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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 2021)
4 Wednesday, August 18, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon City of Sisters awards community grants Tales from a By Sue Stafford Sisters Naturalist t Correspondent by Jim Anderson An eight-legged ed wonder For over 50 years I9ve been watching for the giant European house spider to show up somewhere close by so I could shoot photos of it and share it with all you won- derful people. Wouldn9t you know, when it did show up, it was right in my very own bathroom here in Eugene. A huge, mag- nificent, eight-legged giant, right there on the wall in the narrow space between the shower stall and bathroom inner wall. You couldn9t miss it 4 it measured more than 2.5 inches across. What a beautiful beast! It looked like a skinny tarantula. But the space it was occu- pying was so small, I couldn9t get in to photograph it. <Sue!= I shouted. <Please bring your camera, there9s a giant house spider here that I need photos of&= My wife, Sue, is more than the chief cook and bot- tle washer in our home; she9s my boss, my dietician, helps me cope with my heart and back issues, tells me what I can 4 and cannot 4 do, and she is an excellent photog- rapher. Without that beauti- ful woman and Franny of Hospice, my goose would be cooked. Sue came running into the bathroom, camera in hand, and with a lot of diffi- culty, shot the photo you see above. She couldn9t get close enough to the beautiful beast to get the close-ups I needed of the spider9s eyes for posi- tive ID. It9s the arrangement and makeup of those eyes that PHOTO BY SUE ANDERSON They don’t come any bigger around here! The giant European house spider. drives the scientific commu- nity nuts. For what it9s worth, the giant house spider actu- ally is known by three names because of the eyes. The World Spider Catalog settled on: Eratigene atrica, Eratigene duelica, and Eratigena saeva. Then, in 2013, the scientific com- munity decided to let it go with just the genus name Eratigana. But in 2018 it went back to the three old names. Thank goodness we have a common name that fits its size and description. So I took what Sue did get of the amazing spider and I immediately sent it on to my dear entomologist pal, Eric Eaton (who has just published a great book on wasps), and asked him if my take, or rather, Sue9s <take= (pun intended) of the spider was who I thought it was. And he agreed. Now, before you make up your mind to smash that huge spider to tiny bits 4 if and when you see one 4 let me tell you it can9t kill you. The venom of the giant European house spider is not harmful to you, me, or your kids. Sure they have venom; all spiders possess venom. But this one is not harmful to humans, and it9s not ambi- tious about biting big things; it would rather eat small insects and run and hide when spooked by something like a human, dog, or cat. How did they get here from Europe? I have a hunch they arrived inside some- one9s trunk that sailed here Kiwanis Club of Sisters would like to thank all of the sponsors who made this year’s race a success! Hoodoo Ski Resort •Therapeutic Associates Inc. Dr. May Fan • Sisters Saloon and Ranch Grill David & Laura Hiller • Bruce Rognlien • Berni Huggett Jan & Hank Failing • Lance & Suzy Ramsey • Lairds Taylor Tire Center • Bob Grooney • John Meyers Green Ridge Physical Therapy • St. Charles • Bedouin Step & Spine Physical Therapy • Momentum Promo https://sisterskiwanis.org/runtothetop/ way back when. To make you feel better, there are only two spiders you have to worry about if you find them in your home. One is the infamous and dreaded black widow, who probably has been with us since spiders first began to walk on Planet Earth. It likes quiet, dark places, like basements, crawl spaces, under wood piles, and in old badger holes. All you have to do is stop moving if you run into the widow9s web. It9s so strong it crackles like glass when you go through it. Look around you and then slowly back out of it and don9t go back. I have been told the silk of the black widow is extremely strong. In fact, it9s been said all the cables on the Golden Gate Bridge could be replaced (by weight) with black widow spider silk, if you could arrange it, and they would be stronger than ever. Imagine how beautiful that would be as well! The other spider to watch out for is a visitor from California and places back East: the little brown recluse, aka violin spider, Loxosceles reclusa. There9s nothing really different between the violin spider and oth- ers except the violin-shaped mark on her cephlathorax (the cover over her middle); it stands out like a sore thumb on most 4 but unfortunately, not all 4 of them. That little gal has a very See GIANT SPIDER on page 11 The Sisters City Council awarded community grant funds in the amount of $20,000 to 17 of 23 appli- cants. The funds are to be used by nonprofits and other entities providing projects or programs in the Sisters area. Grants were awarded for the purpose of meet- ing essential needs, educa- tional enrichment, recre- ational opportunities, and other miscellaneous com- munity needs. Awards were made to: " Age Friendly Sisters Country, $900 " Assistance League of Bend, $1,000 " Circle of Friends, $750 " Family Access Network, $2,480 (utility assistance) " Family Access Network, $500 (shower tokens) " Furry Friends, $1,000 " Heart of Oregon Corps, $1,400 " Lines for Life, $960 " Mission 22 (ElderHeart), $900 " Rotary Club of Sisters , $300 " Seed to Table Oregon, $1,300 " Sisters Cold Weather Shelter, $1,550 " Sisters Farmers Market, $1,100 " Sisters Skatepark Alliance, $3,660 " SMART, $ 500 " VFW Post 8138, $500 " Wellhouse Church/ Market, $1,200. We Serve The PLUMBING NEEDS OF SISTERS! Local • Reliable •Professional 541þ549þ4349 260 N. Pine St., Sisters Licensed Bonded / Insured CCB#87587 Gypsy Wind Clothing SUNDRESSES! SUNDRESSES! SUNDRESSES! Small to 3X - $29 to $45 183 E E. Hood H dA Ave. OPEN MON. - SAT., 10 AM - 4 PM • SUN., 1 - 4 PM