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tarantulas north of the border are not poisonous. and there is also an old saying, that if you see a tarantula crossing the road, it means it's going to rain. and actually the couple times i have seen one crossing the road, it did rain later on in the day.

as for my favorite insect...is a scorpion an arachnid or an insect?

@nael -- This is a off-topic, but...You can also tell when it's going to rain by the cows. If the cows are lying down, it's going to rain. Honest. It really works.

@Hello DP, I like small spiders also
If you have spider phobia, I can treat it for you (I have had a few patients with different insect phobias, cured them all )

@Nael: Scorpions are arachnids, like spiders.

I don`t have a favourite insect.

I hate e`m all

Just the mere thought of insects makes me itch all over. The average lifespan for any insect, bug, whatever, in my room is about 10 seconds.

I could never have any animal in my house except fish, because they are in a tank.
I know, I know, you can have spiders in a tank too, but I wouldn`t be able to sleep or move anywhere inside that house knowing there is a spider in the same house.

They just totally freak me out. Long legs with hair all over and some small beady eyes staring straight at you

Originally posted by oki101:
<STRONG>Long legs with hair all over and some small beady eyes staring straight at you</STRONG>

LOL, Sounds like a bad date

Yep, that`s the ultimate sign of a bad date for sure.

I'm largely of the same mind, oki101. I don't usually smash spiders though, since they eat other bugs, so I use my patented bug catching jar to release them back into the wild from wence they sprung. A quote from Buffy the Vampire Slayer pretty much sums up my feelings: "I don't like spiders, okay? Their furry bodies, and their sticky webs, and what do they need all those legs for anyway? I'll tell you: for crawling across your face in the middle of the night." I can only think of three things worse then running face first into a spider web in the middle of the night. *Shudder*

Spiders and other bugs are discriminated

So are sharks, but I'm not about to leap into the water with a Great White.


[ 06-14-2001: Message edited by: Kayless ]

Nael writes:
tarantulas north of the border are not poisonous.

During the late '80's and into the '90's, my wife (then girlfriend) and I took 3 trips to Venezuela. On one of these, we actually traveled down the Orinoco in the Amazons to within distance of Angel Falls, in a large, dugout canoe, along with about 8 other idiots.

At another time, we stayed at a pretty primitive camp on the border between Venezuela and Columbia (Venezuelan side--or, most definitely, even then). One of our guides was a smartass who had been trained in the US, though originally a local, and a complete cynic about everything. For some reason, he took a shine to us in particular. (Have I mentioned that if there's a person with an attitude problem, or even a schizophrenic, within a mile, they seek me out and provide a heart-to-heart chat?)

Once, we were traveling down something that vaguely resembled a road in a battered bus, when he pulled over. He'd found a tarantula, a huge sucker, and he took it back to the camp as a "pet." He wrapped it in a face cloth. Later that day, he whispered to us confidentially that he'd forgotten about using the cloth on the tarantula, had wiped his face and neck with the cloth a few minutes back, and was now in agony from the sting of it. Then he just grinned. I could relate to that. There's something universal about doing a Stupid Thing. But I'd never realized before that time that the "fur" of tarantulas was covered with a chemical that protected it in a very unpleasant fashion.

And just think, I got a wonderful example of this by traveling down to the Amazon.

@Kayless: The great white is probably far more endangered than any spider. Still, I think it's a pity to kill off non dangerous bugs...Suppose I should have been a good Ahimsa hindu...

@Fable: I think at least some species of taratulas only give off the skin irritating stuff when they feel threatened.

About the people with psychiatric disorders having a radar for you: I know exactly what you mean, I used to have the same problem. That's why I decided to become a psychologist, I could as well get paid for it

My ultimate nightmare: A bastardized mutation of shark and spider, hunting me down in the dark. A friend and I were up late drinking a couple days ago and the subject of dangerous animals came up. Humanity has mastered the atom and is capable of creating viruses and flying to the very stars themselves. Why is it we still allow animals to occasionally kill one of our own? The world would be a much safer place if 90% of the animal population (the dangerous and the annoying ones) were whipped out(To hell with the ecco system!). Then the only thing we’d need to worry about would be other humans.


"Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to."
-Mark Twain

@Kayless: Heh, if I didn't care for the eco systems, my ultimate nightmare would be running into a hungry crossing between large shark and polar bear Both would view me just as a seal-equivalent in a gore tex wrap.

Bears don't bother me all that much, since I see them all the time when I go fishing (and even chased a pair of adolescents off my porch once). But we all have something that scares us, however irrational. Austin Powers is afraid of carnies (circus freaks, nomads you know.).

Favourite Insect: Scandanavian Elponquimino-Bucho-Hastidulosos

Description: Big bug, six legs, a couple of eyes and a really nice set of horns!

Reason: It's got purdy colours, and makes a noise like a cat hawking up a cricket stuck in it's throat.

On a more serious note.

Favourite Insect: Dung Beatle

Reason: I can identify with the whole pushing crap up a hill... such is life.

Certainly we all have some irrational fears of some kind. I don't fear bears in general, but since I understand polar bears are one of the few species that actually see humans as food, I fear them, as I fear large man eating sharks. But most of all I fear cars and the crazy busdrivers in this town!

I was once out for a swim from a boat, and saw two triangular dorsal fins closing in on me. I almost sunk by pure fear, but it turned out it was only two dolphins!

I think many fears we feel toward certain animals are due to lack of knowledge, we are simply not used to meet them and we don't know how to interpret their behaviour. I'm sure I would be less afraid of polar bears if I understood their behaviour better.

But of course the most dangerous animals on this planet are we. :sad:

Originally posted by C Elegans:
<STRONG>I fear large man eating sharks.</STRONG>

Yea, large men scare me too! What's even more scarier is when they start eating meatballs!

*Cowers in the corner, biting and chewing his nails*

I know a lot about sharks (thank you discovery channel) and am aware that I am more likely to be struck be lightning then attacked by one. But the possibility, however remote, still instills terror within me. It’s a universal fear. A shark will do the worse thing possible (eat you) in the worse way possible (helpless and completely out of your element). It’s why the movie Jaws touched on such a primal fear (I loved Jaws. Scariest damn movie I’ve ever seen. I’d rather sit in a cage with Hannibal Lector then jump in the water with that).

P.S. Sorry for diverting your bug topic fable.

fable, you got same fondness of fireflies like me. It's very nice to see those lamp carrier bug in the dark of the night

Originally posted by fable:
<STRONG>(Have I mentioned that if there's a person with an attitude problem, or even a schizophrenic, within a mile, they seek me out and provide a heart-to-heart chat?)</STRONG>

Hey, I've been meaning to have a nice heart-to-heart with you, Fable. Should I schedule an appointment?