Anyone from Mississippi? What is this?

[thiggy]

I generally let most spiders live in peace, as they are more benefit than harm to man. However, two weeks ago I found a rather large (for the species) black widow (in Miss, by the way). It was residing in the peeling bark of a dead tree. I brought it in the kitchen - on the bark, not in the hand - and my wife wanted me to squash it. I compromised by entombing it in a quart Mason jar, thinking I might give it to one of my grandkids to take to school. Well, last week-end we went back to our Miss farm again and the spider was still alive in the jar, after a bit more than a week.

[gaj1967]

I did a quick Google image search and found this picture:


According to the site it's a Nursery Web spider like Alex Franke said.

I remember in my younger days when roaming the woods I'd run into a spider webs with some big, long legged nasty looking spiders in them. I always hated getting webs on my spiders or no spiders. But I never screamed like a girl. lol

[docrowan]

I've lived in Mississippi since 1996 and never seen anything like that! However I've seen wolf spiders in Mississippi and Louisiana that looked similar, and about the same size. They're fearsome looking, but do not seem to like to come inside. Typically hide in the grass and mind their own business. I teach my 4 year old to kill any bug or spider that comes inside the house uninvited, but to leave anything outside alone.

Speaking of running into webs, we bought a new house in August, and I took my daughter over to check on a few things before we moved in. It got dark on us and the power had not been turned on yet. My daughter was scared of the dark, and cried for me to carry her. I'm 6 foot and 200 (okay 210) pounds, so I told her in my manly man voice "You don't have to be scared when I'M with you." It was pitch black dark, I settled her in the car seat, shut the door and walked around to the driver's side. On the way I ran into the biggest spider web I'd ever felt in my life. My hands immediately went up to my face and on the way my left hand hit something that felt like a grape. I'm afraid I did scream like a girl, or more like Homer Simpson. I slapped my whole body silly trying to get Spidzilla off me. Of course with no power on at the house I couldn't tell where the blasted thing went. So the whole drive home I kept on imaging I'd turn my head and the thing would be on my shoulder saying "Howdy do."

I'm only thankful it happened AFTER I had put my daughter in the car.

[Richard in Smithville]

Hey....isn't that the spider from aracnophobia?

[TheRic]

....Speaking of running into webs, we bought a new house in August, and I took my daughter over to check on a few things before we moved in. It got dark on us and the power had not been turned on yet. My daughter was scared of the dark, and cried for me to carry her. I'm 6 foot and 200 (okay 210) pounds, so I told her in my manly man voice "You don't have to be scared when I'M with you." It was pitch black dark, I settled her in the car seat, shut the door and walked around to the driver's side. On the way I ran into the biggest spider web I'd ever felt in my life. My hands immediately went up to my face and on the way my left hand hit something that felt like a grape. I'm afraid I did scream like a girl, or more like Homer Simpson. I slapped my whole body silly trying to get Spidzilla off me. Of course with no power on at the house I couldn't tell where the blasted thing went. So the whole drive home I kept on imaging I'd turn my head and the thing would be on my shoulder saying "Howdy do."

I'm only thankful it happened AFTER I had put my daughter in the car.

SO has your daughter stopped laughing yet?!

[docrowan]

SO has your daughter stopped laughing yet?!

I forgot, we're pretty sure the spider survived, because a large one started making a web each night on our front porch, then taking it down every morning and curling up in a small ball for the day. It was actually quite fascinating, so we didn't bother it. Apparently it had learned not to make a web attached to a car.

We even nicknamed the thing "Frank" and left the porch light on all night to attract more bugs to the web. My daughter got to be kind of attached to it, from a distance of course. Took a great deal of tolerance on my part, spiders are the only thing I have an irrational fear of.

[mrnewman3]

I've lived in Mississippi since 1996 and never seen anything like that! However I've seen wolf spiders in Mississippi and Louisiana that looked similar, and about the same size. They're fearsome looking, but do not seem to like to come inside. Typically hide in the grass and mind their own business. I teach my 4 year old to kill any bug or spider that comes inside the house uninvited, but to leave anything outside alone.

Speaking of running into webs, we bought a new house in August, and I took my daughter over to check on a few things before we moved in. It got dark on us and the power had not been turned on yet. My daughter was scared of the dark, and cried for me to carry her. I'm 6 foot and 200 (okay 210) pounds, so I told her in my manly man voice "You don't have to be scared when I'M with you." It was pitch black dark, I settled her in the car seat, shut the door and walked around to the driver's side. On the way I ran into the biggest spider web I'd ever felt in my life. My hands immediately went up to my face and on the way my left hand hit something that felt like a grape. I'm afraid I did scream like a girl, or more like Homer Simpson. I slapped my whole body silly trying to get Spidzilla off me. Of course with no power on at the house I couldn't tell where the blasted thing went. So the whole drive home I kept on imaging I'd turn my head and the thing would be on my shoulder saying "Howdy do."

I'm only thankful it happened AFTER I had put my daughter in the car.

Ha! I have a 4 year old daughter as well.... I bet I've seen that movie 100 times.... I love it! I love it!