You are reading a single comment by @inchpincher and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
-
Not exactly demonisation but I came across a weird bit of tabloid arachnid hype when googling these clusters of yellow back spiders all over my tomato plants.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.express.co.uk/news/nature/583321/Clusters-yellow-spiders-spotted-Britain/ampMust admit I’m getting a bit tired of de-spidering myself every time I go in the greenhouse, I’d hoped they’d eat more aphid than they do.
1 Attachment
-
inchpincher
mespilus
Re: the dobsonfly above, regular readers will know that I can't stand the demonisation of insects just because they don't look quite the way we would like them. A quick look at Internet articles on them shows that the long mandibles are useless for biting, as they are just too long. Interestingly, it's the much less scary-looking female that has a strong bite. Apart from this, they're insects that have the interesting sensitivity that they require very clean water, which is a very useful ability from a human perspective.
Sure, they're large, but that doesn't mean they're particularly dangerous. Plenty of smaller animals are much more problematic to humans. I'd be amazed to see a dobsonfly, although given where I am, the chances are slim.