I'm not so sure fear of spiders stems from anything other than their strange appearance,
coupled with the warnings/stories from adults we hear as children.
You didn't hear them about domesticated cats, and cats look more "like us" so they're by
nature not as scary.
Plus something else I just realized is that most very young (like under 5) children will pick up, play
with and sometimes even eat spiders...which suggests to me that fear of spiders is something
likely acquired and not "inherent" or "born with".
Myself, I used to have a TERRIBLE fear of spiders, which I've almost completely eradicated
simply by exercising a few years of conscious effort and casual study. Once I realized they're
extremely beneficial and mostly harmless, my fears subsided. Now, I actually really like spiders. :-P
The only one I still watch for is the "black widow" - those have to go for safety reasons, unless they're
well away from the house. For the recluse, supposedly there are none near my area (northern Nevada),
yet a friend of mine was bitten on the wrist by a spider a few years ago, and had almost identical symptoms
to bootdisk (that's an awful story BTW!!). Word is they've even spread to areas of northern California as well.
I have a friend whose grandmother was KILLED by a recluse, they're a very serious threat to both young children and the elderly. (Not to mention the possibility of recurring necrosis around the bite area...)
Here's a
link to a famous nasty one, apparently it can bite through human nail...
Hmmm....and this interesting comment...
Bites are dangerous and can cause serious illness or death. The venom appears to particularly affect primates (ie humans),
whereas other mammals - such as cats and dogs - are relatively resistant.
...and more funnel web pics
