What interesting creatures live in your garden?

[sumi]

Thank you, Smart Red. We're sad about the little thing, but I guess it wasn't meant to live. We tried...

LOL no, DH's hands are not small. We grow really BIG spiders here. I've seen some the size of an average mouse, without the legs and if you have the misfortune of one running up your arm, straight at your face, they seem even bigger. We get a lot of these here, where are our farm is: Images for red roman spider

On a prettier note, DS found this in the garden today:

 

[ninnymary]

So sad about your little Big Bird. But on the other hand, I just love that turtle! Wish I had one of those.

Mary

 

[bobm]

At our ranch in C. Cal. at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mts. , we have black tarantulas the size of Red's open palm. ( hint, hint for your ahem, neighbor) . During the mating season ( this is the only time that any of them are seen ), the boy tarantulas go looking for girl tarantulas who are waiting in their burrows to play house with. MANY of the boy tarantulas end up as black greace spots on the foothill roads. I have seen quite a few boy tarantulas on the road in front of our ranch ,( I have never seen a girl tarantula or her abode ) but we never had one come into the house or garage or barn. They are quite harmless to humans !

 

[Smart Red]

Okay, I'll stick to my mild mannered mid-west garden spiders.

 

[sumi]

I was trying to find a photo I saw of one of those monsters spiders they get in Iraq. **Do NOT google images for spiders in Iraq if you are squeamish!** And I didn't find the pic I was looking for, but.... I found an incredible butterfly:

http://amazingbeautifulworld.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/qBCLE5H1.jpg

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Actually, that's a moth (though a day flying one). A lot of the members of the Saturniidae(a family that incudes the giant silkmoths and the Emperor moths) are extremely colorful day fliers. Here in the US, common examples would be the Luna Moth (seem four or five of those and in one case had to rescue one from inside the high school.) and the Polymetheus (actually raised one of those from a cocoon). A quick and dirty way to tell it's a moth is the antennae, butterfly antennae are smooth with a club on the end, moth antennae (like those on this) are feather like.

 

[sumi]

Oops Thanks for correcting me!

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

The biggest spiders I've ever seen are Golden Orbweavers. I always end up with dozens of them in my corn patch during late summer - fall. A surprise, but a nice one considering the large GM cornfields nearby. I left the stalks that had orbweaver webs alone.

 

[sumi]

Those things scare me lol

 

[sumi]

Sticking with the creepy crawly theme: