By Kathy Van Peteghem
As we turn the page on the calendar to September, for many, this means that summer vacation is wrapping up, and it’s now back to school and work. Being organized and adjusting and balancing our schedules starts as we move into fall. The same occurs with nature. The birds are gathering to migrate and head to warmer terrains; the deer population is expanding and seen in the fields (and my garden) eating their breakfast, my garden is racing to produce those final veggie favs, and the sunrises and sunsets now reflect less, daylight. Trees are starting to present their hidden colors, and our heavy morning dews and night fogs creep in as the temperatures cool. Lightning bugs dance less, and the harmony of the crickets, cicadas, and frog night song begins to fade into the background. During this time, the community of spiders comes together to display their well-engineered web masterpieces.
The Spiderhood
Like good neighbors, different spiders can be seen around my yard, often highlighted with the morning dew. Each one carries a signature web and reflects their unique personalities.
Google provided some Interesting facts about spiders: The average life span is one year. They use dances and songs to attract mates and intimidate rivals trying to claim their territory. Some male spiders gift dead flies to females during courtship. Most spiders use silk glands: smooth, sticky, dry, and stretchy. Spider silk is five times stronger than a strand of steel of the same thickness. Spider webs transmit vibrations when plucked, which communicate information to the spider. Spiders have inferior vision, even with 8 eyes, and must rely on their keen hearing, taste, and smell. The purpose of a spider’s web is to live, store, hide, and hunt. Outdoor spiders replace their webs daily.
Allow me to take you on a walk and introduce you to a few friendly spider neighbors. I was delighted they permitted me to photograph their silk artwork, and a few spiders even took the time to be in my photoshoot!
The Orb Weavers
These spiders are the “fashionistas” and are from the Araneidae Family.
They decorate and embellish their web by adding extra silk designs and scaling the website to attract larger prey by often placing the web where the UV lighting from the sun can make the web reflect rainbow-like colors that prey are attracted to and fly toward. This ability to catch larger prey is important for the Orb Weaver as creating a new web of this scale each day is energy-consuming.
The Funnel Weaver
Part of the Agelenidae family, this harmless spider (the grass spider) is photosensitive, so it often stays tucked in the funnel until the prey enters the web. It moves quickly from its hiding spot to subdue its prey in seconds.
The Sheet Weaver
The Linyphiidae Family is the second-largest family of spiders. They spin a hammock-like web that drapes over bushes, grass, and other structures. (I often think my yard is decorated for Halloween without having to visit the store.) These spiders like to hang upside down and collect their prey as the insect lands and gets tangled up in the sticky web.
Do Spiders Migrate?
Spiders have been known to cross over oceans. There was speculation in the early 1800s that they used the wind. However, research by Peter Gorham, an astronomist at the University of Hawaii, discovered Charles Darwin’s theory, suggesting that spiders relocate by electrostatics (ballooning) and not wind. Spiders take off in flight when the Earth’s electric field is available—after publishing his article in the hopes of collaborating on new research, Morely, a Sensory Biologist at the University of Bristol, wanted to participate in his investigation. She noted that more enormous spiders lofted even on quieter days without wind. The answer came by revisiting the ionosphere research – a natural global electric field; the ionosphere includes a negatively charged surface on the Earth and the positively charged air 50 to 600 miles up. Accessed by spiders using their sensory hairs called trichobothria to react to this electric field and give the spiders the boost and loft they need to travel to their various destinations.
Gifts from the Spider
Eco-Friendly: An estimated 1 million spiders live on one acre of land. They can eat more harmful insects than birds and bats to keep the land healthy. They help pollinate plants; they assist in recycling plants and animals back into the Earth, and spiders are a good food source for birds and fish. The spiderweb is now used to collect and measure pollutants and air quality in regions. because the silk material is sticky, electrostatic particles attract the strands. This accurate feedback assists earth keepers to help restore and heal areas affected by human environmental toxins.
Healers- Unlike mosquitos and ticks, spiders do not feed on humans. Nor do humans swallow spiders at night (myth!). In the past, people placed spiderwebs on their wounds because it would stop bleeding. Science confirmed this treatment works because the silk material contains vitamin K, which is known to stop bleeding.
Inspire Innovation—Science has used the spider as an inspirational model to create spider-like robots that work in space for exploration and repair. Fiber artists have also been inspired.
The spider is an excellent example of organization, creativity, flexibility, and love for its community.
So, the next time you find one, thank it rather than terminate it! Be kind!
Kathy Van Peteghem enjoys the creative side that embraces the body, mind, and spirit. She is a writer, photographer, musician, artist, gardener-herbalist, and nature lover who releases a stressful day with tap dancing and Gi-gong. She loves living life from the heart and hopes to inspire others to do the same.
