"Why do you like spiders so much?"
    I get asked that question a lot. So -- honestly -- how could I love a creature so often despised and feared by others? Because they're so fascinating and beautiful, that's why.
    As a child, I remember flinching at the sight of a huge yellow garden spider hanging upside down on her orb web at my great-aunt's home in Wimberley, Texas. She just looked so SCARY. When I grew a little older, though, I befriended small jumping spiders that would live in our mailbox on the street. Now and then, one would appear in my bedroom. With its big eyes, it'd watch me walk around the room with rapt attention. I must confess that I'd even talk to my eight-legged friends. Sometimes I named them, too.
    My interest in spiders continued in adulthood. A few years ago, I decided -- since I enjoyed spiders so much -- I'd read and learn all I could about them. In the time since, I've accumulated an extensive spider reference library of books. In my spare time, I photograph them. As a result of my spider studies, I've learned enough to consider myself a spider naturalist. Just ask, and I'll tell you all about them!
    And oh, yes, I keep and raise spiders of different species, right here at my desk. They make wonderful companions. Honest!

    To read more about spiders, see my article, "The Myth-conceptions About Spiders."

My tarantula children:

   These are two of three pinktoed tarantula spiderlings I raised from penny-sized spiderlings, starting in October 1999. Avicularia aviculariais an arboreal (tree dwelling) species that's native to South America. Tarantulas are slow growing and long lived. Sadly, Yogi did not survive his/her eighth month and died in August 2001. Lucky and C.B. -- both males -- molted a total of 11 times, then died respectively in May and August 2002. I miss them.
   I also try to keep live brown recluse specimens to show people when I give spider presentations.

      Yogi, July 2000 (top side)                Yogi, July 2000 (bottom side)                             Lucky,  April 2001
 
 
 
 

                                                                                 Lucky, January 2002
 
 

Some spider trivia:

* Female tarantulas have been known to live in captivity for more than 25 years.

* A thread of spider silk can be three times stronger than a thread of steel the same size.

* Jumping spiders have been found as high as 22,000 feet on Mount Everest, the highest elevation at which any animal has ever been discovered.

* Until the end of the 1700s, spiders were considered to be wingless insects.

* An orb web, shaped like a spoked bicycle wheel, can contain 20 yards of silk.

Spider reference books:

A Field Guide to Spiders and Scorpions of Texas, John A. Jackman (Gulf Publishing Co.)
    A great reference guide for us Texans.
Spiders and Their Kin, Herbert W. Levi (Guide Press).
    Good basic guide for children and adults.
The Biology of Spiders, Rainer F. Foelix (Oxford University Press).
    Considered to be the textbook on spiders. Very advanced reading.
How to Know the Spiders, B.J. Kaston (WCB McGraw-Hill).
     Use this book for keying out spiders.
The Spider, John Crompton (Nick Lyons Books).
    A wonderful read on spiders.
Spiders of the World, Rod and Ken Preston-Mafham (Blandford).
Identifying Spiders, Rod and Ken Preston-Mafham (Chartwell Books).
The Book of the Spider, Paul Hillyard (Random House).
The Common Spiders of the United States, James H. Emerton (Dover).
The Tarantula Keeper's Guide, Stanley A. Schultz and Marguerite J. Schultz (Barron's).
    The best guide, I think, on keeping tarantulas and other spiders, too.