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Comments & ID Thoughts
I was at the San Antonio River with my son today taking in the views. We never once got into the "deep brush" that would expect this guy to live in. We took the long scenic route home and then I went to bring in the trash can. Running down my neck onto my arm was this guy doing the scariest run imaginable. I took this picture then my son realised what I was doing and saved the day with his size 3 shoe! Moral of the story, never go outside AGAIN!
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Oct 1, 2019
- Photographed: Oct 1, 2019
- Spider: Unidentified
- Location: San Antonio, Texas, United States
- Spotted Outdoors: Saltwater ocean, river, lake, stream
- Found in web?: No
- Attributes:
This is sad, she didn’t have to die. This was not a dangerous spider. Very few are. She was an Orbweaver, possibly Neoscona cruifera. There was plenty of time for either of you to gently move the spider off of you and back into nature. Learn what the Recluses and Widows look like. Everything else is safe. None of them attack on the offense, just defensively.
I know, my son was just trying to make me feel better. I genuinely love all creatures and had a talk with my kiddo shortly after this happened. He loves critters and learned a valuable lesson after this. I truly appreciate your time and feedback. I am sure to keep the posts coming. I did purchase a booklet to better understand these little guys a little more so that I can let them continue doing what they do.
Thank you for the update. 🙂 People ask us to identify mutilated spiders and gloat about how grossly the spider died. Some science sites immediately delete submissions like that. We don’t usually because that takes away our opportunity to teach about spiders and ask for kindness from the people we want to reach the most. People who reach out to us with their dead spiders are actually more receptive to considering humane actions than people I talk to in-person. It is terribly frustrating that I haven’t been able to get some close family members to catch and release instead of… Read more »