A Break From The Alex Smith Drama: Urbanization Is Supersizing Spiders

[listopencil]

City living brings with it a few shifts in lifestyle compared to rural habitation: shorter commutes, accessible shops and, often, an over-reliance on restaurant dining and fast food. Another side effect of the congested, cramped, cement-laded city life is that the temperature tends to be a little warmer year-round, a shift known as the “urban heat island” effect.

As it turns out, these changes aren’t only affecting cities’ human populations. In Australia, where spiders already have a propensity to be terrifyingly large, new research by University of Sydney PhD candidate Lizzy Lowe, says The Age, found that Sydney’s higher temperatures and easier access to food are driving the spiders to grow even bigger.

She studied the golden orb weaver in three types of environments in and around Sydney – urban parks, remnant bushland and continuous bushland. Twenty sites were studied and, for each spider web found, she assessed its proximity to man-made objects and vegetation.

Comparing the sizes of the spiders, she found that the city spiders outpaced the country spiders. And, though her research focused only on Golden orb weaver spiders, she suggests that the same effect can probably be seen in other species.

A female golden orb weaver spider. Photo: Arthur Chapman


http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/smar...izing-spiders/

[Buck]

[In58men]

I bet Alex Smith can nail that thing from 20 yards away

[Fish]

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by Fish

Brazilian news outlet G1 spoke with a local biologist who says the spider activity is actually quite normal. He identified the species as Anelosimus eximius, a "social spider" known for its massive colonies that create blankets of webs. The behavior might also seem familiar to people in Chicago, where each year the city experiences an influx of "flying spiders" – so many that earlier this year the Hilton's Magnificent Miles Suites hotel formally requested guests keep their windows shut to avoid the annual migration. This species, known as Larinioides sclopetarius, spin their silk into balloon-like formations and ride lakefront air currents to crevices in high rises downtown.

I am not visiting Brazil without a flamethrower.

[Lumpy]

Originally Posted by ptlyon

Holy ****! Now back to the alex smith threads...

Eh, yep.

To hell with spiders.

[Fish]

I ♥ spiders.

And this is awesome...

[Canofbier]

Originally Posted by Fish

I ♥ spiders.

And this is awesome...

I don't know why, but I actually thought the spider looked kind of cute in this video.

[Spott]

I wish a black widow would bite Alex Smith on the balls.

[Lumpy]

Originally Posted by Fish

I ♥ spiders.

Did you seriously just use this... ♥ ???

[Fish]

Yes. I googled for the symbol even.

Spiders R RAD.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by morphius

Damn, I killed a few recluses last year, but I'm damn glad none were as big as the ones in listopencil post. uck.

I probably killed around 100 of those bastards.

Only 2 were in my basement, and a few in the garage. Thank God.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by Fish

I ♥ spiders.

And this is awesome...

That is a big jumping spider.

I was just waiting for it to put the hammer down on his forearm.

[Wumbology]

I used to not mind spiders until last year. A friend of mine was bitten by a brown recluse in his sleep. It looked like his ****ing arm was rotting off. I used to have pic of it... Lost it though unfortunately.

[Lumpy]

Originally Posted by Fish

Yes. I googled for the symbol even.

Spiders R RAD.

Well, you just go ahead and ♥ spiders all you want. I'll be smashing the little bastards with my shoe.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by Wumbology

I used to not mind spiders until last year. A friend of mine was bitten by a brown recluse in his sleep. It looked like his ****ing arm was rotting off. I used to have pic of it... Lost it though unfortunately.

My dad got bit above his eyebrow. The doctor didn't know what it was but I sure as hell did.


He got shot up with antibiotics and it healed pretty fast. When I told him what I thought it was he was pretty worried.

Don't google pics of Recluse bites, or you will never set foot in a garage again.