My secret (or not-so-secret now!) shame is that I'm pretty arachnophobic. I'm fascinated and repulsed at the same time. And I'm working on it, because I don't want to pass such a silly, irrational fear on to my little girls. But I have to say that this picture makes me want to run around screaming.

I read a fascinating article in the March 5, 2007, issue of the New Yorker ("Spider Woman: Hunting venomous species in the basements of Los Angeles") about a researcher who collects spider venom in the hopes of developing new medicines from them. The article is full of jaw-dropping facts, but here's my favorite one:

"One Dutch researcher estimates that there are some five trillion spiders in the Netherlands alone, each of which consumes about a tenth of a gram of meat a day. Were their victims people instead of insects, they would need only three days to eat all sixteen and a half million Dutchmen."

I think that speaks volumes about the importance of spiders in the ecosystem--think about how many insects they're consuming, and what the world would be like without them.

Of course, there are no spiders like this chicken-eating one in the Netherlands. Wonder how much these guys need to eat each day?

oh my gosh spiders are scary

even tho spiders scar me they fascinate me more an i got a tarantula and now i love dem!!! they are incredible to watch...well if you take the time to watch them and i think it jus amazing how important they are and yet so many people are afraid of them. can u imagine wat the world would be like without them??

what is a chicken eating spider?