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Omelet[_7_] Omelet[_7_] is offline
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Default Bird Eating Spider?

In article >,
" > wrote:

> On Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:24:06 -0700 (PDT), merryb > wrote:
>
> >Any of you see this? It's all over the news-I can't believe spiders
> >could get that big. I bet they have a tough time finding stuff strong
> >enough to build their webs from. Happy Halloween!
> >
> >http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=655741

>
>
> Reminds me of something that happened in Viet-Nam in 1969. We were taking a
> break near
> a cane hedgerow when somebody noticed a monster web ( about 12 feet across)
> between
> two segments of cane. The spider in the center was more than a foot across
> the
> outspread legs. We cut off a piece of cane and teased the spider into
> dropping from
> the web. Using the piece of cane to catch the strand the spider was dropping
> from we
> set it down in front of one of the guy's pet monkey. ( Thought it would scare
> the
> monkey.) It surprised the hell out of us by running up to the spider,
> grabbing it by
> bunching up the legs near the body and eating it. SERIOUS Yukk.
>
> Never did find out what kind of spider it was. But it looked sort of like
> this one.


We have some large native spiders here commonly referred to as "Banana
spiders". They are only maybe an inch or two long, but they spin some
HUGE webs. I've personally seen them anywhere from 1 to 2 meters in
width.

Many people (including myself) often feed them just for fun and
encourage their presence in the garden as they are excellent predators:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEZg4HC4AXo

Back when we used to do regular wildlife rescue volunteer work, I was
called out to pick up an injured nighthawk. Turns out the poor bird was
simply exhausted and tangled in spider webbing! I cleaned her off and
let her rest for a day, then took her back out where she was found and
set her free. :-)

My heart soared into the air with her...

http://birdweb.org/birdweb/bird_details.aspx?id=255

Night hawks can be difficult due to their dietary requirements. They are
purely insect eaters and eat on the wing scooping insects out of the air
with a large gape, so they have to be force fed in rehab. I was relieved
her case was so simple!
--
Peace! Om

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive." -- Dalai Lama