spiders

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Teen Driver Swats at Spider; It Ends Badly for 11 People

Kansas teen let go of wheel to try to kill arachnid

(Newser) - A teenage girl in Kansas is the latest arachnophobic driver to have become more dangerous than any spider. The Kansas Highway Patrol says 17-year-old Diana Nicole Bell was on the highway east of Great Bend when she noticed a spider on her lap and let go of the steering wheel...

Man Burns Down Gas Pump Trying to Kill Spider

'Stupidity'

(Newser) - A Michigan man with a serious fear of spiders nearly burned down a gas station, his car, and himself trying to get rid of one of the tiny creatures earlier this week, Fox 2 Detroit reports. According to CBS Detroit , the man was filling up his car when he saw...

'Spooky' Quarter-Mile Spider Web Stuns US Suburb

Visitors come to marvel at silky creation

(Newser) - Most people aren't crazy about spiders—but sightseers are finding time to visit an enormous spider web spanning hundreds of feet of trees in a Dallas suburb, WFTV reports. "I've never seen anything like this," a man there with his grandchildren tells WFAA . "I think...

This Spider Can Eavesdrop on Its Sexual Rivals

Not only is courtship a learned behavior, but spiders pick it up quickly

(Newser) - It doesn't take much observational power to note that spiders have tiny brains. Really tiny. So the recent finding out of the University of Cincinnati —that they learn how to court mates by eavesdropping on the competition—is all the more impressive. "It’s a complex set...

Woman Bitten by Black Widow Lurking in Her Grapes

Spider reportedly crawled up 21-year-old's arm

(Newser) - A Vermont woman's simple gesture—reaching into a bag of grapes—ended up landing her in the hospital. That's because a black widow spider was lurking inside the bag, per the 21-year-old's mother; the mother says the spider made its way up her daughter's arm and...

5 Coolest New Species of the Year

Others that made the list: a 'chicken from hell' and a giant walking stick

(Newser) - Each year, an international committee of taxonomists at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry pores over thousands of new species named the previous year. The result: a top 10 list it publishes on or around the May 23 birthday of Carolus Linnaeus , the 18th-century master of identifying and...

What Makes Black Widows So Deadly


 What Makes 
 Black Widows 
 So Deadly 
study says
Jan 10, 2015 4:30 PM CST

What Makes Black Widows So Deadly

They evolved quickly with same venom compounds as house spiders

(Newser) - Black widow spiders are known for their lethal venom, but just how did they get so deadly? Apparently by evolving quickly over the years during their pursuit of "ever-bigger prey," Discovery reports. According to a new study, black widows and house spiders have comparable toxic compounds in their...

Farmers' Creepy New Gig: Collecting Tarantulas

They provide the animals to pet breeders

(Newser) - After a drought this summer, some Nicaraguan farmers have struggled to make ends meet. But some have found a new way to make money: by collecting members of the local tarantula population, AFP reports. Over a two-week period, one family was able to collect 400 of the creatures. "We...

Singer Discovers Tiny Spider in Her Ear
 Singer Discovers 
 Tiny Spider in Her Ear 
in case you missed it
Nov 8, 2014 5:02 PM CST

Singer Discovers Tiny Spider in Her Ear

Katie Melua had unwittingly hosted critter for a week

(Newser) - Georgian-British singer Katie Melua went to the doctor complaining of a repetitive shuffling noise in her ear and worried there was something wrong with her hearing. Closer inspection revealed she'd been housing a tiny spider for a week—likely having come from a pair of earbuds she likes to...

Seizure Surgery Removes Man's Arachnophobia

Operation has a quite unintended consequence

(Newser) - A man's surgery for seizures had an unexpected result: When he woke up, he was no longer scared of spiders. The 44-year-old used to kill spiders with hair spray and a vacuum; now, he's fine with letting them crawl all over him, Medical Daily reports. The reasons aren'...

Spider Bite Paralyzes Young Woman's Arm

She ends up with huge hole near shoulder

(Newser) - A British woman was in the hospital for days after she was bitten by a spider while in bed. Lauren Reid's arm was temporarily paralyzed by the bite. "I was in my bedroom asleep when I felt something crawl across my left arm," she tells the Birmingham ...

Scientist Kills Spider, Gets Death Threats
 Scientist Kills Spider, 
 Gets Death Threats 
in case you missed it
Oct 26, 2014 6:29 AM CDT

Scientist Kills Spider, Gets Death Threats

The puppy-sized creature apparently was beloved on the Internet

(Newser) - The killing of a spider doesn't normally trigger death threats, but it does apparently if the spider's demise makes national headlines. Harvard researcher Piotr Naskrecki found this out the hard way after his account of finding a spider the size of a puppy in Guyana went viral earlier...

Deadly Spider Found in Family's Bananas

World's most dangerous arachnid gnawed its own leg off in escape attempt

(Newser) - The last thing you'd expect to find lurking in your bananas is a creature whose Greek scientific name means "murderess." But that's exactly what one London family found after a grocery delivery from the Waitrose supermarket chain, the Daily Mail reports. The family patriarch (known only...

Scientist Stumbles Upon Spider as Big as a Puppy

Goliath birdeater has 2-inch fangs

(Newser) - Strolling through a Guyana rainforest one night, a scientist heard some rustling and thought he'd encountered a furry mammal. Well, he was right about the furry part. The creature was actually a Goliath birdeater spider, LiveScience reports—the world's biggest type of spider, according to the Guinness Book ...

Spider Burrows Into Tourist's Chest for 3 Days

Doctors finally figure out what's causing growing red scar

(Newser) - Bali's tourist bureau will not be eager to share this story: A tropical spider burrowed into the skin of an Australian tourist and stayed there for three days before doctors finally figured out what was causing the nasty marks on his chest, reports the NT News of Australia. Dylan...

Thousands of Spiders Drive Owners From Ritzy Home

Missouri family gives up trying to fight the brown recluses

(Newser) - If you like golf and you love spiders, then Fannie Mae has got your dream home waiting in Missouri. The foreclosed home in Weldon Spring overlooks a golf course but has been vacant for two years because apparently nobody wants to live with the estimated 4,000 to 6,000...

'Dog-Spider' Terrifies in Viral Video

Polish prankster Sylwester Wardega behind YouTube hit

(Newser) - No problem with huge, scary spiders? Then check out this viral YouTube video of a friendly dog in a spider costume that apparently terrifies passersby, the Independent reports. Created by Polish prank-man Sylwester Wardega, the "dog-spider" wears a furry body with big legs that shake ominously as he trots...

Spiders Prefer City Living
 Spiders Prefer City Living 
study says
Aug 21, 2014 9:13 AM CDT

Spiders Prefer City Living

Study finds that those in urban areas tend to grow bigger, have more babies

(Newser) - Though they've got more feet to avoid, spiders in the city seem to thrive in comparison to their counterparts in the country, a new study in PloS One suggests. Researchers in Australia studied golden orb weaver spiders and found that they grew bigger and reproduced more in urban environments....

Man Tries to Kill Spider, Burns Down House

Seattle home sustains $60K in damages in latest man vs. arachnid incident

(Newser) - We tried to warn you , spider-slaying arsonists. A Seattle house went up in flames last night after a tenant tried to flush out an eight-legged foe in his laundry room by setting it on fire using a lighter and spray paint, KOMO News reports. A spokesman for the Seattle Fire...

Woman Tries to Kill Spider, Ends Up With Arson Charge

You know what isn't a great idea? Setting a fire to kill a creepy-crawly

(Newser) - Listen up, arachnophobes: You do not fight spiders with fire. Or so goes the cautionary tale of 34-year-old Kansas woman Ginny Griffith, who has been charged with aggravated arson after she apparently tried to kill a spider—by using a cigarette lighter to set fire to some towels, reports the...

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