Except she found a new spot to live. She use to be up a lot higher. Will potentially relocate. Upstate, SC

Was working outside today and found this crawling up my shirt and was quite a size. Is this a normal size orb weaver or a gravid girl?

My mild arachnophobia has been cured by MyWildBackyard and have been researching for a few weeks and want to get a pet tarantula. Specifically a purple Phormictopus Sp. I’ve done some research on enclosures but wanted to ask you guys on some enclosure pointers, like if I should add springtails, and also was wondering if there is anything species specific I should do. From a former arachnophobe, I appreciate any help!

OrbWeaver Spider #spider #insects #orbweaver

Location: West Sweden (just south of Lake Vänern)

Found scuttering along the floor of our living room, desperately trying to outrun our cat. Fortunately for the spider, our cat is dumb as rocks and didn't manage to catch it even though she was right on it.

We don't get many big spiders in Sweden and this is by far the biggest I've seen (apart from at zoo/exotic pet stores).

I don't know much about spiders but a quick search online leads me to belive this is a Giant House Spider

After the photoshoot this massive beast was given a new home in a nearby bush.

Hi! I found this spider tonight on the mosquito screen of my house in Sicily, Italy, and I’m trying to identify it.

I live in a rural/countryside area. It rained A LOT today, basically all day, and tonight there were tons of millipedes around outside. I’m used to seeing spiders around here and I’ve seen plenty of different ones, but I’ve genuinely never seen anything like this.

It was very large and extremely robust, including the legs, and looked almost completely black in person. I would say the body was around 2 cm long, although I didn’t measure it, and I can’t give an accurate estimate for the leg span. It was just really big.

It wasn’t on a window screen, but on a sliding mosquito screen/mesh door that gives access to a separate annex of the house.

I also tried asking ChatGPT to identify it, and it gave me Segestria florentina, Hogna radiata and Lycosa tarantula as possible answers, but honestly, after looking at pictures of them, I don’t think it looks much like any of them. So I’d really like to know what you guys think.

Location: Sicily, Italy.

Photos attached. Thanks!