"Is there an Arachnologist in the house??"

[Birddog]

Just be sure it isn't a brown recluse - violin shape on the belly...you ARE in New Mexico....

Good luck with the scorpions. Hope they're not too thick. Phoenix Fire Dept finally had to abandon a fire station because there were so many scorpions where they built it...they just kept multiplying and coming. They finally converted it from a fire station to an admin building that was only used during the daytime.

Ron

Holy !@#*^%, have they never heard of bombs?? Just kidding, but wow, that is a serious infestation if they had to abandon the bldg. Just be glad we don't have camel spiders here; I have seen one of those jump more that 10 feet in the air!

[JRB]

After a few minutes of searching, it seems to be a barn spider (type of orbweaver). However, barn spiders are more typically found in more humid climes. Anyway, here's the wikipedia article...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barn_spider

[Makeitstop]

Interestingly enough I once new a guy who was an Air Force Entomologist... too bad I don't have his contact info anymore.

The Air Force has entomologists? What kind of bugs are they dealing with?!

[BEEDEE]

It's a spider TatBrad.

This from someone who cannot distinguish between a rubber chicken and a real chicken?

Brian

[Tattoo Bradley]

The Air Force has entomologists? What kind of bugs are they dealing with?!

Indeed they do. With a bit of research there are only actually 15 Active Duty Entomologist personnel. The fellow I knew, was actually an enlisted fellow in the Entomology field (falls under the Civil Engineer field in the USAF, AFSC: 3E4X3, Pest Mgt Air Force Specialty.) So, he was basically the "Orkin Man." He was pretty embarrassed to be in that specialty. He cross trained to be a fireman a few years ago, and from what I understand he wouldn't admit to his classmates what his previous AFSC had been. LOL.

[BruceK]

I'm gonna have nightmares tonight...

[Clockwork John]

What a cool find. My wife has been brining me tarantulas she's been catching in the yard. Unfortunately, they've all been adult males looking for mates, and wouldn't have lived long in captivity.

How big are the scorpions? If they're big (like 3-6 inches) you have nothing to worry about. Desert Hairy Scorpions are no more venomous than a bee sting. Painful, but not really a problem. The smaller Bark Scorpions (1-3 inches) are more of a problem. They are the only scorpion in North America that is potentially fatal to people who aren't allergic.

[george7]

Even if it's not deadly, it is still likely to be dangerous. Handle with care.

[string]

I totally read that as "is there a archaeologist in the house" I was totally pulling out my geek hat for that one!

[ardchoille]

Just be sure it isn't a brown recluse - violin shape on the belly...you ARE in New Mexico....

Actually, the fiddle shape of a Brown Recluse is on its back, not its belly. However, this feature can be very faint depending on the species of recluse spider, particularly those in the southwestern U.S., or how recently the spider has molted. A better method of recognizing the brown recluse is its eyes. Whereas most spiders have eight eyes, recluse spiders have six eyes that are arranged in pairs in a semicircle on the forepart of the cephalothorax.

I was bitten by a brown recluse in Texas around 1982 and spent time in the hospital. Brown recluse bites are quite nasty.