Tuesday 25 October 2022

Love your local spider


OK folks ... it's time you learnt to love your local spider. Many people suffer from arachnophobia. This is an intense fear of spiders. Many fears seem reasonable. We all try to avoid things that make us feel uncomfortable. The difference between a fear and a phobia is that a phobia is an intense and irrational fear toward one or more things or situations.

Note the word irrational. A spider will not kill you, not directly anyway. There is more chance of being killed or injured whilst driving a car than by a spider. This is because spiders do not drive cars. But if you suffer from arachna-whatever and a spider appeared on your windscreen whilst you're driving you are likely to drive into a tree and cause an accident. 

So let's learn to understand and love spiders. There are 50,356 spider species as of the last count in 2022. Note the precise number which is likely to change as you read this. Most species are predators eating insects or, the large spiders, take birds and lizards. It is estimated that the world's population of spiders kill and eat 400–800 million tons of prey per year. So if it was not for spiders you'd be up to your neck in insects like flies, mosquitoes, and other nasties such as moths, cockroaches, wasps and some politicians. Spiders do not eat politicians because it makes them sick; but some spiders can jump in the air and attack a locust in mid-flight. 

Very few spiders are dangerous or poisonous. Scientists are researching the poison of some spiders in use in medicines or as natural pesticides. 

The strands of a spider's web is very strong considering what it does catching insects in flight, yet it is very light. If you were to take one strand of a spider's web and run it all around the world on the equator it would only weigh a few grams. 

The chances are that most of us have swallowed a spider in our lifetime whilst sleeping. We sleep with our mouths open, sometimes snoring, and this attracts their curiosity and they fall into our enormous open cave. 

Spiders are more afraid of you than you are of them. But in their language there is no word for irrational fear of humans because their fear of us is quite rational the way we behave towards them. So let's grow up and learn to love spiders.

Have spiders as pets and look after them. I tried to buy one from a pet shop and it cost £10; so I got one cheaper off the net.

16 comments:

  1. ...I love their webs, but not the spiders.

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    1. True, very intricate and delicate work.

      God bless, Tom.

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  2. We appreciate the education, we had no idea there were a huge # of spider species. I though you might be wrong about this:
    Spiders do not eat politicians because it makes them sick.... May be the scientist could come up with an 'anti acid' to help them. BUT, but you last line was the BEST, YEP we smiled big. 'From the WEB!'
    Take care friend and sleep with your mouth closed....
    Sherry & jack on this side, but on YOUR side.

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    1. It is true, Jack, there are 50,000 species of spiders and they consume millions of tons of insects a year. I find them annoying when they make webs high up on the ceiling which are difficult to get to with the vacuum cleaner.

      And it's also true that the chances are we have swallowed a spider whilst asleep.

      Keep smiling my friends. God bless you and Sherry.

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  3. I can't say I'm a fan of spiders, but I've learned to appreciate them. If I see one in the house I ignore it, and hope it does the same to me.

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    1. Yes, mostly they ignore us; although their webs can be a chore to clean.

      God bless, Kathy.

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  4. Dearest Victor,
    Well, I've had once a spider in my mouth, while walking and it did taste very bitter...
    But I'm certainly not scared of them.
    Love capturing the big garden orb spiders in our yard—their faces look rather stern or angry one could say.
    My youngest sister has a spider phobia—but that's her thing!
    Wish spiders could help us with certain politicians... 🕷
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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    1. The bitterness is probably their poison, Mariette. Scientists hope to find it useful for medicines or natural pesticides.

      God bless you.

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  5. I'm like Kathy ... live and let live. 'Have to admit, some of their web designs are lovely to look at. I wonder, does that come naturally, or did they take lessons? Nice to hear that they help rid the world of mosquitoes and other nasties. Go spiders!

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    1. An interesting fact about their webs, Mevely. Why don't they get stuck in their webs?

      It's because the "spokes" of the web, (the straight lines leading to the centre) are NOT sticky. Only the threads going round and round, (concentric designs) are sticky. The spider is clever to make only those threads sticky and he travels on the straight lines coming out of the centre.

      God bless always.

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  6. Spiders don't bother me unless they are big hairy ones and are in the house. :)
    They make such beautiful and intricate webs.

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    1. The reason some spiders are hairy is because it costs so much these days to go to the hairdresser.

      God bless, Happyone.

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  7. I like spiders, and when i see one in the house, i gently take it outdoors. They are very good friends of humankind to eat so many nasty bugs for us.

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    1. I took a spider outdoors, and he ran straight back in and locked me out.

      God bless, Mimi.

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