Black widows

[Paul A]

Lots of these around here, they are creepy, but very shy.

[hauff]

Wow, what great shots. I especially like the first one.

[tcaran]

Very cool. Where is 'around here', Paul?

[Maureen Souza]

Great pictures. I have actually been bitten TWICE by one of those things!!!

[tupe]

Great shots, Paul. I never thought they might be beautiful before.

[Paul A]

Great pictures. I have actually been bitten TWICE by one of those things!!!

Wowow, I've never known anyone who has been bitten before let alone twice; please tell what was it like?

I live in S. Calif., Thousand Oaks.

Thanks for all the nice comments.
Paul

[skade]

Creepy shots! It put a shiver up my spine... as usual.. all spiders do! lol

[cfcRebel]

Oh wow! Those are the closest shots i have never seen. Cool shots.

[Moses]

I'm assuming that you used your Canon 2.8 100mm macro?

Nice shots by the way!

[Paul A]

I'm assuming that you used your Canon 2.8 100mm macro?

Nice shots by the way!

Yes I did Moses and thanks. I wore a headlamp to focus and used the bultin flash.
Paul

[JSolie]

Great pictures! That first one looks as if she wants a nice little belly rub... :shock:

I'd give it a belly rub...with a stick! :twisted:

My understanding is that the bites are very painful, and in rare cases allergic reactions happen which might require a trip to see a doc... Though I think I'd rather be bitten by this spider than the brown recluse (a.k.a., violin spider) :eek:

-- John

[Titus213]

Now I have to stay up and look at more pictures just to try to get these out of the mind....fortunately it doesn't usually take things long to leave.....:rolleyes:

Nice clear shots. I really like number one but will not be putting anything similar on my walls....

[witchy]

I really like the first one.

[sixshot]

Great pictures. I have actually been bitten TWICE by one of those things!!!

And you still say they are great.....I suppose you did live to tell the tale!
I hate spiders, but these are great shots. At 25 I still shiver when I see a spider crawling about, lucky that there are not many spiders in China, just cockroaches!

[Maureen Souza]

Wowow, I've never known anyone who has been bitten before let alone twice; please tell what was it like?
I Paul

The first time was my first day of vacation (natch). I stepped outside and noticed one lone weed in my flower bed. I reached down to pull it and she darted from under the house and bit my on my right thumb! I got the tremors and muscle cramps as well as an upset stomach & headache. The tremors lasted a week. Skip wanted to take me to the Emergency room right after it happened but instead, I called the Poison Control Center and they told me no one had ever died from a Black Widow bite. The symptoms I had were common; not very fun and certainly ruined my vacation.

The second time I got bit on the toe...again, gardening. This time, other than a bit of a sore toe, no reaction!

[witchy]

The first time was my first day of vacation (natch). I stepped outside and noticed one lone weed in my flower bed. I reached down to pull it and she darted from under the house and bit my on my right thumb! I got the tremors and muscle cramps as well as an upset stomach & headache. The tremors lasted a week. Skip wanted to take me to the Emergency room right after it happened but instead, I called the Poison Control Center and they told me no one had ever died from a Black Widow bite. The symptoms I had were common; not very fun and certainly ruined my vacation.

The second time I got bit on the toe...again, gardening. This time, other than a bit of a sore toe, no reaction!

:shock: Is that normal behaviour for Black widows?..Most spiders run away.

However here in Australia we do have a black house spider and I have seen them come out and have a go at you!

I hate spiders!!!

[RockOne]

However here in Australia we do have a black house spider

And also redbacks, which is a very similar spider to the Black Widow (I think it is a subspecies).

Nice shots.

[Richard51]

Just looking at those things give me the creeps!! And BTW Ben, age doesn't matter, I'm 53 and still shudder when I see a spider! My philosphy..."The only good spider is a DEAD spider." My apologies to all you arachnoids out there.
Richard

(The second the shutter clicks, your pictures are "HISTORY")

[witchy]

And also redbacks, which is a very similar spider to the Black Widow (I think it is a subspecies).

Nice shots.

Yeah I know about the redback, I didn't mention that as I have never seen a redback run out and bite someone, you usually have to stick your finger or whatever in where they are hiding. :)

[scottbergerphoto]

Nice shots. I personally don't own a lens long enough to take pictures of venomous spiders!

[witchy]

HHHHHHHHHHHH @ scottbergerphoto :)

I have a similar problem...My problem is that the spiders are not very photogenic after they have had a good dose of mortein!

[tupe]

The second time I got bit on the toe...again, gardening. This time, other than a bit of a sore toe, no reaction!So...what do your spidey senses tell ya? :) :)

[skyphix]

Those in Australia also have funnel web spiders out in the wild... rather not go near one.

A friend in Texas had Brown Recluses in her house, and were a regularity. She usually used Windex to avoid being bitten.

[Maureen Souza]

So...what do your spidey senses tell ya? :) :)

Do you think I ought to audtion for the next movie:lol: :rolleyes: :eek: :p :p :p

[foxbat]

You took a close up of a black widow with a 100mm macro. So you were what, 30cm away? Are they behind glass by any chance? If they're not then my hat goes off to you Paul.

[Paul A]

You took a close up of a black widow with a 100mm macro. So you were what, 30cm away? Are they behind glass by any chance? If they're not then my hat goes off to you Paul.

Thanks Foxbat, I lived in Brazil for five years working as a field zoologist, I'm used to creepy crawlies. The black widow is tough to photograph because they run away so easily; light and movement scare them and they run to their holes. The trick was to get enough light on them to be able to focus and not scare them away. By the way I just came home with a spray can of ant and spider killer, my wife is petrified of these guys.

[tupe]

Do you think I ought to audtion for the next movie:lol: :rolleyes: :eek: :p :p :pGo for it! :)

[RbrtPtikLeoSeny]

Ew, I can't stand spiders. If I see one, it's dead, the end.:D

Never seen one of those spiders though!

[reidr]

The first time was my first day of vacation (natch). I stepped outside and noticed one lone weed in my flower bed. I reached down to pull it and she darted from under the house and bit my on my right thumb!

I think that they are naturally aggressive. There is not much out there that they would not make a meal of...
Nice pics.. Keep 'em coming

[Maureen Souza]

I think that they are naturally aggressive. There is not much out there that they would not make a meal of...


I can attest to that.....By the way, the actual bite HURTS, like someone stabbed you with a pin. The site gets red and angry and is very sore for a few days.

[lost]

Dont know about black widows bites, I have seen plenty of them but never bit. I have had the distinct privilege of being bitten by the infamous brown recluse. The bite didnt hurt as a matter of fact I didnt know I was bitten. Started feeling sick so I was going to go to bed, my shin was swollen with a small black spot on it. Doc fixed me up. To this day I dont know where I was when I was bitten. I was travelling a lot that weekend.