Friday, June 27, 2008
CATCH AND RELEASE
i don't practice catch and release with insects too often ... in fact, i think tonight might have been the third ever incident where i've done so. it takes a special insect to command that kind of respect and this guy certainly got my respect. he/she/it was even patient with me until i got the shot i wanted too. see, i'm not the best photographer and i practice the machine gun method, you know, one shot out of a fifty hits the mark.
i have no idea what kind of spider this is and either i'm too lazy to go find out or i just don't wanna know what might have been nibbling on me at 3:27am. perhaps i subscribe to some of these whacky myths:
• You eat about four spiders a year while you are sleeping
• Spiders drink from your mouth
• Spiders nest in hair
• The worst spiders lie in wait under toilet seats
• Spiders prefer to bite humans that eat certain food
i just read something that stated: "They came in from cracks in our home, living in unseen areas. Instead of saving these spiders, you are probably actually killing them by placing them outside." oops! so much for an act of kindness huh? at least i didn't have to feel his puss nub pop under the pressure of a swatting tissue slap. how nasty would that have been? 20 bucks says his insides were a yellow green color... we'll never know.
ps: for size reference, you might be able to cover him up with either a silver dollar or an older model NZ 50c piece. when he was on the move, he was easily that big.
pss: the possibility of it being a black widow lead me to find out what it was - it was a female black tunnel web spider (Porrhothele antipodiana).
i don't practice catch and release with insects too often ... in fact, i think tonight might have been the third ever incident where i've done so. it takes a special insect to command that kind of respect and this guy certainly got my respect. he/she/it was even patient with me until i got the shot i wanted too. see, i'm not the best photographer and i practice the machine gun method, you know, one shot out of a fifty hits the mark.
i have no idea what kind of spider this is and either i'm too lazy to go find out or i just don't wanna know what might have been nibbling on me at 3:27am. perhaps i subscribe to some of these whacky myths:
• You eat about four spiders a year while you are sleeping
• Spiders drink from your mouth
• Spiders nest in hair
• The worst spiders lie in wait under toilet seats
• Spiders prefer to bite humans that eat certain food
i just read something that stated: "They came in from cracks in our home, living in unseen areas. Instead of saving these spiders, you are probably actually killing them by placing them outside." oops! so much for an act of kindness huh? at least i didn't have to feel his puss nub pop under the pressure of a swatting tissue slap. how nasty would that have been? 20 bucks says his insides were a yellow green color... we'll never know.
ps: for size reference, you might be able to cover him up with either a silver dollar or an older model NZ 50c piece. when he was on the move, he was easily that big.
pss: the possibility of it being a black widow lead me to find out what it was - it was a female black tunnel web spider (Porrhothele antipodiana).