If you can imagine giving some things up for love, you would still, as a male human, baulk at the lengths some male spiders life go to, as their tumble with the lady of the choice can lead to the loss of his genitals, but researchers think they now know why.

Puzzled as they were why some male spiders have evolved to make this sacrifice, despite the injuries possibly leaving them sterile, University of Singapore scientist Dr Lin ran a series of meticulous experiments

studying orb-web spiders of the Nephilengys malabarensis variety, in which males are smaller than t females and often eaten by them during mating.

This gross sexual cannibalism is not the fate of every male, but what does happen every time is that the male sex-organ – the palp – breaks off inside the female during copulation, preventing other males from fertilizing her. Male spiders are usually have two palps at birth.

25 virgin males were used by the researchers, put onto webs loaded with waiting females. All male spiders mated, and in every case the palps had either been badly damaged or broken off altogether, though examination of the females revealed that only 35% of them had been injected with sperm, the rest apparently blocked by broken palps.

Broken palps, other tests confirmed, continued to inseminate the female after being broken off, males almost certainly having  evolved to lose palps because this strategy meant fertilization would succeed even if the female ate the male alive during the sex act/

This so-called remote copulation probably evolved as a counter-measure against the natural female aggression toward males, short copulation times, and the high cannibalism rates, surviving males – as eunuchs – more aggressive than those with working palps, and better able to fight off other males approaching the female for sex.

Even so, it makes you shudder at the thought that, if you took that hot date out to dinner and went back to her place afterward, she might just decide that her eating your manhood was going to happen for real, because she had an appetite to make you her dessert.

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Scientists at the University of Hamburg, Germany, published in a journal about animal behavior, an article showing that male spiders that can only have sex once or twice in their life-time prefer to have sex with virgin female spiders.

Many spiders have only one chance to have sex in life because females eat the male after copulation. Those who escaped, have only one other chance of sex. This is because, during sex, the male intentionally try to break off their genitalia, the pendipalps, inside the female to prevent her becoming pregnant on other spiders.

At the second of genital contact the female suddenly bends, and he has only seconds to complete his mission before she starts to take silk out of her spinnerets in order to ensnare him, and than she will eat him. If he’s quick enough he’ll escape to have sex again, once more time because he only has one more pendipalp, the two special forelegs that they have instead of penises.

The study surprised scientists, who also found that larger females tend to be more fertile, and so thought that they would be preferred by males.

By putting together 42 females and 21 males they found that the majority was directed to the virgins instead to the larger sized ones. Virgin spiders loose pheromones that alert males and perhaps they choose virgins because they will have more probabilities to escape than if it was with a more experienced female.

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Fear of Spiders: Commonly referred to as Arachnophobia. People seem to be very afraid of these eight legged freaks, and they have a reason to be. Just look at the picture and you will realize why.

Image by zteamie via Flickr

Fear of Heights: Commonly referred to as Acrophobia. Heights are scary, most of us can admit that we would rather be down here than up 40 feet in the air.

Image by DieselDemon via Flickr

Fear of Rejection: Nobody wants to be rejected from a girl or a guy. This can cause major problems in ones social life, as they may not have the balls to go up to a certain someone and tell them that they like him or her. This fear is extremely hard to get over and it is common all over the world.

Fear of Rejection: Nobody wants to be rejected from a girl or a guy. This can cause major problems in ones social life, as they may not have the balls to go up to a certain someone and tell them that they like him or her. This fear is extremely hard to get over and it is common all over the world.

Fear of Needles: Well nobody like sharp pointy things that are meant to go into your body, but come on guys needles barely hurt, and they are for a good cause!

1. Chestnuts are a wonderful deterrent for spiders. Simply place some of them around your house where you think that spiders are attracted to and you will see they will seek other accommodation.

2. Do not smoke? Well do not knock! When tobacco or chewing tobacco is mixed with dishwashing liquid and water with lemon, it is deadly on spiders. When mixing, be sure to relieve tobacco.

3. Peppermint and lavender combined and prepared with pennyroyal, cinnamon or orange oil can operate strangely. Place beer in a bottle and spray, spray and spray.

4. There are ultrasonic repellents on the market that control work and provide excellent spider. These can cost you some money but they are so worth it if you are looking for a natural repellent spider.

5. Horse apples can become a true friend well when they are sliced and hung in every room of your house. Spiders hate them.

6. Another control is simple spider coconut oil, vinegar and water. It works well if you knew the vinegar, the cleanest of the woman on the right, had to be somewhere you do not have it?

7. Cleaning your home every week decreases the chances of spiders that want to move in radically. Spiders love the dust and debris, they also like other dead insects remains so clean and you do.

8. Then there is last but not least way to safely dispose of spiders and this one even if a little field work left. Puree some dead spiders with water, drain and put water in a spray bottle and start spraying. It works like a charm.

So do not sit there and be surrounded by spiders. Stand up and give your own spider to control some of these tips. You’ll be so glad you did, and once again you can feel safe when the spiders decide to move.

A friend was shocked to find that he had something crawling on his leg while driving the car.  Realising it wasn’t just a thread from his trousers, he suddenly saw a frog, and his scream was contagious.  At least he and his screaming son didn’t go off the road!

I know that if a bee or a wasp flies into my car, I hyperventilate and if I am a passenger, I have my door open to jump out long before the car has come to a standstill.  This is not a safe practice and the bee sting would probably be less lethal.

SPIDERS

In Australia, most people pull down the sun visor down very slowly just in case there is a huntsman spider hiding inside.  To pull down the visor quickly while driving and then have a huge, hairy spider land in your lap can be a screaming moment and a dangerous event.

Some people who call themselves friends, love to tease with a feather to simulate a spider’s walk on the back of your neck.  They risk ear splitting screams that could bring on early deafness.  Teasing like this should be treated in much the same way as being guilty of industrial noise hazards.

Why are we afraid of spiders?  Most are not fatally venomous.  Wildlife fanatics seem to be able to enjoy a spider or two crawling on their hands as they show off in front of cameras.  I wonder how many camera operators have broken lenses as the naturalist has let their creepy, jumping charges leap onto some unsuspecting technician’s body?

INSECTS

Some people scream at the feel of a worm touching their bodies.  As a garden worm farmer, I don’t quite understand this one.  After all worms share a large percentage of our DNA and frankly they look like skinny humans with no legs, no arms – well, ok, they look like worms.  But they are hardly waving long hairy legs and looking out of beady multi eyes.  I cnce threw a worm down a women friend’s top when I was very drunk at a party.  I don’t suppose that was a very kind act.  I don’t think her vocal chords have recovered yet, 30 years later.

My vote for the most scream worthy insect would have to be the New Zealand weta.  Most are larger than a cricket and far uglier.  Again naturalists and scientists have told me that these insects are very beautiful.  I am sure some pitbull owners think this of their dogs as well, and I must say I would rather have a well behaved pitbull dog share my bed than a weta.  I had a weta in my bed once.  It crawled across my leg but once discovered it didn’t live long.  I heard a story of a man waking from his sleep, dreaming that his thumb was caught in a vice grip, only to discover the pincers from a huge weta clasped about his thumb as he woke.

OTHER SCREAM WORTHY THINGS

Jumping off a cliff or a city tower with just a rope attached to your legs would have to be the most self inflicted way to invoke a scream.  Adrenalin junkies cling to buildings and climb them as others might climb a mountain, tight rope walkers and crocodile wrestlers enthrall those of us who would never do anything more than fear the coffee had run out while we watch others attempt the crazy and the most knee knocking challenges. 

We know that the programme will only last another ten minutes so when a foot slips or those jaws snap within inches of a leg, we barely miss a beat, tossing popcorn into our mouths, let alone let out a scream.  But if this was something we had to do for one of those bonding sessions in business, I would be more than screaming.

Wild rides at a fun park, dares by friends, tense sports matches, we find many ways to induce terror and screams.  It has to be good for us, letting off steam.  Apart from the hearing damage to our listener’s ears, screaming must have a purpose.  For some strange reason we humans enjoy a bit of a scream and more than that, enjoy a laugh at someone else’s frog experience.  We know, when we laugh, that it may have been us. 

Perhaps it serves the purpose of releasing that tension that should have been our privilege as hunters in our early state? We can at least pretend our world is dangerous.  Back to the TV and a quick check to make sure no spider has stolen a moment to climb into my slippers.

Phobia research dealt with American scientists, under which a total phobia of dentists suffer only about nine percent of the total population. They completely avoid dentists and sit on their chair, until it was to unbearable pain forces the rotten tooth.

More afraid of the angry dog, and be nasty crawly animals like cockroaches and spiders. In case, as in phobias of snakes more often affected women. It comes from evolution. Women caring for their children and were ladles, which had more careful about where they step and push hands, not to bite or bites.

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A Giant spider was photographed scuttling down a high-rise building in Liverpool, England.

The giant arachnid scurried down the side of the office buildings to amazed workers and onlookers. To many who witnessed this gigantic eight legged freak, their first thoughts were to call the military.

However, it seems that panic was soon halted as “La Princess”, the name given to the monstrous beast, was part of  Liverpool’s European Capital of Culture program and was created by La Machine.

One man quipped, “I was about to wait for the tanks and soldiers to arrive to blow it away.”

Onlookers were relieved as the military call-up was put on hold as the citizens enjoyed viewing this artistic creation terrifying the public.

It seems The Beatles were not only the biggest insects to be part of Liverpool’s history.

The other day I saw a spider crawling on one of my co-workers. It was pretty big and really fast. I had every chance to warn her or help her, but I didn’t. I just watched in horrified fascination as it crawled all over her. Why would I do such a thing? Because I am absolutely terrified of spiders. Completely arachnophobic. I played through several scenarios in my head, but each one involved either touching the spider, having to step on the spider, or having the spider flung at me in panic. None of those scenarios were acceptable to me. So I stayed silent, thinking the entire time about how that was an undeniably self centered and karmically bad decision.

I watched the spider crawl all over her for a good ten minutes. Then it disappeared. Half of me was relieved, the other half was alarmed that I now didn’t know where the spider was. Was it on me? Was it in the tool bag I would be reaching into later? Eventually I decided it must be gone. Then, almost an hour later, as we were talking to our client, the spider returned. The moment the client saw it she deftly swiped it onto the floor and my coworker stomped on it without hesitation. The spider’s demise took place in under ten seconds, without so much as a break in the conversation. Yet, a week later, I am still dwelling on this incident.

Now, I already knew that statistically speaking there is a spider within 3 feet of you at all times. I also believe in a rather direct karma. Since I didn’t tell her about her spider, it seems karmically reasonable that I will find myself covered in crawly creepers sometime soon. So it isn’t hard to see why I have been completely paranoid about spiders crawling all over me for the last week. I am swatting at my clothes as I write this. This anxiety made me start seriously thinking about why I would do such a thing, whether I have failed to act for the same reasons before, how it could potentially affect my life or the lives of others, and what I could do about it. I began by reducing this scenario to the very essence of what I had done. I had failed to act because I (rationally or irrationally) feared for my own safety. I was not frozen with fear. I weighed my options carefully and made a conscious decision to not take action because I was afraid. I tried to think of other times in my life when I had done the same thing. One glaring example came to mind.

When I lived in New York, there were always homeless people around. I was very kind to the homeless, which I am sure stemmed in some part from the fact that I was always one paycheck away from being homeless myself. I always gave away my leftovers, and even invited one lady to come and have dinner with us. Of course everyone walks everywhere in New York. It is not at all uncommon to see people sleeping in the sidewalk. The general reaction to such a sight is to just keep walking. This is not altogether an unconscionable decision. After all, the homeless are the folks who get the least sleep in the city that never sleeps. It almost seems rude to wake them. There is one particular man, though, that I will never forget. The previous night had been pretty cold. As I walked down the street in the early afternoon, too late for even the sleepiest people to be sleeping, I saw a homeless man on the sidewalk. There was no clear indication that he was dead, but there certainly wasn’t any sign of life either. No one actually stopped to check, but several people looked closer than New Yorkers usually do. I remember saying, “Do you think that man is dead?” and actually having a conversation with my roommate about the pros and cons of checking. We never checked. We just kept walking.

I am certain that some part of that decision was pure bystander effect, but just like in the spider scenario, I weighed my options carefully and made a conscious decision to not take action because I was afraid. What if the man got violently angry about being disturbed? What if he was crazy or drunk or on drugs? What if he was in fact dead? None of those scenarios were acceptable to me. So I stayed silent, thinking the entire time about how that was an undeniably self centered and karmically bad decision. Yep. Exactly the same rationale.

The potential negative effects of such a decision are clear. What if that spider had been highly poisonous? What if the man wasn’t dead but needed immediate medical attention? What if I decided not to act one day and it put me or someone else in serious danger? This is clearly a problem that I have to solve. But how? When I thought even more about these incidents, I discovered that there were many other times that I had in fact taken action without hesitation: running to help when I saw a car crash, looking after a random drunk man who was seriously endangering himself until the authorities arrived, standing up to bullies, even getting arrested for it once. Generally speaking, I will pretty much go out of my way to help anyone, friend or stranger, with anything they need. So what makes the difference between jumping into action and rationalizing my way out of helping?

Physical danger, perhaps? No, that can’t be it. There was a potential physical threat in all of the scenarios, not just the ones where I did not act. Digging further, I decided that the answer was control. When I feel like I can attain control of the situation, I will act. If not, I will not act. I believe that I felt as if I had no control because in each situation I was isolated. Only I knew there was a spider, and I knew that my roommate and I alone could not handle a violently angry homeless man. In retrospect, it would have been easy to get some back up. Simply saying, “Hey, there is a spider on you!” and stepping back to let her handle it would have sufficed. Likewise, simply saying, “Hey, is that guy okay?” would have probably stirred everyone who was thinking the same thing into action.

There are, therefore, two lessons that I am taking from these experiences. First, it is okay to not have or not want to have control of the situation. Delegate. I am certain that with the simple knowledge that a spider existed, my friend could have taken care of it. And if I had only been able to counter New York’s serious bystander effect problem, I could have let someone else take it from there. Secondly, I resolve to consider myself a part of a fellowship with human kind. No man is an island. If I need back up, I will seek it, and will have faith that when it is crunch time humanity will not fail me. This seems to be a notion that is more important now than ever before. We are all in this together, and to get through it we absolutely must build each other up instead of tearing each other down. Identifying problems is no help, identifying solutions is the only way to progress.

Also, I am certain there is a spider in my hair at this very moment.

Cemetery Scene

Create a spooky cemetery using cardboard, cotton balls, and a little cheesecloth. Cut large sheets of cardboard in the shape of tombstones, then sponge paint grey with a little brown and moss green to create a stone effect. Stencils will let you add spooky epitaphs before sticking your creations in your lawn using lawn stakes. Pull apart cotton balls to create spider webs and craft ghosts out of raggedy cheesecloth fabric suspended with string. Shiny black bats cut from plastic tarp are also a perfect touch.

Night of the Living Dead

Haunt your garden this Halloween with the Living Dead … or at least a good imitation. Use wire and old clothes to create “limbs” protruding from a little fresh earth in your lawn as these ghoulish visitors crawl from the earth. Stuff the sleeves and legs with batting and use shoes and gloves to create hands and feet. Pose them in lifelike positions and add a little “grunge” using pale grey paint, dirt, and other materials to make your emerging zombies more authentic.

Spider Tree

Bring Shelob’s lair to life in a front yard tree using paper-mache spiders and cotton cobwebs. Craft your spiders from balloons and paper-mache, adding pipe cleaner limbs and Styrofoam ball heads before painting. Dangle them from white yarn strands, with pulled-apart cotton balls for cobwebs. Construct your Spider Queen from a large round rubber balloon and paper mache, with black plastic streamers for legs and a large Styrofoam head. Paint a red hour glass on the back and add as many menacing details as you please.

Make your haunted yard the talk of the neighborhood with a few imaginative touches and enjoy your guests’ astonishment as they cross your haunted landscape this Halloween!

• Arachnophobia - Spiders (and other small insects), this is probably the most common fear in the world and it is believed that about 50% of women and 10% of men have this fear.
• Acrophobia - Heights, a fear that can often spoil certin things and can cause people to miss out on some amazing sights but often can be overcome with a lot of support.
• Aquaphobia - Water, this not the fear of water in general but a fear of drowning in water and can be caused by such things from oceans to bath tubs and a panic attack can often come about by an unexpected meeting with water – even a small splash.
• Brontophobia – Thunder and/or Lightening, a fear mainly for children but can occur in adults and can cause to be very uncomfortable when there is thunder or lightening wherever they are.

• Laliophobia – Public Speaking, pretty much everyone gets nervous when speaking infront of an audience but for people with this fear it is impossible and they will break down if attempted.
• Necrophobia – Death, mainly the fear of what will happen to them after they have gone and also what effect them dieing will have on there loved ones.
• Aviophobia – Flying, some people can be fine with heights but just can’t stand it when they are up in the air and everything is out of there control. People with this fear will struggle to get to the boarding gate never mind actually getting onto the plane
• Claustrophobia – Being in a confined place, crowded public transport and clubs are often places that people with this fear try to avoid and if found in an uncomfortable situation can very easily cause panic attacks.

• Xenophobia - Strangers/ Foreigners, this is the fear of someone who is different from themselves and can often be just a dislike rather than a fear.
• Mysophobia – Germs, these people mainly try to avoid contact with dirt and can have a fear of dirt and most have to wash they’re hands at very regular intervals.

Phobias are not rare and everyone will have some kind of fear.