiders is their disposition.
Most spiders will flee if you get close to them, but these guys just stay put. I was able to place the ruler right next to it without disturbing it, in fact, it moved closer to the ruler after I put it in place.Anyone know what this spider might be? I'd love to know.

4 comments:

Carol said...

Could it be a gigantic Hobo spider?
Carol in Bozeman

Sassenach said...

Well....I wouldn't contradict your guide, but we had these GIANT spiders in North Texas that would come out after dark and walk around the lawn. We called them wolf spiders.

(shudder)

Mandi said...

BUT he's just a baby...should see the Huntsmen in Oz...now thats big!

frazzledsugarplummum said...

Just be careful...wolf spider bites while not poisonously lethal can lead to infection that is extremely difficult to control. And yes he's a baby compared to the ones here in Oz.