eek!! Spiders!!

Ok I know spiders are probably not a favorite topic of most people here. I admit they are not my favorite either but you have to admit there is something really cool about spiders. Most of the time (whether good or bad) all you have to do is go out in your backyard and you can usually find some kind of spider. Here are two I found in my backyard and thought I’d like to share with you.

Daring Jumping Spider:

Phidippus audax is a common jumping spider of North America. It is commonly referred to as the daring jumping spider, or bold jumping spider. The average size of adults ranges from roughly 13–20 millimetres (0.51–0.79 in) in length. They are typically black with a pattern of spots and stripes on their abdomen and legs. Often these spots are orange-tinted in juveniles, turning white as the spider matures. The spider belongs to the genus Phidippus, a group of jumping spiders easily identified both by their relatively large size and their iridescent chelicerae. In the case of P. audax, these chelicerae are a bright, metallic green or blue.

These spiders have been known to jump from 10 to 50 times their own body length by suddenly increasing the blood pressure in the third or fourth pair of legs, and the male may jump away during mating if the female approaches too quickly

 

Funnel Web Grass Spider:

Agelenopsis is a genus of spiders, known as American grass spiders. They weave sheet webs that have a funnel shelter on one edge. The web is not sticky, but these spiders make up for that shortcoming by running very rapidly. The larger specimens (depending on species) can grow to about 19 mm in body length. They may be recognized by the arrangement of their eight eyes into three rows. The top row has two eyes, the middle row has four eyes, and the bottom row has two eyes (spaced wider than the ones on the top row). They have two prominent hind spinnerets, somewhat indistinct bands on their legs, and two dark bands running down either side of the cephalothorax.

Agelenopsis Aperta the American funnel-web spider, produces agatoxins. Their bite causes rapid paralysis in insect prey, though their venom is not medically significant to humans.

 

 

Ok now that I freaked you out a little…you got admit they are kind of cool. 😀   Thanks Wikipedia for all the info