Every time I find one in the house, I either let it "run alive" or, if it's a large type like a Wolf Spider, I catch it in a cup and take it out. When we moved into the house, it had been vacant for a while. You know what that means. More than once last summer I found a full, abandoned egg sac somewhere in the house and ever-so-carefully collected it and moved it to a protected spot outside...I even got to watch one hatch in the fall. It was absolutely stunning, with all of the little baby spiders putting out their lines of web, glistening in the sunset as they wafted away. Last fall I took a web walk with my camera when all of the new babies had matured and built webs everywhere.
I've even been known to discover long-term residents and grow fond of them. For example, last year we had Dierdre, an orb spider who built very ambitious webs that somtimes had fifteen foot-long support threads, and Phineas, a pale grey hunter smaller than my pinkie nail.
Yeah. I know, I'm crazy. But I love them! They're beautiful, and fascinating to watch and study.
I love reading about and identifying the different species, finding out how they build webs and reproduce, and everything else. They're one of God's great marvels. Thef act that each one in born with the inherent knowledge of how to build such amazingly complex structures! And not only that, their bodies produce everything they need. They can even survive without bugs to eat, because their digestive system can process the protein in their silk.
So, anyway, if anyone ever has a question about spiders...well, you know who to ask. ;) And next time you're tempted to smish one, stop and think about how truly marvelous they are.
Jenine, Mistress of the Mailbox.
1 comment:
First of all, I found this post kind of entertaining especially when it comes to the names! Personally, I don't "like" spiders. I just don't want to find one crawling up my arm. It tickles creepily and, well, some are simply dangerous. But, I understand because I am fascinated by mushroom and other fungi (Oh look everyone! Mold!) which can be seen as equally weird. As a child I was deathly afraid of all insects and spiders but I have gotten a lot better over the years, especially with things like butterflies, moths, ladybugs, doodlebugs (pill bugs or rolly-pollies) and grasshoppers. The only thing is, I. Hate. Roaches.
Everly
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