A Spider In My House
A spider has taken up residence in my apartment and hasn't even offered to pay rent.
She made her appearance one night last week, racing across the wall behind my computer and into the adjoining bathroom with the speed and nimbleness that rivaled the spiders from the Harry Potter movies. Yet unlike them she disappeared into where ever creatures of the night might lurk.
I climbed into bed that night instructing Hazel that she had a job to do, she was to eat the arachnid if it happened to decide to climb into the warm covers with me. She sleepily blinked at me as if to say "I am not touching that thing" and yawned as she curled up and feel easily asleep, while I fretted the late night hours away.
Now I am not a person who is easily shaken by creepy crawlies.... Yes, yes... for those of you who know me June bugs don't count! But this spider rattled my usual nerves of steel in the face of hairy legs.
I know spiders. I know the little ones that like to hang in the corner of the room at the ceiling, peacefully living out their existence, eating the small mosquitoes and gnats and the occasional fly that happens into their miniscule webs. I know the big yellow and black garden spiders that build beautiful webs on the edges of fields. Works of beauty and simplicity that sparkle, like they are bedecked with jewels, in the early morning dew. They sit quietly, patiently, never moving except when hapless insects disturb their weave. I know orb spiders that spin at night and dismantle their webs in the morning light, jumping spiders with their black and white legs, wolf spiders with their ferocious attitude, and even tarantulas that move slowly and with purpose. I know spiders, and have never been nonplussed by them. But this one is different.
I knew ahead of time, of the creatures that inhabit my desert home, both poisonous and non. The scorpions, snakes, cactus, plants, and some of the spiders. But this invader into the peace of my home was new to me. Her long legs and body have a diameter of at least 3 inches, slightly hairy, tan in appearance with darker tips at her feet. She moved with a speed that I have not seen in the spiders I have known and shared my space with. Scuttling across the wall in the blink of an eye like a tan shooting star, only appearing long enough to make me jump back from the computer with a (and I admit embarrassing) scream of fright. Who is this interloper, this rapscallion who has taken her leave in the confines of my room?
I saw her two days later as I was hurriedly getting ready for work, poised at the junction of the ceiling and wall of my bedroom. She stopped me in my tracks. The audaciousness of her appearance, her brash boldness stealing my concentration for a moment and bringing forth a cursing as I didn't have time to capture her and evict her from the premisses. When I came back home that afternoon, she was gone into hiding once more. I had to know who this intruder was, so looked up on the web, spiders in Arizona. Believe me when I tell you, you do not want to know about all the spiders that reside in this state. Trust me....
It turns out that my new roommate is a Giant Crab Spider, also know as the Olios giganteus in arachnid circles. This is the info I found out about them from the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum web site:
Family: Hetropodidae (Sparassidae)
Other common names: huntsman
Spanish name: cazadora del desierto
Description
One of the largest in this area, this spider has a leg span of 2 to 2¼ inches (50 to 64 mm). It is medium to light brown. It often extends its legs at right angles to its body. It can move sideways rapidly, hence the name “crab” spider. Despite its large size, it is capable of climbing fairly smooth vertical surfaces and is often seen high on walls or even ceilings of dwellings. This is one easy way to distinguish it from the wolf spider, a non-climber.
Distribution and Habitat
Though it belongs to a group of spiders which is mostly tropical, the giant crab spider is found throughout Arizona and Sonora, in a variety of habitats, such as in dead saguaros, under rocks, and in dwellings.
Ecology
This is a hunting spider that wanders in search of insect prey, then relies on speed to catch it. During the day it hides, its flattened body perfectly designed for fitting into narrow cracks or fissures. At night it comes out to hunt. Reportedly, its bite is painful, though it is not dangerous to humans. These spiders generally settle into one place only at egg-laying time. Females produce large egg bags that they hide in and guard.
Great! Now I have a hunting spider in my apartment, one that can hide in small tight spaces!
So now what do I do? I wonder.... how the heck did such a big spider get into my apartment unnoticed in the first place? Why did she choose my home over the eight other apartments that surround mine? What is she eating? (as there are no juicy bugs in my apartment that I have seen). But most of all I wonder what she is thinking, hanging on my ceiling, stalking around my walls, watching me while I sleep.....
"There you are my pretty, sleeping so peacefully, so unaware of my might and power. I will be Queen! and you are my rise to the throne. Yes, sleep...sleep...while I creep down the wall towards you, to sink my fangs into your arm, right there... by the wrist.. your blood pulses. I can feel its beat through the hairs on my legs. Warm, inviting, waiting to rush my venom to your heart... slowing it, keeping you alive... yet not. A prize beyond imagining! I will wrap you in my threads, hang you in the darkness..food for my people for hundreds of years to come! Queen they will call me! Deliverer! Goddess! My children will feed, and their children will feed, and their children will feed... on down the line until the only thing that is remembered is my name......."
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