I have been deathly afraid of spiders most of my life (from a really scarey childhood incident). When I had children, I worked hard to curb my reaction so I wouldn't pass on an unreasonable fear of them to the kids...and making that effort has helped me to actually not be quite so freaked out by them all the time. Still, I get the heebie-jeebies. It's a very odd mix of feelings...looking at these pictures you posted of truly beautiful and fascinating creatures...and yet it makes my skin crawl!

A few months ago, my daughter and I went to our first reptile expo. Of course there were a lot of invertabrates there, too. I screwed up my courage and asked a guy if I could hold one of his tarantulas. It was such a cool experience! It was so light I didn't even know it was there, but then felt its little "nails" sort of hanging on as it transfered from my hand back to its container. And I pet its abdomen...which surprised me with its texture. It didn't feel so much "hairy" as "feathery."

I don't think I'll ever be truly comfortable with arachnids of any sort...but I do have a much greater tolerance and deeper appreciation of them. Marcus...those are stunning pictures. I can't decide if I want to study them closer...or close the window on them! LOL Thanks for sharing those!!

Sorry for rambling...