I Discovered Something Kinda Freaky...Wish I Could Get A Picture.

[OK Corgi Rancher]

Man...if that isn't a click-bait title nothing is!

I was walking out to the garden after dark with a flashlight. As the light shined across the ground I saw what I thought were maybe hundreds of fireflies in the grass. But none were flying and I thought that was odd. They were moving across the ground, though.

I shined the light on one firefly and was able to walk to it and get a closer look. Not a firefly at all. It was a spider and it was it's eyes glowing in the dark just like a deer would when a light is shined in their eyes. Tiny little green dots. They look similar to a wolf spider...maybe that's what they are. Really common tan and brown colored spiders with dark stripes.

Literally hundreds of them just in a small area. The ground is alive with them it seems. Showed this to my wife. She may not sleep for a week or more.

 

[Okie4570]

They have tapetum just like deer, cattle, etc.

 

[dennishoddy]

Possibly a nest of tarantulas? I was mowing a couple years ago and found a hole with a lot of small critters running around it. Stopped and the momma came out of the hole and took an aggressive stand while the babies went back down into the hole.
I have no clue if the spider can dig the hole or they take a hole dug by something else. Probably a 3/4" hole.

 

[L.C.]

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

Possibly a nest of tarantulas? I was mowing a couple years ago and found a hole with a lot of small critters running around it. Stopped and the momma came out of the hole and took an aggressive stand while the babies went back down into the hole.
I have no clue if the spider can dig the hole or they take a hole dug by something else. Probably a 3/4" hole.

No...not tarantulas. Just garden variety little spiders. And they're everywhere. It really is kinda freaky to know there are that many out there. I should have a bunch of fat chickens and guineas in no time.

 

[JEVapa]

Grass spiders. There aren’t hundreds, there are thousands and thousands. Shine your light across the yard in any direction and you’ll see their little glowing eyes.

 

[Catt57]

Man...if that isn't a click-bait title nothing is!

I was walking out to the garden after dark with a flashlight. As the light shined across the ground I saw what I thought were maybe hundreds of fireflies in the grass. But none were flying and I thought that was odd. They were moving across the ground, though.

I shined the light on one firefly and was able to walk to it and get a closer look. Not a firefly at all. It was a spider and it was it's eyes glowing in the dark just like a deer would when a light is shined in their eyes. Tiny little green dots. They look similar to a wolf spider...maybe that's what they are. Really common tan and brown colored spiders with dark stripes.

Literally hundreds of them just in a small area. The ground is alive with them it seems. Showed this to my wife. She may not sleep for a week or more.

 

[RETOKSQUID]

 

[Seadog]

View attachment 382132

First thing that went through my head. Gas can and match

 

[Perplexed]

I see the eyes of wolf spiders across the front lawn, when I take my dogs out before bed in the summertime, and I shine my flashlight around to make sure there aren’t any nighttime critters the dogs could mess with. Like skunks