Chilean tarantulas menace Bolton
The RSPCA has warned the good burghers of Bolton to keep a sharp eye out for Chilean Rose tarantulas after a couple of the eight-legged critters were spotted in local gardens. The organisation reckons the two may be from a larger batch of arachnid escapees and, if the Telegraph's headline is to be believed, it could be just a …
I used to be in the boy scouts, so I know what a Chilean Rose tarantula looks like.
Since when do boyscouts learn about foreign spiders?
I thought you just tied knots, set up tents and helped old women across the road.
Is there a badge for knowing your spiders?
I got a badge for knowing my spiders and snakes. Mind you, that was in Canada. Maybe UK scouting is more lax...
Sounds like a lot ot learn just for one badge.
WIth our nanny state in the UK we can expect a badge for each type of spider and snake whether we're wrong or right
You don't get last place here you get drinks all round ;-)
The last badge I remember getting involved learning to start a fire with a single match, a series of no less than five twenty-five kilometre hikes, getting a minimum of about 30 other badges that cover a large number of topics, something about survival camping for a weekend, about 250 hours of volunteer work and two recommendations from at leaders of two troupes you weren't part of for exemplary service.
By the time Post-secondary started to impinge upon my time enough that I couldn't devote the time to scouts, I was working on the next level of that badge which was roughly three times as difficult.
I don’t ever remember any badges being particularly easy to get. You wanted a badge for identifying spiders and snakes, you better be able to identify every one native to your area, and every known dangerous/poisonous one from all other areas of the world.
Some people might find it boring…I found it quite fun!
Drinks alla round just because.
Articles like this just beg for one of those stupid "I, for one, welcome our new giant hair-spitting Chilean tarantula overlords". I'm just glad I got to read the comments section before some idiot posted one...
I for one welcome our eight legged alien arachnid overlords.
Makes it even funnier that it came right after the post from the guy who doesn't like them!
<--- You should probably have put the mat out then.
I used to live near a big banana distribution centre* and big hairy spiders were not uncommon in the area. Probably still are. They get brought in hiding in the bunches of bananas.
*That's a big distribution centre for bananas, not a distribution centre for big bananas.
Their headline:
"Tarantulas on the Loose in Britain"
Sub-heading:
"Britain could be facing a tarantula invasion after a number of the spiders were discovered in gardens in some parts of the country, wildlife experts have warned"
Could they be any more alarmist or vague? In the body of the article they provide no more info than El Reg does so for "a number" read 2 and "some parts of the country" read Greater Manchester.
A classic case of ill-informed journalism spreading FUD
... 'spit hairs' that's not quite accurate, they can flick them from their abdomen using their legs - which is handy if you're close, such as something that may want to eat the spider, but they aren't going to sail through 5 feet of open air into the eyes like a Spitting Cobra.
But hey, media sensationalism is always fun.... any spare ones found, give us a call, ours just died :(
"... 'spit hairs' that's not quite accurate, they can flick them from their abdomen using their legs"
You're just splitting hairs.
googling the things, I have a funny feeling that if i found one of these in my garden, I wouldn't be getting close enough to worry about whether it's going to either spit, or flick, hairs at me.
Umm, no real danger of a sustained mass invasion then...
Besides, people keep these types of spiders as pets! As Scott has pointed out already.
I'd be more worried about the Redback invasion at Warton - at least those things can kill you (if you're unlucky)
Speaking as someone who is quite arachnaphobic, the "can't survive in the UK climate" causes me concern as we seem to be having rather a nice spell of warm weather.
I, for one, fear our new hair spitting arachnid overlords and will not be found anywhere near Manchester till they're gone.
N.B. For other arachnaphobes who managed to read this far, "Raid Ant and crawling insect" spray is quite effective against the 8 legged menaces.
Shameless put me off Manchester, so frankly the spiders are just icing on the cake
I've never understood arachnaphobia.
Yes, spiders have lots of eyes and legs, but they're 'armless..........
Bolton isn't part of Manchester. Not unless it's moved a few miles to the south east since I worked there.
So would a 20 MT thermonuclear explosion centred on Oldhams Estate in Sharples be considered an over-reaction?
Nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
(Who'll miss it anyway?)
It might not be an over-reaction, but it WILL make the spiders grow to the size of a school bus and web the town to the ground (giant spiders always web the town to the ground).
Oldhams Estate is rough as owt, it'd need eyes in the back of it's head to avoid being mugged.
"Hampson took the second beast - a female - to Bugworld in Liverpool."
Does that count as a day out, or a visit to a restaurant?
..coming over here, taking white British spiders' webs, getting Bugworld benefits as soon as they arrive, bringing dozens of their family over no doubt. what we're seeing here is the steady arachnification of Britain. in 20 years time we'll all be under spidia law
this would never have happened under the BNP. arachnimmigration. open your ocelli.
"open your ocelli"
ocellus: literally "little eye"
Is that on yer little head?
"*That's a big distribution centre for bananas, not a distribution centre for big bananas."
PMSL...
