Spare Parts
A tarantula was walking across the street in the general direction of our house as we headed out for our evening stroll with Abbye. It was making pretty good time and I figured it would be long gone by the time we returned.
I was partly right.
The black "sticks" in the photo are tarantula legs, and they were strewn next to our front porch. A fifth leg was laying in the driveway about ten feet away. Now, I can't swear that they were there when we left, but I do think we'd have noticed them on the way out. So, there's a good chance that the spider we passed made it up to our sidewalk just in time to become a late supper for a grackle or some other omnivorous bird. And just like the best part of a cinnamon roll is the tender middle, the diner in this case took the juicy parts with him and left the drumsticks for the ants.
The absence of telltale goo (that's a highly technical anatomical term, you know) causes me to wonder if the predator disassembled the tarantula and then flew away with the legless beast to dine at his leisure. That's a gruesome mental picture, isn't it?
Life's sometimes short and brutish out here in the sticks.
I think you really enjoyed that.
I should lodge a complaint to the SPCt.
;)
Posted by: Janie at July 19, 2008 09:35 AMDeborah, if we have to have spiders, I prefer them bigger and easygoing, vs. hidden and venomous. But, I'd just as soon do without any of 'em.
Janie, I'm not responsible for any animal-on-animal violence committed in our front yard! Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. ;-)
Posted by: Eric at July 19, 2008 11:35 AMPending any further evidence this investigation is closed. We were unable to establish a solid witness for said events and it is our understanding that this was indeed a "natural" death.
Posted by: Damien Franco at July 19, 2008 10:28 PMMaybe CSI:Midland will show up in the middle of the night with flashlights and investigate the scene with some cool Who song playing in the background, I suggest "Boris The Spider".
Also I think a addition to the Gazette's name is in order,
"The Fire Ant Gazette and Tarantula Report"
Perhaps a Tarantula Hawk.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantula_hawk
Be sure to read the section on "hunting and feeding."
Posted by: John at July 20, 2008 11:54 AMDamien, they don't come any more natural than that, huh?
Bleu, I've been thinking about making just such a change, but I've...oh, look! A baby tarantula!
John, we've got those wasps around here, so it's quite possible that some of the spiders are being preyed upon by them, but that still doesn't explain the amputations. Anyway, it would be an interesting sight to watch a wasp try to drag some of these big tarantulas away.
I was also interested in the description of the Schmidt Sting Pain Index. I'd never heard of that, and I'm a little miffed that a fire ant bite rates so low on the scale. There goes my reputation of being a dangerous character; I'm now reduced to being mildly annoying. But, then, you knew that. ;-)
Posted by: Eric at July 20, 2008 05:03 PMThis doesn't inspire a girl from a spider-free country to leave it haha!
Posted by: Rachel at July 22, 2008 04:21 AMI was hoping we'd have a zoologist weigh in and tell us that this is the season when tarantulas molt and shed their legs or something.
And to Deborah's point, I'd be in favor of a two for one -- grackle eats tarantula and is poisoned.
Posted by: Bret at July 23, 2008 12:29 PMRachel, you know you're very spoiled, don't you? ;-)
Bret, I'd prefer not to contemplate a spider that sheds its legs. That usually precedes something worse – something bigger. But I agree. I'm sure God had His reasons for making grackles and tarantulas, but as the Bible says, His ways are not mine.
Posted by: Eric at July 23, 2008 02:32 PMAbout the publisher
Random Abbye photos...
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"Choose rabbits with soft ears and paws"
Book Review: "The Lizard King"
McCain's Rejected Editorial
Meet the new bosses, same as the old bosses
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"Dance that funky cha cha, white boy..."
Spare Parts
Nacho Libre Lives!
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WünderKindle
In League with the Stones
Two Score Minus Five
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I've never been fond of grackles, but I'm less fond of spiders, especially large black ones. Go Grackles!
Posted by: Deborah at July 19, 2008 09:10 AM