#tarantula attack

[carlsdarling]

Bah. A week after my surgery, I get up this morning, struggle to get out of the bedroom, go to the bathroom and then limp into the living room and there's THAT running across the floor!!!! Seriously, I almost suffered a heart attack. Matching the Anon message I recently received about the spider. Spiders = Army of Death.

💀☠️

[goryhorroor]

“1950s horror movies contrast radically with their 1940s predecessors. understandably – they were reflecting a whole new world. audiences wanted stories that connected directly to their lives, to the ever-expanding technology in their homes and workplaces. they also wanted horror movies that played to their fears – stoked by politicians – of the shadows that lay beyond their immediate, personal experience of the shiny american dream (applies to some of these movies).”

[blondebrainpowered]

The Incredible Shrinking Man, 1957

[pumpkigutz]

7th attack for Cheesypopcorn_509!

I am open for commissions on Ko-fi!

[muffinrecord]

When we're sad, what do we do?

That's right.

Watch tarantula watering videos.

[recklesshorizons]

hm :/

[thedaily-beer]

Societe + Tarantula Hill Attack from Tarantula Hill IPA (Picked up at Windmill Farms). A 3 of 4. Lots of incredibly bright citrus on this with a lot of tropical fruit, too. Relatively high carbonation and the body is on the lighter side. Drinks very easily and quite refreshing on the palate, though would be hard to pick out of a pack of other similar IPAs.

[ask-a-bot]

This is what happens when you go down the path of bullying, anger, and revenge, Star. You end up hurting the ones you care about, including Rust. You knew Megs wasn’t a fan of spiders, but you, and only you, chose, not forced, to use your own pet for your own revenge. You are responsible for your own actions, so you alone are responsible for Rust’s injuries. Unless you are able to accept that, you are going to have a hard time keeping friends.

Dorthy, some calming instrumentals might help Megs calm down. I sent this a while ago when he was really sick, but I’ll send it again to save you the trouble of searching for it. It does wonders for me when I’m anxious! Megs should recognize it.

Will this help, Dorthy?

Thanks. It might help. Poor Megs... he's just thrown up again. I've seen him upset before, but I've never known him like this.

Megatron, sit down. It's OK. Star took the... thing away. Here, take my servo. It's OK. I promise. You're safe. Dot's gonna put some soothing music on.

My apologies-

Don't. It's OK. Everything's OK. Lean on me. I've got you.

Are you feeling any better?

Snf. No.

I saw your message. Frag you! Megatron threw him at a wall! How is that my fault? Poor little Rust! He hasn't moved. What if he's dead? I don't want him to die! He wasn't even full grown! Grr...!

[0ut0fmych3st]

“Oh man what if spiders could fly that’d be terrifying” eh I don’t think so, wouldn’t do wonders for their erratic behavior but it’d be fine. But if my evil little asshole of a tarantula Penelope had wings?? Her specifically?? I’d cry. I’d actually just cry. I would probably pay someone to take over ownership of her because she is horrible in a way that is distinctly Not Normal for her species and she already freaks me out as it is.

[flowerbarrel-art]

My sister got me New Horizons for my birthday in 2020 2021 and the first night I played it I got stung by a scorpion. I was surprised they showed up in the winter.

The other night when I was playing I got bit by a tarantula. It was nice to see my whole New Horizons experience come full circle. I never saw a tarantula or scorpion in New Leaf but I recently got all the bugs in New Horizons, which was cool.

I like how tarantulas jump in the game before they attack. It’s weirdly cute and kinda funny to me somehow.

Sorry for falling on you with my big head, tarantula. I didn’t mean to.

[mirkwood-trash]

Did some rehousings which went smoothly- for the most part. Artemisia fell on her face 🫣

[rainymitskicain]

I might be spending a whole month in Mexico because of my cousin's wedding and I'm shortcircuting at the thought like what??? A whole month??? Where I can't be in the comfort of my own room??? My own bed??? My comfort space???

[petpetpinixy]

trying to catch a tarantula in ACNL is awful why did they make it like this

[sexisbetteronthemoon]

it's been five minutes and i'm still speechless. just.. staring at every part of this, trying to memorize every pixel of loving line and color.

buddy, my pal, my fellow in klance, what the fuck. i'm in awe. thank you for sharing your wonderful, beautiful artwork. love, love, LOVE the sketches of Lance in Keith's art book!!!

bonus blue reaction:

Darling, I would do it again, ah, ah

If I could hold you for a minute

Darling, I'd go through it again, ah, ah

[fuckingrecipes]

Wait, which animals raise livestock?

Several species of ants will 'herd' aphids around (a type of plant lice)- even picking them up and putting them back with the group if they wander off. The ants will attack anything that approaches their aphid herds, defending them. The aphids produce a sugary excretion called honeydew, which the ants harvest and eat.

Some ants will even 'milk' the aphids, stroking the aphids with their antennae, to stimulate them to release honeydew. Some aphids have become 'domesticated' by the ants, and depend entirely on their caretaker ants to milk them.

When the host plant is depleted of resources and dies, the ants will pick up their herd of aphids and carry them to a new plant to feed on - a new 'pasture' if you will.

Some ants continue to care for aphids overwinter, when otherwise they'd die. The ants carry aphid eggs into their own nests, and will even go out of their way to destroy the eggs of aphid-predators, like ladybugs.

--

Microhylids – or narrow-mouthed frogs - have an interesting symbiosis with Tarantulas.

While the spiders could very easily kill and eat the much-tinier frogs, and DO normally prey on small frogs, young spiders instead will use their mouthparts to pick up the microhylid frogs, bring them back to their burrow, and release them unharmed.

The frog benefits from hanging out in/around the burrow of the tarantula, because the tarantula can scare away or eat predators that normally prey on tiny frogs, like snakes, geckos, and mantids. The tarantula gets a babysitter.

Microhylid frogs specialize in eating ants, and ants are one of the major predators of spider eggs. By eating ants, the frogs protect the spider's eggs. The frogs can also lay their eggs in the burrow, and won't be eaten by the spider.

So it's less 'livestock' and more like a housepet - a dog or a cat. You stop coyotes/eagles from hurting your little dog/cat, and in return the dog/cat keeps rats away from your baby.

--

Damselfish grow algae on rocks and corals. They defend these gardens ferociously, and will attack anything that comes too close - even humans. They spend much of their time weeding the gardens, removing unwanted algaes that might overtake their crop.

The species of algae that they cultivate is weak and and sensitive to growing conditions, and can easily be overgrazed by other herbivores. That particular algae tends to grow poorly in areas where damselfish aren't around to protect and farm it.

Damselfish will ALSO actively protect Mysidium integrum (little shrimp-like crustacians) in their reef farms, despite eating other similarly sized invertebrates. The mysids are filter feeders, who feed on zooplankton and free-floating algae, and their waste fertilizes the algae farms. Many types of zooplankton can feed on the algae crop, and the mysids prevent that.

While Mysids can be found around the world, the only place you'll find swarms of Musidium integrum is on the algae farms that Damselfish cultivate.

Damselfish treat the little mysids like some homesteaders treat ducks. Ducks eat snails and other insect pests on our crops, and their poop fertilizes the land. The ducks can be eaten, but aren't often, since they're more useful for their services than their meat.

--

There are SEVERAL species of insect and animal which actively farm. They perform fungiculture and horticulture: deliberately growing and harvesting fungus and plants at a large-scale to feed their population.

Leaf-cutter ants and Termites both chew up plant material and then seed it with a specific type of fungus. The fungus grows, and the termites/ants harvest the mushroom as a food source.

Ambrosia beetles burrow into decaying trees, hollow out little farming rooms, and introduce a specific fungii (the ambrosia fungi), which both adults and larval beetles feed on.

Marsh Periwinkles (a type of snail) cultivates fungus on cordgrass. They wound the plant with their scraping tongue, then defecate into the wound so their preferred fungus will infect it and grow there. They let the fungus grow in the wound a bit, and come back later to eat.

[foldingfittedsheets]

The location of the sex shop I worked was a haven for spiders. We had tall ceilings and skylights and unused storage rooms. It was a spider paradise. We quickly sussed out which coworkers to call on in case of emergency. The Dorito lady was a solid ally for spiders but absolutely petrified of moths.

But there’s actually a hierarchy of fear. Most people don’t realize. The person least afraid is the one forced to deal with the bug in question. If coworker B was scared, but coworker A was petrified, well coworker B was gonna have to screw their courage to the sticking place because by the law of fear they were the most competent person on scene.

Thus enters Rick. Rick first appeared in the back storage room. This room doubled as a second bathroom so we went in on a semi frequent basis. The girl who’d gone in to pee shot out again gibbering with fear about the biggest spider she’d ever seen had just run across her boot.

We sicced Dorito lady on it. She returned, shaking her head. “He was squatting on a power cord where it plugs in. I couldn’t get a clean shot at Rick.”

“Rick?”

She shrugged. “Spiders that big need a name. Seemed like a Rick.”

Rick, freshly named, became a store menace. I’d normally say this was probably a case of multiple spiders being mistaken for one but everyone who encountered him swore up and down there could be no mistake. This spider was massive, fast, and distinct. A gladiator among arachnids.

I never encountered Rick. His exploits grew in the telling but the theme was consistent: no one could kill him. He’d hunker in places that no one could reach and dart away when a strike missed. He also chased off the more faint hearted, charging them in bold dashes. There could be no benign cup transplant to remove Rick from the premise. He was not leaving.

The saga of Rick continued for two months. Not seeing him was almost worse, a fearful wariness when going to the bathroom or stepping into quieter areas. I waited with dread, hoping my eventual run in would have me on shift with Dorito lady to protect me.

It was not to be. There was a girl the same who hated my one moment of singing that was absolute piss-herself scared of spiders. She’d slam straight into a panic attack and couldn’t think or speak. And so it was that one night on shift, I heard her scream.

It was unmistakable. I was in the front window turning off the open sign. Through an obstacle course of mannequins and lingerie I performed an acrobatic sprint out of the window, darting up to find her quivering at the front counter, fully crying. I radiated calm at her and said, “Just point.”

I knew it was Rick. Our destinies were intertwined and we had always been pulled toward the inexorable battle that was drawing nigh.

Her hand raised to point to our sandwich board sign at the front of the store. So Rick had the metaphorical high ground. There was no quick easy strike on the slanted signs surface.

I armed myself and marched into battle, my knuckles white on my chosen weapon. I would do this, because I must. Because there was no one else. And because I wanted to close and go home.

I saw Rick immediately and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen a bigger spider since. Outside of a tarantula, he was truly the most massive spider I’ve ever beheld outside a zoo enclosure or terrarium.

We regarded each other. Rick launched off the sign toward me and I stomped my foot reflexively, making him pause in his charge. Then I raised my weapon. Anything else, I believe Rick could have evaded. He’d bested most of the store thus far. But I had chosen chemical warfare.

I doused the shit out of that spider with cleaning spray, stunning him with a barrage of chemicals. While he froze, choking on the unexpected deluge, I dropped a paper towel over him. My foot came down.

I felt his exoskeleton crunch and I can feel it still to this day. The shattering was as of bones and I truly mourned that we had been forced into senseless war. If only he has cleaved tighter to the shadows. If only he’d crawled willing into a cup for relocation. I released a full body shudder of horror, fear, and adrenaline as I stepped back.

I took several quivering breaths. I donned a veneer of calm and tidied the battlefield of it’s corpse then went to reassure my coworker that all was well, while internally I still shook.

You fought well, Rick. I hope you sired many more monstrous children to haunt retail workers in the years to come. Rest in valor, you monster.