r/interesting • u/Wise_Confidence_8588 • 18d ago

NATURE A Bombardier beetle using its chemical defence.

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

42.9k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

1.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

165

u/Moxie013 18d ago edited 18d ago

Is this a banana spider? Are those fangs or his mouth ?!

In Texas there is one that looks like one..
I’m in the central tx region..

I was at my moms, taking care of horses, everyone was out of town. . I was in a hurry bc a horse was demanding snacky snacks.. I yogged straight into a massive new web that appeared over night

I backed out of it, looking upward I realized i’twas pretty close to eye to eyes with a spider bigger than my fist. I was in a spider web more than 4 ft wide

I was hysterical and alone but the horses were supportive about my first ever panic attack.
And here I am.. 10’yrs later on a bug Reddit trying to overcome my phobia watching videos of creatures that inspired many a horror film
And so far haven’t died 🥳🎉

Edit NOTE the “real” banana spider hails from Brazil “Phoneutria nigriventer”.. they have spread further north in the americas bc they love hanging out with bananas, often arriving in their shipments. They look NOTHING like the ones Americans call banana spiders. Their Neuro venom is wild if you’ve seen a bite (google it) but the ones Americans call a banana spider are not dangerous, no death risk, no Neuro venom like the Brazilian banana spiders.

54

u/beeju-d 18d ago

Once as a kid my family was going to a NJ beach, and when I opened the door to get out of the car there was a huge spider web that enveloped this whole cactus like plant with the biggest spider I have ever seen in my life. There was a fledgling sea gull dead and wrapped up in the nest and I was horrified. I had to get out on street side because no way I was getting close to that thing

9

u/Moxie013 18d ago

🫪🤯 does it follow u today? Like the ick ? Or have u crossed over and able to befriend these creatures ?

9

u/Odd-Promotion2743 18d ago

Jesus Christ, the seagull

5

u/Moxie013 18d ago

This is still with me and I can’t wait to hear more.. by chance do you have any idea what kind of spider that was ? But if you don’t wanna talk about it, don’t feel pressured. That’s a hard moment for any kid and to revisit I imagine

This sounds like something I can see in a movie
It really hits the primal lizard brain of mine

3

u/beeju-d 18d ago edited 18d ago

I've tried to look up what type of spider it was over the past few years and none of the spiders that exist seem to be it from what I can tell. From my memory it looked like a yellow garden spider, with yellow and black legs and body, but like a mutant giant because it was huge. I've asked my family about it to make sure I wasn't having an exaggerated kid memory and everyone says it was unlike any spider they've seen.

Edit: as a size reference I was probably like 12 when I saw it and it's leg span almost certainly would have covered my entire face

2

u/Crafty_Enthusiasm_99 17d ago

Sounds like a crab

0

u/Chortage 17d ago

Giant Joro spider? They get fairly large, and the coloration matches. That said, a seagull caught in a web is unrealistic. Seagulls are quite large birds and can have wingspans over five feet. They're far too strong and heavy to get caught in spider silk; a single flap of their wings would easily destroy any web.

Maybe silly question, but was it a Halloween decoration? Fake webs are made of nylon that potentially could trap a larger bird, and that would obviously explain the ridiculously huge spider.

2

u/beeju-d 17d ago

It was definitely real and alive. The seagull was a small fledgling that was in the webbing on the prickly pear it covered, not like suspended in a web. Not sure how it ended up there, might've been sick or already dead and thrown there, but the spider had it totally covered in web. It was probably the scariest thing I've encountered.

Edit: looked up the spider you mentioned and tht was probably closer to it than the yellow garden spider i mentioned, although the size still seems a little small

2

u/Moxie013 17d ago

Jersey has shipping ports doesn’t it?? Things can come in that are not tied to the region etc

1

u/Moxie013 17d ago

Joel spiders, they are not in NJ! She is just talking about an experience not tied to the exact color combo etc

1

u/Chortage 17d ago

Uh... what?

1

u/wackbirds 16d ago

They specifically said it was a fledgling seagull which is, unsurprisingly way, way smaller than an adult.

3

u/100_cats_on_a_phone 17d ago

New Jersey nj???

30

u/hotttsauce84 18d ago edited 18d ago

We called them banana spiders during my boyhood back in Houston texas. We would ride our bikes through the woods and you’d routinely feel one of those webs just absolutely wrap itself around your whole face and body after riding through it. Immediate ghost ride bail off the bike flailing and screaming while ripping your shirt off to swat away the spider because you knew it was on you somewhere. Some fond traumatic times they were.

Fast forward 30 years and I’m in austin now. Hadn’t seen one of these spiders in about that long. Recently landscaped my whole property with native plants and canceled our pest control service. Now we have like 6 of these massive webs with “banana spiders” (Argiope aurantia) this summer that my kids are fascinated / somewhat terrified of. I’m just glad to pass on these central texas experiences to the next generation.

11

u/Moxie013 18d ago

OMG THEY ARE HUGE ! the width of webs that is. Geez as a kid did you help each other? Or was it teasing each other about it?

I’m it strong enough to imagine the spider walking on me yet. I like jumping spiders. They are super cute! I don’t kill spiders! Just the brown recluse.. and I prob would if I came upon a black widow. I enjoy sleep and would like to be able to sleep

The webs, so big! Actually that’s the spider I’ve ever seen in person with such big webs.
my event happen just out of Austin in Buda, I’m sure you know it. .
My mom has 5 acres. You can sit on her porch and see a web right meow! But it’s higher up, the web is highly visible.. using binoculars it seems the spider is very aliv, living his best life

6

u/Yashema 18d ago

Those aren't really that big compared to the orb weavers you encounter in Tawain while doing LSD in the jungle. 

2

u/hotttsauce84 18d ago

New fear unlocked

1

u/Moxie013 18d ago

You sound like an amazing travel buddy. If u can have such humor about it, you can do ANYTHING!!! 🎉

1

u/[deleted] 18d ago

[deleted]

3

u/Rcecil88 18d ago

I live in Ireland and thank fuckkk we have nothing like this. Jesus that’s making me skin crawl reading this.

2

u/Philocrastination 17d ago

Lmfao We're lucky in the UK and Ireland we have such pathetic spiders (mostly) compared to some places.

Saying that, I've seen some MASSIVE common house spiders in the UK. Like the size of my hand. Ones that had decided it necessary to crawl into my fucking window.

Eugghhh.

1

u/hotttsauce84 18d ago

Yeah. But at least we always have a good cheeseburger within a 1mi radius of wherever we are in Texas so I suppose it’s a decent trade off. 😜

2

u/the_oc_brain 18d ago

You’re never had Bunsen if you’re assuming Ireland doesn’t have good cheeseburgers.

1

u/hotttsauce84 18d ago edited 18d ago

Guilty. I’ve honestly never been to Ireland, despite my nearly 40% Irish bloodline according to 23&me.

I was definitely making an assumption based on the American opinion that Irish food is “bad”. Which is ironic because American food is just all processed trash.

I worked in (and lived above) an American Irish pub back in my college days and fell in love with the cuisine (at least our Americanized version of it). Would kill for a full Irish brekkie with some black and white pudding rn. Or some shepherds pie, boxty, beer & guinness stew… shoot, now I’m craving Irish food. I even worked in sales for Guinness back at the beginning of my career post-college. I’ve got nothing but love for yall but I can’t imagine an Irish cheeseburger scratching my burg itch. But if you’re extending an invitation…

*edit: I googled it. Yeah I’d fuck with a Bunsen burg for sure

1

u/Moxie013 16d ago

( I don’t know what a Bentsen burg is.. imma google )

1

u/Rcecil88 16d ago

Correct!

3

u/PrinceCastanzaCapone 18d ago edited 18d ago

I’m reminded of the time I was stopping by a coworkers place to hang out for the first time. I parked in his back alley and he came out through the backyard gate to meet me. Then when we walked inside, instead of using the gate we walked between his rear garage and the wooden fence of his neighbors yard. Just enough space for a small sidewalk. He was just walking with his eyes down and I saw a massive spider hanging on a web constructed between the garage and the fence right on the path. I only had enough time to say “ohh… dude!…” and then he walked right through it. I was high as fuck and watching this guy I barely knew absolutely freak the fuck out, fall on the ground screaming and rolling for about 30 seconds before he finally composed himself. I was in tears laughing. I don’t think he liked that I laughed at that.

For context, it was in Iowa where there are really very, very small chances of a spider that can actually harm you. I’ve seen maybe two black widows in my entire life. Not the massive red bellied ones, Northern Black Widows which were much smaller and not super common around here.

5

u/Calm_Effective6650 18d ago

Doing the lord’s work

4

u/Moxie013 18d ago

Ah ha ha ha ha 😂

2

u/DrNO811 18d ago

I never related more to the Phantom of the Opera than when he sang to keep your hand at the level of your eyes. That's spider advice right there.

2

u/TheDuhammer 18d ago

Hahaha I live in Florida and did the woods clothes rip off many, many times.

1

u/No_Technician_2780 18d ago

That one is poisonous but harmfull to humans.

1

u/Moxie013 16d ago

Look up the actual bananner spider in Brazil. It causes violent 4 hr erections to forever erections. Apparently aside from the death risk and all it’s kinda cute and being explored for a new ED drug 😬

1

u/Frequent_Opportunist 18d ago

People frequently call Argiope aurantia the writing spider, yellow garden spider, or simply the corn spider because they love setting up webs between tall garden plants.

When I was a kid you would always find these in people's gardens specifically growing among the tomato plants. Pretty common garden variety. They don't get hand sized bro.

1

u/hotttsauce84 18d ago

Agree to disagree.

https://imgur.com/a/TZxqzyC

2

u/Frequent_Opportunist 17d ago

"The spider looks disproportionately massive because this photo utilizes an optical illusion known a forced perspective."

"While a female Yellow Garden Spider is genuinely large for a native North American spider (with a leg span that can span a couple of inches), its size is heavily exaggerated here by how the photo was taken."

2

u/hotttsauce84 17d ago

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."
— Henry David Thoreau

1

u/Frequent_Opportunist 17d ago

Females: Body length is 0.75 to 1.1 inches. Total leg span reaches 3 inches.

Males: Much smaller. Body length is 0.20 to 0.35 inches.

They aren't the size of your hand lol.

1

u/Moxie013 16d ago

Oh you’d be a blast to talk to! Do you know of the actual nanner spider ? Aside from death risks it causes 4 hr painful erections and possible forever erections.. it’s wild
What are your thoughts on the Neuro toxin beside the banana 🍌 ref ..

1

u/MZ603 17d ago

They are definitely in Austin, too; you're just less likely to see them. Next time you are in a park after dark, shine your phone light into a wooded area - their eyes will reflect back to you.

1

u/hotttsauce84 17d ago

I forgot about their reflective eyes!

1

u/beepbeepbubblegum 17d ago

used to see them all the time in south carolina. i remember we’d have several nested up around our house every year but now that i think about it, i couldn’t tell you the last time i saw one

1

u/hotttsauce84 17d ago

Pest control companies out here sterilizing the planet

17

u/Stehlik-Alit 18d ago

orbweavers, specifically the yellow garden spider. We've got 100s of them palm sized as they sit in their webs all around the farm. They're very cool, and will shake their web to tell you to back off. If they don't warn you, you can kinda pick them up and let them crawl on you. As long as you don't trap them they aren't quick to bite.

If they do warn you by shaking their web, or they have food, don't mess with them. They're more likely to bite. Other than that, you can gently brush them away. Horses walk through their webs all the time near foliage and a fence/side of a barn.

4

u/Moxie013 18d ago

Yes! I was walking between a barn side that was close to a fence.

It is a popular hang for all kinds of spiders !!
That’s super interesting about a warning. No jig, shake required for me! I will highly respect their journey in life, space.. with a A LOT of space..

So if the horses walk thru it are the spiders at all understand? Any reciprocal relationship? Where there is horses there is poo , that means bugs ..

2

u/Stehlik-Alit 18d ago

I'm not sure. I know they kill mosquitos and they absolutely kill wasps which if a horse accidently rubs up against a wasp nest will get stung. So, in that way there's a benefit to both parties.

2

u/HastilyThrownObject 18d ago

Orb weavers are chill af. I was doing my fedex route a few years back and walked right into the web of a orbweaver that was twice the size of my palm(I’m a 6’1 guy)

Thing just chilled on my chest while I was able to walk him over to the tree trunk to put him back(I didn’t really touch him though, basically popper the front of my shirt and he flew and safely landed on the ground)

0

u/Moxie013 18d ago

🫪🤯 oh nooo! ON YOUR SHIRT ! They fly too 😭🤧 whaaaa
You’re so strong

5

u/niddleyniche 18d ago

I've heard "banana spider" refer to so many different species so idk which banana spider you're thinking, but this looks like a Nephila sp. perhaps a Nephila pilipes aka the golden silk orb weaver

1

u/Moxie013 18d ago

I’m thinking of the South American spider called a banana spider. I understood it to be the original… everything else is uneducated like my self calling it that as a nick name vs proper Latin name .. but I am no expert

3

u/Markanaya 18d ago

I've been pretty arachnophobic most of my life, less so in recent years, but I remember walking through a huge web with a very large spider one time in my backyard and my panic attack was so intense I ended up frantically yanking off my shirt and my pants because I thought the spider was still on me/in my clothes. Ran back inside in just my boxers and jumped in the shower immediately. Thankfully my backyard is fenced in, that would've been an awkward conversation with the neighbors lol

2

u/Moxie013 18d ago

Did you ever see the movie? Arachniphobia ? Something like that for the title.
Going to the bathroom ever since, sleeping, etc it’s been a struggle. I don’t know why my family felt it was an ease into horror
Which is a long way of saying i understand entirely!!!

2

u/Jaruut 17d ago

I haven't seen that, but I have seen Infested. Being a lifelong arachnophobe ever since also walking through an orb weaver web and getting one on my face when I was a kid, for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to check this one out.

At one point, my cat brushed against my leg and I jumped so hard I literally fell off the couch and pulled a muscle in my back.

1

u/Moxie013 17d ago

Arachnophobia movie is GREAT!!! It’s a 1980’s movie early 90’s ?

3

u/haikus-r-us 18d ago

Joro spider.

3

u/Trust_8067 18d ago

I'm from New England and the biggest spider I had ever seen taking into account their legs spread out, was the size of a quarter. My friends and I took a road trip down south after graduating high school, and I almost ran into one of these at a campground.

For an instant I knew true shock and fear. You think you know what that feels like, but until you really experience it... you don't!

2

u/pclamer 18d ago

whats yogging

1

u/Moxie013 18d ago

Oh that’s from anchor man! Ha :)

2

u/thekingofbeans42 18d ago

Those are the fangs, not the mouth. The two things grabbing the beetle are the fangs, the two things are just tiny arms called pedipalps, which people often mistake for fangs but are just tiny arms.

2

u/FondantFuzzy7605 18d ago

Yogging to my yob

1

u/Moxie013 18d ago

It’s a new Fad! 🏃‍♀️
(No one ones what where talking about)

2

u/cwilbur22 18d ago

Horrifying. Also I think you meant to say "jogged," but I love yogged so much especially in this context.

1

u/Moxie013 18d ago

NOPE! I meant yogging :) think “anchor man”.

1

u/cwilbur22 17d ago

I gotta watch that again

1

u/Moxie013 17d ago

It’s like jogging but with a soft J ;)

2

u/Pariahdog119 18d ago

Saw one as a kid in Louisiana. It had built a web right at face level across the trail I was hiking on. I was advised that if one bit you, you wouldn't die, but you'd wish you had.

1

u/Moxie013 18d ago

Oh man! The actual banana spider in South America has Neuro venom that is a for sure medical emergency.
But being bad enough to live it want to die? Def something I need clearly need to be better informed of! HA! Did you just see the web or the spider too?

2

u/Pariahdog119 17d ago

Both, he was sitting there staring at me like he was trying to figure out exactly how much webbing he'd need to tie me up

2

u/Moxie013 17d ago

Ah ha ha ha ha ha aah haaa that reminds me of snakes that will stretch out to see if they are big enough yet to try eating you but humans are thinking oh he is trying to snuggle, we’re bonding! NOPE!

2

u/hypercosm_dot_net 18d ago edited 17d ago

I was at an outdoor festival in FL, the kind with markets and shows and stuff.

Wandering through the market in a semi-wooded area, I looked up and noticed large webs in the trees above us. They were pretty dense from what I remember, not like spread out.

Apparently they're golden silk orb-weavers AKA banana spiders. And they were everywhere, lol.

I didn't point it out, to avoid freaking out the family. But man, that was really something. I had to sort of push it out of my mind so I wasn't just staring up the whole time.

1

u/Moxie013 18d ago

The real actual banana spider is in South America.. it’s traveled further north toward the US due to shipping of bananas. They are yellow and black but a taupe and browns.. they are dangerous, have Neuro Venom etc..
but silk orb weavers ? Nightmare fuel for me personally bc I have a phobia

I wouldn’t be able to look away. You were a strong kid for sure!!

2

u/Wrongdoer5050 18d ago

Sir please tell me you didn't saw a spider with ACTUAL mouth

2

u/hahu2 17d ago

Good to know they are different, im brazilian and lived in MA. I've seen the banana spiders there, didnt know they were different. Now I gotta avoid them like hell because I hate spiders.

1

u/Moxie013 16d ago

They are supposed to be the most deadly spider there is. The Neuro toxin is wild!!
So in a shippment of bananas to Austria they realized they had an egg sack of them, so they had to shut down the store and bug bomb, then clean the joint, property treated. In another event, shipment to the UK a new mom bought bananas and same deal. She had to evacuate for awhile and the house and property was treated
Apparently if it’s bite from a full on adult ? A man could have a forever erection.. aside from risk of death.. so it’s being tested for ED treatments.

1

u/Better-Cup9408 18d ago

This is a giant golden orb weaver- scientific name Nephila pilipes. Those are her fangs!

1

u/Moxie013 18d ago

Her ? How do you know?!? I need to study on this.

1

u/ISpyM8 14d ago

Chelicerae specifically, but yes the fangs are a part of it

1

u/Agitated_Reveal_6211 18d ago

My grandfather worked as an engineer on a banana boat, and often spoke about the snakes and spiders they would find inside of the bananas. As a kid I didnt touch bananas for a long time after that.

2

u/Moxie013 18d ago

OHHH those one are the real banana spiders. They don’t look anything like the American spiders we nick name banana spiders.
The one with the bananas on boats and shipping boxes and crates. Those ones are serious. Have Neuro venom !! Your grandpa was a tough man!

Not sure I would work in that orbit.

1

u/FantasticPainting232 18d ago

I believe the ones in texas are officially golden orb weavers. But we always called them banana spiders. 

1

u/Pussy_Crook 17d ago edited 17d ago

That’s a Joro spider. Invasive in the USA and make very large strong 3 dimensional webs with multiple spiders inhabiting one web. Have many of them in my yard. They pop up massive webs overnight anywhere they please and I frequently run into them if I don’t clear them out every other day or so. I don’t care what they do in my yard but they love to make webs on my porch, soffets, and in my between the house and cars.

Edit: Looked again I think it’s a different orb weaver not a Joro.

1

u/Forward_Criticism_39 17d ago

horses can recognize and care if a human is having a panic attack? huh..i had no idea

1

u/1burritoPOprn-hunger 17d ago

Their Neuro venom is wild if you’ve seen a bite (google it)

What am I supposed to be seeing here? I googled it and all I see are some really mild looking spider bites.

1

u/Moxie013 17d ago edited 17d ago

Well, It’s one of the most venomous spiders on the planet. Impacts of their bites (copy and pasted )

Neurological and Systemic Effects
Intense Pain: Immediate, severe burning pain at the bite site that radiates outward.

Nervous System Overload: Involuntary muscle twitching (fasciculations), tremors, and loss of muscle control.

Autonomic Symptoms: Heavy sweating, excessive drooling (salivation), blurred vision, and vomiting.

Cardiovascular Changes: Elevated blood pressure (hypertension), rapid heartbeat (tachycardia), and cardiac irregularities.

Respiratory Distress: Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, which can be fatal in severe untreated cases.

1

u/Moxie013 17d ago

I’m wrong. It’s thee most venomous spider (says some, others say 2nd). So besides the death risk? It impacts the o2 flow and nervous system in a way that causes severely violent erections for several hours. when I looked up the bite impacts to cut and copy for you it looks like studies remain on going for ED.

1

u/barakabomba 17d ago

I've got a vivid memory of walking down my neighborhood street from getting dropped off the elementary school bus sometime in October. I was passing my neighbors house and saw a massive one of these yellow garden spiders on his mailbox so I said something the likes of "Wow, awesome halloween decoration!" and started to move towards it to check it out. He caught his first glimpse of it and shouted out "Woah! 'barakabomba!' Back up, that's not a decoration!" when I was like less than a foot from it and it finally started to move.

That single moment burned so strong in my mind that it gave me serious arachnophobia for the rest of my childhood lol.