Web Weaving Weirdos

I’ll fight a bear, but I don’t like spiders. I’m not a fan of those.
  — J. J. Watt

I’m an unabashed arachnophobe. Spiders are not just creepy; they’re intentionally malevolent. God created spiders because snakes weren’t sufficient to remind us that we live in a fallen world. Spiders are the only creatures that have the capacity to make me hurt myself while attempting to avoid even the most benign encounter. 

Given those facts, it amazes me that I’m posting this. You should be impressed.

A few weeks ago, we had at least five yellow garden spiders (Argiope aurantia) nesting in our back yard landscape. [Note: I have previously — and erroneously — referred to these spiders as orb weavers.] [Additional note: They are in the family of orb weavers, so I was wrong when I thought I was wrong. Sort of.] They ranged in size from about a quarter inch in body length up to more than an inch…and that doesn’t include their devastatingly creepy legs. Some of them had future meals trapped in their webs.

Several of them were in the process of building their webs, and I tamped down my revulsion in order to video what I grudgingly came to appreciate as an amazing natural phenomenon. I filmed a couple of spiders during this process and compiled the following short (~3 minutes) movie. I hope you’ll find it as fascinating as I did.

The following photo is a closeup of the spider’s spinnaret, which is emitting the silk thread that comprises the web.

Of course, the purpose of the web is to snare prey. Below is a photo of one of our spiders feeding on an unidentified insect (possibly a moth). The next photo shows a different spider feeding on a rather large cicada. Judging by the state of the web, the cicada put up a fight, but it obviously was to no avail.

As I mentioned in the video, while the spiders are definitely predators, they’re not at the top of the food chain. None of the spiders shown in this article are still around. I suspect they themselves have become prey to birds or lizards, or even mammals such as possums. I honestly can’t muster any sympathy for them. For one thing, it’s just nature at work. But really, in the end, regardless of the exquisite elegance of their silk spinning, spiders are just creepy.