Warning: Tiny Arachnids Ahead...
This spring we have been seeing all of the cute and cuddly babies of nature...
But here... at our buggy house it is only fitting that the babies would be of the creepy crawly variety...
Fionna was overjoyed to find this little bundle of spiderlings on the side of the house this morning...
Just emerging to explore their new world... she was captivated...After our walk to the pond she came back to check on them... Using buckets and grasses she made a habitat for them... with "lots of grass for soft landings"...
And of course we had to do some research...
And of course we had to do some research...After looking in her insect guide she concluded that they were some type of orb spider...
We did some more research on the Internet and found out that they are Araneus diadematus... the best know of all orb weavers... Also known as European Garden Spider...
Some other cool stuff we learned:
- The female is bigger than the male and when they mate he must approach with caution because he may be viewed as prey and be eaten.
- The female dies within a few days of building her egg sac.
- When the spiderlings emerge in spring they release threads of silk to catch the wind... this is called ballooning.
- They rebuild their web every day.
- They eat the old web to retain the silk proteins in the web.
- They are very beneficial because they feed on insects... We like that because they eat the ones that bite us!
- Their bite is harmless to humans... Momma likes this part!
- You can use a clean spider's web to stop the bleeding on a cut or wound.
It is going to be fun to watch these little spiderlings develop...
I continue to be amazed by the things that I can handle now that I have a lover of all things that creep and crawl...
I am learning to let go of my fears and allow her to take the lead when it comes to these little creatures. She has a sense about them... Another level of connection with these wonderful minibeasts...
So while others are listening to the cute little barks, quacks and chirps of spring... We will be watching our little spiderlings balloon off to new homes...
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8 comments:
oh my goodness what a find!
Cool find!
My kids found a grown up spider of this kind last summer, and I dosn't like big spiders.... But as you, I had to let my own fear let go and take part in my kids exploring ;)
wow they are super cute in a creepy crawly way! How exciting, did you ever spot the mother spider there too? I suppose she is a busy mama with so many babies :)
I think this is the spider I saw this morning in the black berries...I'll have to double check. So cool!
I don't think I've ever seen so many spiders!
Fionna will be a good caretaker I'm sure :0)
It has been a very fun find... The baby bundle has now moved down to the "habitat" away from the house. All huddled close together on this chilly day... So cute in a spidery way...
We did see lots of orb spiders on this side of the house last summer... Luckly they like to stay outside! :)
The mom dies after she deposits her eggs in the egg sac but we did see a spider next to the babies that looked a lot like the male and are now wondering if the male tends the babies at all... more investigation!
Amazing babies! Would love to know if the daddy cares for them...we have loved watching our Daddy Cardinal care for his little ones. Also, we recently read a book that I think you guys would enjoy if you haven't come across it already: "Eggs" by Marilyn Singer. Full of wonderful details and illustrations.
cool picture! I've never seen that many before!
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