spiderman spiderman

January 22, 2008 10:07 PM

Just tonight, I saw this spider in front of my neighbors apartment. it didn't move, and I didn't want to make it move to be honest. Is that thing real? or am I terrified by a toy. I live in Connecticut if it helps to identify.
posted by caelumluna to home & garden (21 comments total)

It looks like it has 10 legs....I'm thinking it's not real.
posted by emyd at 10:17 PM on January 22, 2008

I did a quick search. We all know that all spiders have only 8 legs, though there are apparently some ant-mimicing spiders that look as though they could have ten (though they don't). So I'm guessing this is either fake, or not a spider and something else.

But looking at its back, it looks kind of rubbery. The fact it hasn't moved further suggests it's fake.

So lets go by the old rule that the simplest answer is foten the right one; it's a toy.
posted by Effigy2000 at 10:21 PM on January 22, 2008

i think its a toy mate, it seems to have 10 legs, and it just dosnt look all that real to me.
posted by dent8101 at 10:21 PM on January 22, 2008

Plus it's what, 30something degrees outside? Only a fake spider would be out in cold like that without a hat or scarf.
posted by rtha at 10:26 PM on January 22, 2008 [7 favorites has favorites]

Looks like a model of a mexican red-kneed tarantula.
posted by dws at 10:27 PM on January 22, 2008

Seriously? I mean... you couldn't tell in person? Are you just trying to joke us with this question?

Tarantulas are not native to Connecticut, plus it's too cold outside for a spider like this.

Lastly, googling "toy tarantula" turns up this and this, which are almost identical yours.

Tell your neighbors that their kids really should put their toys away...
posted by wfrgms at 10:36 PM on January 22, 2008

That is the phoniest looking spider I have ever seen. It appears to be a synthetic material by the way the flash is reflecting off the surface.

You should really be careful at night, however. Rubber snakes are also native to the backyards of Connecticut children's homes.
posted by HotPatatta at 10:41 PM on January 22, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

Don't listen to HotPatatta. Everyone knows that rubber snakes don't come out at night.
posted by lekvar at 10:57 PM on January 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Oh, and it's a fake faux not-real ersatz spider.
posted by lekvar at 10:58 PM on January 22, 2008

If you're scared of that plastic critter, you should probably never go outoors.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 11:12 PM on January 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I appreciate all the answers, thank you and yes i will never go outdoors after this Dee Xtrovert just because you give such a wise advice.
posted by caelumluna at 11:18 PM on January 22, 2008

As a fellow arachaphobe, I didn't feel comfortable looking at the picture that closely, but it looks kinda fakey.

Throw rocks at it to be sure.

If it moves, run away, call the police and have them deal with it.
posted by Lord_Pall at 1:27 AM on January 23, 2008

Lord_Pall, if that's the way you deal with unfamiliar creatures, perhaps it's you who shouldn't go outdoors.
posted by arcadia at 2:28 AM on January 23, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

What's already been said, except to say that the real thing would be really quite hairy and yours isn't. That's the most obvious thing to me.
posted by edd at 5:05 AM on January 23, 2008

Looks like a sibling of this terrifying creature.

*great gulping heaps of laughter*

[Can't you just imagine hopw fun this thing would be in the right hands...aA-HAhahahAhaha!]
posted by humannaire at 5:18 AM on January 23, 2008

This post has made my day.

Call the police, caelumluna. Please. Then write back what they say. Please!
posted by humannaire at 5:22 AM on January 23, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

The RC tarantula is awesome.

Now, for the record, ya'll know that tarantulas are generally nothing to be afraid of (unless you wake up with it on your face, right?). I've held in both hands the bird-eating tarantula (whose name is a bit of a misnomer) and used to help people handle tamer tarantulas daily. The Mexican red knee is sometimes kept as a pet. They're actually kind of fun and/or cute.
posted by artifarce at 5:56 AM on January 23, 2008

artifarce, I'm not afraid of tarantulas attacking me... but I'm terrified of what they might look like if I accidentally stepped on one. Tiny squished spiders are disgusting enough.
posted by Metroid Baby at 7:28 AM on January 23, 2008

[A few comments removed. Answers, not jokes.]
posted by cortex at 7:53 AM on January 23, 2008

So, actually knowing that this wasn't a joke question....

Seriously. How was this not obvious to you that it was fake?
Wrong number of legs, it didn't move, no hair, bright colors, ridiculously large, you live in connecticut - it's winter.

I actually had something similiar happen to me. When I lived in Florida, I pulled into the driveway and noticed a large bright yellow and red moving thing hanging from the bushes. I was scared because I had no idea what it was. i thought it was some new creature I discovered.
I got my camera and took pictures of it from 20 feet away.
After uploading them, it looked like a lobster or something hanging upside down.
I sent a couple of friends the pictures.
They laughed and said, "Liz, it's a grasshopper - and it's molting!"

But, hey, in the 9 years I had lived there - I had never seen red/yellow grasshoppers, I had never seen grasshoppers that were 3-5 inches big and I didn't know anything about them molting - and certainly wouldn't think they would hang of a bush.

So, after I looked it up online, I found out about them... and they are quite adorable. They actually look like plastic toys.
posted by KogeLiz at 10:45 AM on January 23, 2008

Wrong number of legs

In defense of caelumluna, some spiders have pronounced, articulated pedipalps that can closely resemble an extra set of legs. So someone uninterested in examining the beast in question could be excused for not immediately recognizing the difference.
posted by lekvar at 12:20 PM on January 23, 2008