• Litany@lemmy.worldEnglish
      39·
      2 months ago

      Memes aside, since I’ve been on the internet long enough to know that this could legitimately be the first time someone’s seen this information:

      A brown recluse is a real spider endemic to the central United States. They are small, slender, and brown. Their bites are venomous and can require medical attention. In rare cases they can potentially be lethal, especially in young children.

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_recluse_spider

      • tobogganablaze@lemmus.orgEnglish
        55·
        2 months ago

        Thanks for that!

        To expand more on the meme side: It’s a notorious problem in spider communities that every brown spider will at some point be called a brown recluse by … less educated people. Which can lead to innocent spiders being killed just for their skin colour! Which is why there are usually rules that prohibit layman from identifying medically significant spiders.

        The spider in the picture is a tarantula, so very obvious not a brown recluse. That’s the joke. It’s funny here, but seriously don’t make that joke on an actual spider community, none of the residents will think it’s funny.

      • Sanctus@lemmy.worldEnglish
        91·
        2 months ago

        My grandmother lost her pinky finger to one of those! Do not ingore the bite! It will require medical attention.

      • AlexWIWA@lemmy.mlEnglish
        1·
        2 months ago

        I hate brown recluses so much. I’ve known several people that needed surgery because of them

    • Miles O'Brien@startrek.websiteEnglish
      81·
      2 months ago

      I would like to know the inside joke, but I also don’t want to look at a bunch of pictures of spiders…

      I’m not arachnophobic, but I’m also not a spider voyeur, and am perfectly okay with them staying in their corners of the house while I stay in mine.

      So uhhhh… Can someone explain the joke I’m too scared to try and understand? I assume it’s in the same vein as "the MELTdown " on the reddit grilled cheese page

        • flora_explora@beehaw.orgEnglish
          3·
          2 months ago

          I somehow cannot see your explanation :( I can see the clarification regarding the “sentient dot” but not the “brown recluse”.

          • tobogganablaze@lemmus.orgEnglish
            4·
            2 months ago

            To expand more on the meme side: It’s a notorious problem in spider communities that every brown spider will at some point be called a brown recluse by … less educated people. Which can lead to innocent spiders being killed just for their skin colour! Which is why there are usually rules that prohibit layman from identifying medically significant spiders.

            The spider in the picture is a tarantula, so very obvious not a brown recluse. That’s the joke. It’s funny here, but seriously don’t make that joke on an actual spider community, none of the residents will think it’s funny.

  • howrar@lemmy.caEnglish
    29·
    2 months ago

    So what are these sentient dots? I keep seeing them everywhere, but no one else around me does. This is the first time I’ve seen anyone else acknowledge their existence.

      • tobogganablaze@lemmus.orgEnglish
        25·
        2 months ago

        Red spider mite is the common name for Tetranychus urticae. That’s quite the specific ID for such a terrible picture. I don’t think it’s correct, Trombidiidae seems more likely (and those are predators).

        • lemmyng@lemmy.caEnglish
          19·
          2 months ago

          You know what, I think you are right. I was hasty and the shape fits your suggestion better.

    • flora_explora@beehaw.orgEnglish
      3·
      2 months ago

      If you ever wonder what lives around you (and you have not the worst phone/camera), you could take pictures of it and upload it to iNaturalist. It is such a great site/app to learn about all the organisms around you :)

  • propter_hog [any, any]@hexbear.netEnglish
    15·
    2 months ago

    Sentient dot sucks. Used to have them outside the library at uni. Careless freshmen would sit on the steps to enjoy the day only to come home looking like they’d had a roll in ants.