While we complain about the cold, and the lingering winter-like conditions, we may be forgetting that at least frigid Northern Illinois weather keeps the bugs away...for the most part.
Here's how to gauge your own level of arachnophobia: if you said "Wow, what a colorful and interesting specimen," you've got a pretty small case of spider-phobia, if at all.
Okay, maybe the bugs aren't quite as large as the photo might suggest, but my "How To Add Hyperbolic Photos To Your Internet Posts" handbook said that these would work.