This is a great time of year to do some spider spying. Spiders are everywhere in the fall and spider webs and spider egg sacs are the best fun to watch, as anyone who liked the story of Charlotte’s Web may guess.
Web Watching
Web watching is an activity you can take part in safely from inside the house since spiders like to weave webs near windows. Can you guess why? Because the houselights attract prey for them to feast on.
A field guide to spiders and their kin is available from Golden Guides and can help a spider spy identify a spider from the insect itself or the design and placement of the web. Before going out to spy spiders, look in an encyclopedia to learn more. Also, check out science books and library books on the subject. This will give you a basic overview of what you may find on your spider hunt.
Early Morning Sleuthing
Summer and Fall are good times to go out walking to spider spy, especially on a foggy morning. or after the dew has wet the surfaces of webs. Early light on webs make them show up and you will be totally amazed at the number of webs to be found.
- Search along fence rows and the edges of buildings.
- Check house windows and low shrubs.
- Look on the ground for spiders that make webs there.
- Check around decks and porches between rails.
Taking photographs
There are so many webs and they show up so nice you may be able to get some great shots with a digital camera. On the computer the webs can be studied in close up detail. Water drops on a web make beautiful pictures.
Spider Web Prints
Make a spider web print by taking black cardboard with you outside to look for webs. Find a nice strong flat web. Hold the paper just under the web and spray the web lightly with hairspray. Carefully pull away you paper and the web will stick to it.. The outline of the web will show up on the paper.
Types of Webs
Orb Webs
A big round web is called an orb. The spokes of the orb web are made of a non-sticky inelastic silk. The spiral lines are very elastic and sticks to anything that touches it. To watch one of these webs being woven is quite an experience. The black and yellow garden spider is a common orb web .The spider traps insects that flies into his web and then he wraps sticky threads around the insect and saves it for later meals. Look closely at any orb webs and you may find some which have been reinforced with zig-zag ribbons across the center.
Tunnel Webs
A grass spider builds a tunnel style web. Look carefully and find the tunnel. The funnel tube is where the spider hides to wait for prey to become tangled in his web or to avoid being sighted by its enemies. This web has a back door. The spider catches bugs and flies in his unsightly web.
Triangle Webs
A triangle weaver makes a web that seems to be a section of an orb webs full circle. The strings of this type of web are covered with droplets of sticky gooey liquid that catch and hold prey. The spider then wraps the bug in threads so that it can hang it in the web until he is ready to eat it.
Other Webs
What other types of webs can you find? Do any have egg sacs hung in them? Look for insects that have been caught and saved for dinner. Try drawing a web and a spider. Do a large drawing of your favorite spider and label its body parts. Copy the scientific and common name of the spider onto your picture.
Beware!
Learn what spiders in your area are poisonous and which are safe. Be certain to learn how to recognize dangerous spiders like the Fiddleback—Brown Recluse and the Black Widow. Draw and color each of these spiders. Did you know there are also Brown Widows, Red Widows, and Northern Widows? Are these poisonous? What are the differences?
Catch and Study
Study of spiders is a branch of entomology. To catch some spiders to observe, first prepare the container—a jar, a screened box, or a small fishbowl. Use an insect-sweep-net or an open umbrella held under a bush or tree branch. Shake the plant and the spiders and bugs will fall into the bowl of the umbrella where you can capture them and put them into the container. A headlight will help you locate and observe spiders outside at night.
There are many beautiful webs and awesome looking spiders just waiting for you to observe. The trapdoor spider, the tarantula, the wolf spider, the Daddy Longlegs, the cobweb weavers, and crab spiders are only a few of as many as 37,000 species of spiders found on our earth. So be a spider spy and scout out mind-boggling facts about these mysterious creatures. Discover spiders!
