We may be a little late to the Arachtober party this year, but it’s never too late to celebrate the 8-leggeds among us. Following the costumed craziness of a Halloween morning at school, some middle schoolers joined me today for a spider hike in the woods. We started in the science room, admiring the subtle beauty of our resident tarantula, Webster. Then we headed into the woods, pausing to flip logs and examine minute webs strung between small branches.
Most of the spiders we found on webs were tiny offspring hatched this summer, already proficient orb-spinners. Along the stream, fishing spiders spread themselves flat against the ground, perfectly camouflaged. We snared several spiders dangling on single strands of silk, but these evaded us by dropping quickly to the ground and vanishing.
Our final spider discovery was a large web that appeared abandoned, along the path on our way back up the hill. Then we spied a curled leaf at one side, and tucked in it, a lovely marbled orb weaver. She was intent on eating her most recent victim (which looked like it might be another of her kind) and she fixed her many eyes upon us without releasing her grip on her prey. We took her picture and then left her to eat her treat in peace.
For more Jemicy arachnids, check out the gallery below:
Bringing biodiversity home 