"it’s always an advantage if an animal is highly charismatic"

March 7, 2019 8:08 PM

In case you missed the news in the latest journal of the British Tarantula Society, a rather lovely new spider with iridescent, electric-blue legs has been discovered. The burrow-dwelling spider [Birupes simoroxigorum] has reportedly been “feted by experts as one of the most beautiful spiders ever documented”, prompting the question: what are the other most beautiful spiders ever documented?
posted by Johnny Wallflower (14 comments total)

Omg
posted by turbid dahlia at 8:32 PM on March 7, 2019

The British Tarantula Society on MetaFilter previously and previouslier
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 8:51 PM on March 7, 2019 [1 favorite]

Yes, I previously made that post this week, but the angle was more on the biopiracy issues. (fwiw the main contending article is not subscriber-locked)
posted by cendawanita at 9:00 PM on March 7, 2019 [2 favorites]

I have a funny story, and I use to have a picture to back it up but it’s lost on MySpace somewhere. One time I was out camping near Strawberry, AZ, at a place where there is a natural hot spring. I had taken some LSD and went with my other tripping friend and our sober friend to the hot spring. I was losing my mind, and there were other people there all joking around, drinking and having fun. At this point in time I’m losing it, seeing all sorts of shit, attempting to hold conversations. Some of them came into the hot spring from the outside saying they found a tarantula. I shit you not, this thing was huge, with dark, glowing purple limbs. I about lost my mind, but had to stay chill around these complete strangers. They jokingly put it on their friend’s shoulder, and he was cool with it, let it crawl down his arm and into his hand. I walked up and looked at it, had some weird epiphany and felt terrible that we were harassing it. I had a horrible feeling in my gut that these people may hurt or kill it, but the guy just put it down on the ground and it walked off. I felt a lot better, but was still totally out of my mind, when somebody said “I can’t believe how purple that spider’s legs were.”

That’s how my arachnophobia went away. My girlfriend has a tarantula and wants to get rid of it, but that makes me way too sad, so I’ve convinced her to keep it. They’re nice. I’ll try to find the picture, it was beautiful.
posted by gucci mane at 9:54 PM on March 7, 2019 [13 favorites]

We should try to remember gucci mane's LSD & hot spring cure the next time someone Asks MeFi about ways to cure arachnophobia.
posted by homunculus at 10:45 PM on March 7, 2019 [7 favorites]

The crab spider is less lovely to look at than a dolphin or horse, but more lovely than its name might lead you to expect.

This is so Mammal Supremicist I cant even....
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:07 PM on March 7, 2019 [5 favorites]

I'm particularly fond of all the varieties of spiny orb weaver, myself. [1 2 3 4 5 6]
posted by mykescipark at 11:48 PM on March 7, 2019 [4 favorites]

I was hoping the star spider would be on the beautiful spiders list, I think they're so cute.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:11 AM on March 8, 2019 [1 favorite]

They're good spiders, Brit.
posted by glonous keming at 6:55 AM on March 8, 2019

Came for my jumping spider frands: was not disappointed. Incidentally, that display males make to females, the one that was famously set to YMCA? It's not just visual: jumping spiders also use their environments to beat out display songs, using their forelegs and abdomens like improvised drumsticks against the ground they sit on. They're literally dancing to their own beats. I love them.
posted by sciatrix at 7:27 AM on March 8, 2019 [1 favorite]

I prefer the poop posts please
posted by supermedusa at 8:39 AM on March 8, 2019 [1 favorite]

Meh, amateurs! (just kidding, I never get to dump on a spider post!). I grudgingly grant them the peacock spider and the mirrored spider. Here's my top ten list, choosing only by colours and not by behaviours, and not in any particular order.

1. Paraplectana
2. Argyrodes (dewdrop spider)
3. Alpaida variabilis
4. Micrathena decorata
5. Chrysilla lauta
6. Arkys
7. Eightspotted crab spider
8. Opadometa
9. Orsima ichneumon
10. Epicadus
posted by dhruva at 9:58 AM on March 8, 2019 [9 favorites]

Paraplectana look like pop-art mushrooms!
posted by tavella at 3:28 PM on March 8, 2019

This book, "Web Watching" is a wonderful field guide for different types of webs. It shows the web and close-ups of the spiders that make each kind. I'm not going to lie to you; I began to develop arachnophobia looking at the pictures, although some of the spiders are beautiful enough to be candidates. However, I also want to go look for webs this summer. I totally recommend this book.
posted by acrasis at 3:45 PM on March 8, 2019 [1 favorite]