Regrets

So, I am no expert when it comes to spiders (okay, maybe I am), anyway we can say that I have a "better than average" knowledge about them. Today I noticed a spider while I was walking up the stairs and thought that it had really beautiful legs (don't judge me!) The spider's legs were long, with dark bands around them. I recognized that it wasn't one of the more common spiders that we have in our house, and that it also had a really great spider shape... really small head, large abdomen with distinct brown makings and longer than normal legs that flair (can you see where I am headed with this... anyone?) Yep, if you guessed that I was looking at the classic 'widow' shape you are correct (and a total spider geek)! So while I am enjoying the beauty of our visitor, my mind catches up with my eyes, Do I really think a Brown Widow should be in my house? I am watching the girls from next door and my sweet spider lover, Ian, is an inch away looking at the spider with me. I don't want to freak anyone out, so I just calmly tell the kids that I think I am going to kill this spider and to stand back so that I don't lose it. I got a Kleenex and came down on the scared little spider. Surely I would not have died if this spider bit me, but I definitely killed it. I regret the fact that I crushed it so hard that I couldn't even make out its hourglass on her underside. I regret that I didn't have a jar or something that I could capture it in just to look at her without fear of injury to one of my kiddos! I really didn't want a (probably not deadly) but certainly dangerous spider in my house, but I regret that I had to destroy it too!

Here are five fun Brown Widow Facts. 1. Brown Widow spiders are often called the brown button spider. 2. They are cousins of the famous Black Widow, they have the same body shape, are around the same size, and have an hourglass shape on the underside of their abdomen, the brown widow's hourglass can be anywhere from brown, orange, yellow and tan. The black widow's is always red. 3. Researchers believe that the Brown Widow venom is twice and potent as the blacks' but it is confined to the tissue and does not spread through the bloodstream. 4. The brown widow egg sack is spiky. 5. There are over 30 types of Widow spiders, and they are found on every content except Antarctica. The Brown Widow is very common in Texas, and we just had a hurricane, poor little babies are bound to come indoors. Man I really wish I would have a least taken a picture :(
As for me, I will be looking out for spiky egg sacs tomorrow.