Not killing eveything that crawls and rescuing harmless spiders

Date: Thu, 05 May 2011 13:12:29 -0400
From: “Lawrence F. London, Jr.”
Subject: Re.: Not killing eveything that crawls | Rescuing harmless spiders
that appear in inconvenient places.

On 5/5/2011 7:59 AM, Chatham Chatlist wrote:

> Date: Wed, 4 May 2011 15:12:31 -0400 (GMT-04:00)
> From: lingam32443
> Subject: Not killing eveything at crawls
>
> I was deeply touched by the article detailing how to catch a spider and
> transporting it outside without killing. As sure as you are reading
> this, spiders and all the other little creepy crawlers help make up this
> complex world of ours. Destroy them, you are destroying your world. It
> is happening with pollinating bees that are disappearing, fish kills,
> bird kills and any number of similar die-offs. I know that spider bites
> can be dangerous and painful- but I in my 42 years, can only remember a
> couple of spider bites.

Another gem from the ghost of the brave Nabucco (Verdi would be proud). Kudos for the reminder to walk softly and do no harm when it is safe to do so. Some house spiders are useful to control unwanted bugs if left to do their job.

> Ticks are another thing altogether. We have many. They find us too
> easily. They should be killed, if only to keep their numbers in check.

Ticks, copperhead snakes, black widow spiders, brown recluse spiders and certain extremely aggressive ground-nesting yellowjackets with stings that can last a week.

> Anyone found one of the seven year locust shells this year? Now there is
> something fascinating. It is said that the bug or larvae has lived
> underground for seven years. It emerges, crawls out of its old “shell”
> and goes on to a new life. The shells are almost like crusty thin
> transparent plastic.

I just found one along the northern edge of my field during a plant inventory walkabout. Found some wild oxalis and blue eyed grass near my NE pond. Here are pix I took of the locust. I think it just shed its crysalis.

http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech/venaurafarm/insects/
Index of /ecolandtech/venaurafarm/insects

> Wonderful “small” world we live in- right here in Chatham

Orange too and the ecological landscapes vary tremendously within this central Piedmont region.

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I wonder if these red-eyed locusts are the ones that create such a loud prolonged chorus for weeks during summer? We had these up here not too many years ago.

LL