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Top 5 Reasons to Admire Spiders (Even If You Don’t Like Them!)
Even if the thought of spiders makes you want to run shrieking in the opposite direction, you have to admit—they’re pretty amazing. Not only does their silk have more tensile strength than steel, their webs literally are the stuff of legends: Ancient Greek mythology holds that spiders get their namesake from a village girl named Arachne, who challenged the goddess Athena to a weaving contest only to be turned into a spider when her work was deemed superior.
Nature’s master weavers, different spiders use different webs for different reasons (and some don’t even use them). So, what kinds of spiders are you likely to see in and around your home, and what do their webs look like? Ipswich River Property Manager Richard Wolniewicz helps unravel the mystery.
Orb Weavers
What Are They?
When it comes to web making, orb weavers could be considered the “Type As” of the spider world; they spend hours perfecting their webs, which they often eat the next day to recoup some of the energy spent spinning.
What to Look For
These are the webs that immediately come to mind when we think of spiders: meticulously made, wheel-shaped webs found in gardens, field edges, and the forest. Once an insect becomes ensnared, an orb weaver, such as the common black-and-yellow garden spider, will simultaneously bite and wrap its meal in silk for preservation.
Who Knew?
Many orb weavers create conspicuous zigzag patterns near the center of their otherwise invisible webs. Recent research suggests they do so to lure their prey: The silk used to make the pattern is thought to reflect more UV rays than the rest of the web, which insects find attractive.
Sheet Weavers
What Are They?
Sheet weavers are among the most abundant spiders in the world. However, you’re more likely to spot their webs before you spot them—most are just 1/5 of an inch in length.
What to Look For
Flat and transparent, sheet webs resemble pieces of cellophane laid over the grass on frosty or dewy mornings. Fall is a prime time for spotting these delicate creations in your yard as well as along field edges and rivers.
Who Knew?
Sheet weavers, such as the filmy dome spider, hang upside down under their sticky platforms, where they wait for insects to drop onto the surface before launching an attack from below.
Cob Weavers
What Are They?
If orb weavers are the “Type As” of the spider world, cob weavers are their eccentric, if slightly disheveled, cousins.
What to Look For
Messy and seemingly constructed without any rhyme or reason, cobwebs are often found in dark, dusty areas like the basement or attic. Members of this family, such as the gangly long-bodied cellar spider, use their three-dimensional silken tents to trap household pests such as flies, ants, and mosquitoes.
Who Knew?
As the largest family of spiders, cob weavers are hard to miss! Consider their presence in your home a good thing: Without them we’d be overrun with bugs.
Funnel Weavers
What Are They?
Funnel weavers found in Massachusetts have a hairy appearance and lightning-fast gait that can be intimidating. These spiders are mostly harmless and won’t bite unless provoked.
What to Look For
Found at the base of trees in dense grass or in nooks and crannies around the home, funnel webs resemble an ice cream cone, with a wide opening at one end and a point at the other. Funnel weavers hide inside these silken tubes before darting out to capture unsuspecting prey.
Who Knew?
Like other web weavers, funnel weavers are extremely sensitive to vibration. They rely upon this ability and two rows of eight eyes to survive.
Ambush Hunters
What Are They?
There are some spiders that don’t need webs to catch their dinner. Instead, these opportunistic critters (known as ambush hunters) rely on special adaptations.
What to Look For
Ambush hunters can be found inside and outside the home. Some, such as crab spiders, have a chameleon-like ability to blend with surroundings that makes them difficult to spot, while others have distinctive behavior (like a jumping spider’s herky-jerky gait) that makes them hard to miss.
Who Knew?
Not all spiders hunt on land: Fishing spiders rest on the surface of lakes and ponds, using ripples to detect mayflies, tadpoles, and fish. Once they’ve been alerted to a potential meal, these ambush hunters run across the water on the tips of their legs before diving deep for dinner.
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