late orb

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Another late-season find: an orb-weaver's woven orb. Let's hope it catches a meal after all this work but if it does, it could be one of its last. Most adult spiders die before winter arrives.

It is estimated that there are over 10,000 species of orb-weaving spiders worldwide. Just think about it Rikki, ten thousand creatures that can create these beautiful macramé nets that, in truth, only last but a few hours. Strong yet ethereal. Most of these eight-legged, eight-eyed weavers eat their webs at the end of day—it's pure protein, so why not?— and then reweave another one in usually the same location. That is, we assume, if it proved to be an opportunistic site.

By redoing it every day, the web stays free of detritus and the sticky strands stay tacky. To quote the Bard, it’s almost, “Too flattering-sweet to be substantial,” as light and airy as Romeo’s nighttime dream. Yet for a flying insect, it's a viscous nightmare.

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drugged spiders

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Following yesterday's orb-weaver story, perhaps today's post falls under the heading, "Did someone really do this?"

Karen Sue found this report in "The Handy Bug Answer Book" by Dr. Gilbert Waldbauer. It seems that orb-weaver spiders fed a high dose of caffeine weave webs that are barely recognizable, little more than irregular triangles of silk that couldn't possible catch an insect. (Spiders that live at Starbucks, be forewarned.)

But wait there's more.


Spiders enticed to ingest the hallucinogenic drug mescaline, made from the peyote cactus, build webs that are smaller than normal and that have abnormally variable angles. While spiders fed LSD waste extra time building abnormally neat but regular webs that would catch no more insects than webs built by spiders that are not stoned out of their little arachnid minds. (I wonder: Do they have hallucinations of tiny little people crawling up melting walls?)

What did counterculture drug advocate Timothy Leary say, "Turn on. Tune in. Drop out. Spin away."

Now, if you are like me, you only have one question: Who in the world would devise such tests?

Do you think it might be college biology students with a little extra time on their hands? And a good source for coffee and popular 1960s' drugs.

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thanksgiving

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On an early morning bird walk last Saturday at the nature center, we discovered that Thanksgiving had come early for one of the park's residents. Or perhaps it was Christmas.

The morning sun glistened off a spider web providing a dramatic back light for an orb-weaver wrapping its catch: a rather large cicada.

Unfortunately, I did not have my camera but Sue Wagoner, a visitor from Illinois, had brought hers along.

Worldwide there are more than 2,800 known species of orb-weavers. Many spin a new web each day, recycling the old one. Generally, towards evening, the spider consumes the old web, rests for about an hour, (only an hour after eating that much protein) and then spins a new web, often in the same location. Orb-weavers produce sticky and non-sticky silk as the above cicada found out.

Thank you, Sue.

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