🎵 Spider paws, spider paws, so much cuter than spider jaws 🎶

September 20, 2017 6:43 PM

Turns Out Spiders Have Tiny Paws, And It May Change The Way You Look At Them (adorable paws only, no full spider images)
posted by Johnny Wallflower (38 comments total)

Those two creepy claws though.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 6:47 PM on September 20, 2017 [2 favorites]

*awaits teensy flip-flops*
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:49 PM on September 20, 2017 [8 favorites]

Nope. Still spiders all the way down.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:03 PM on September 20, 2017 [6 favorites]

Only thought I had was, "great! hairy spider paws are in my mouth every night as soon as I fall asleep."
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:04 PM on September 20, 2017 [6 favorites]

Who's got the cutest little fluffy... OH MY GOD KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE!
posted by Nanukthedog at 7:19 PM on September 20, 2017 [4 favorites]

I can appreciate spiders for their role in the ecosystem as well as the many nifty adaptations they've evolved.

That said, nope nope NOPE!

Also, as someone who has to do a surprising amount of maintenance on their own dog's adorable, giant paws, he adorable footsies are gross and they smell funny. Comparing spider's feet to paws doesn't help their case.
posted by VTX at 7:27 PM on September 20, 2017 [2 favorites]

johnny wallflower has won the internet award for being the first person ever to get me to knowingly, on purpose, meant to do that, click on a spider (paws only!) photo.

That was actually cute.
posted by pointystick at 7:27 PM on September 20, 2017 [8 favorites]

I love spiders. I was on vacation and came back to find a new web in the kitchen. Welcome, spider friend! And your cutesy little paws too! Now go get those drain flies.
posted by AFABulous at 7:48 PM on September 20, 2017 [10 favorites]

A seven-legged spider scurries into a saloon and says to the bartender "I'm looking fer the man what shot my paw!"
posted by Atom Eyes at 7:51 PM on September 20, 2017 [27 favorites]

Beautiful. And amazing macro photography
posted by not_the_water at 8:22 PM on September 20, 2017 [1 favorite]

I appreciate spiders. All spiders. But especially enjoy fuzzy, cute little jumping spiders. I've even gotten my arachnophobe wife (slightly) interested in them. I'm sending her the paw photo and asking her to guess what it is...
posted by jim in austin at 8:30 PM on September 20, 2017 [5 favorites]

There's a twitter hashtag going around #ArachnidgotBacknid, about spider butts, basically
posted by dhruva at 8:34 PM on September 20, 2017 [7 favorites]

Ok, but are those like normal spiders zoomed in? Or those super fuzzy spiders, anyway? I mean, I'm not really afraid of spiders. Except that giant, fuzzy one two nights ago that crawled next to my head on the couch and made me scream. (I still just brought it outside.) But like, normal small spiders are my friends. Are they actually all furry-pawed?
posted by greermahoney at 10:07 PM on September 20, 2017 [2 favorites]

So according to these photos my brain would find spiders acceptable if they were the size of dogs. That seems wrong but that's what I'm being told.
posted by fshgrl at 11:15 PM on September 20, 2017 [17 favorites]

At least I can count on Mr. Wallflower to post spider paws and not, say, the discarded husk of a recently molted tarantula.
posted by xyzzy at 1:20 AM on September 21, 2017 [1 favorite]

We look forward to when the orb spiders build in our garden each summer. We admire their dexterity and industry.

But this shit is only changing the way I look at my furry-pawed cats.
posted by pracowity at 3:46 AM on September 21, 2017 [5 favorites]

So, spiders are basically tiny cats with twice as many legs who have figured out how to do something useful with all that fluff they put out?

Downside: venom
Upside: no litter box
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:14 AM on September 21, 2017 [9 favorites]

Ok, but are those like normal spiders zoomed in? Or those super fuzzy spiders, anyway?

I'm pretty sure those are just already-fuzzy tarantula feet, which are pretty big to begin with. If you zoomed in on your average cobweb spider / basement spider / orb weaver, the amount of hair and paw-like-ness is going to vary enormously.
posted by AzraelBrown at 4:38 AM on September 21, 2017 [2 favorites]

They're all good spiders, Brent.
posted by briank at 5:08 AM on September 21, 2017 [12 favorites]

Side effect was to send me on a short research quest on the question of arthropod setae.
posted by adoarns at 6:06 AM on September 21, 2017 [3 favorites]

This is so funny, I was literally having this conversation with my friend the other day. We have very different opinion on spiders.
posted by FirstMateKate at 6:48 AM on September 21, 2017 [1 favorite]

It's tough to tell from such close-cropped images, but it's possible the "cute" "paws" you're looking at are in fact those spiders' balls.
posted by Sys Rq at 8:03 AM on September 21, 2017

Beautiful macro photography, yes.

Nope factor: Unaltered.
posted by seyirci at 8:08 AM on September 21, 2017 [1 favorite]

I, like many others, tried.

Sadly, I too join the ranks of those who failed to ignore the fact of SPIDER.

Thanks, Johnny Wallflower. No one could claim that you didn't do your best.
posted by janey47 at 8:52 AM on September 21, 2017 [1 favorite]

It's tough to tell from such close-cropped images, but it's possible the "cute" "paws" you're looking at are in fact those spiders' balls.

Obligatory Mr. Nancy shout out.
posted by greermahoney at 9:40 AM on September 21, 2017 [4 favorites]

Sys Rq: It's tough to tell from such close-cropped images, but it's possible the "cute" "paws" you're looking at are in fact those spiders' balls

No, none of them are pedipalps. The 'paws' are called scopulae. Having two or three claws is often a critical taxonomic clue towards their identification.
posted by dhruva at 10:10 AM on September 21, 2017 [3 favorites]

I like spiders, but these pictures made the hair on the back of my neck stand up in horror.
posted by spindrifter at 10:15 AM on September 21, 2017

I love spiders, but fuck this shit.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 10:23 AM on September 21, 2017

it'll be a beautiful day on metafilter when we can get a post on spiders that doesn't have any "nope!" or "kill it with fire!" comments
posted by prize bull octorok at 10:49 AM on September 21, 2017 [6 favorites]

And It May Change The Way You Look At Them

Negative.
posted by Splunge at 12:05 PM on September 21, 2017 [1 favorite]

Doggo paws smell like corn chips. Do spider paws smell like corn chips as well?

Where's the research on that? I volunteer someone else to systemically sniff several spiders' paws to answer this pressing question.

Because it sure as flying-fuck ain't gonna be me. But yay science!
posted by the matching mole at 12:13 PM on September 21, 2017

it'll be a beautiful day on metafilter when we can get a post on spiders that doesn't have any "nope!" or "kill it with fire!" comments

Maybe kind of a metatalk thing, but they're definitely in league with comments that are like "I don't understand why anyone would like this stupid thing someone made a post on."

Like, cool if it's not your thing, but you probably don't need to tell everyone else . . .
posted by aspersioncast at 1:22 PM on September 21, 2017 [5 favorites]

This post is awesome! I adore spiders, though I do admit to jumping in startlement if they come visit before I'm fully awake.

There's a jumping spider in the house that likes to hang out on my desk. She's quite cute and friendly! If she will hold still for me the next time she visits, I shall examine her little feets!!
posted by MissySedai at 1:54 PM on September 21, 2017 [3 favorites]

I have a population of cellar spiders, Pholcidae, who I am very fond of as they keep my non-airconditioned apartment mostly free of bugs for the 2/3rds of the year when the circulation fans are in the windows. They generally hang out inconspicuously, but when fall comes and the prey population drops they go wandering for better hunting grounds (and possibly to eat some of their fellows.). This sometimes results in them wandering across my pillow at night, and occasionally my face. Per this close view, they do not have particularly cute paws, but I still like them.
posted by tavella at 2:36 PM on September 21, 2017 [2 favorites]

I love spiders and spider pictures, and I appreciate the NOPE WITH FIRE comments, because they let me know that I should not talk to my coworkers about things like, "I saw the most awesome documentary about spider eyes and the different kinds of light they can see" or whatever.

I need the occasional reminder that some of my interests and hobbies are definitely not appropriate breakroom conversation material. I don't mind if the reminders are firm as long as they're not going into great detail about how "gross" spiders are or how stupid or horrible someone must be to be interested in them.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 3:59 PM on September 21, 2017 [2 favorites]

There may have been less "NOPE WITH FIRE" if the post hadn't contained, "it may change the way you look at them." It did not. Fascinating creatures, yes. But viscerally horror inducing for many many people.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 6:04 PM on September 21, 2017 [1 favorite]

But especially enjoy fuzzy, cute little jumping spiders.

Yes, there's something endearing about jumping spiders!

So, spiders are basically tiny cats with twice as many legs

'Eight-legged cats' and how they see - a review of recent research on jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae)
posted by A Mind of Winter at 7:52 AM on September 22, 2017 [1 favorite]

Super 8 Motel renovation
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:41 PM on September 25, 2017