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momwise
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| Posted: July 15 2006 at 9:48am | IP Logged
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Check out Spiderzrule for poems, photos, legends, candies and cookies, songs, worksheets, posters and lots more.
Post your favorite spider books!!
Homeschoolshare.com has a unit based on Sophie's Masterpiece andA Very Busy Spider and of course there's always Charlotte's Web but I don't think I'm due for another round of that yet 
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Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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lapazfarm
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Very cool!
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Theresa
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ladybugs
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| Posted: July 15 2006 at 11:50am | IP Logged
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I think spiders are so interesting! Thanks, Gwen!
We also found a cool video at our library called Web of Intrigue. It's done by National Geographic so there's some great footage.
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Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: July 15 2006 at 12:54pm | IP Logged
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ladybugs wrote:
We also found a cool video at our library called Web of Intrigue. It's done by National Geographic so there's some great footage. |
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That one is a classic!
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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ladybugs
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| Posted: Sept 09 2006 at 10:33pm | IP Logged
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Hey ladies,
On my blog, I posted some pics of a couple of spiders.
One I really think is an orb web weaver, the other...grosses me out even though I totally think it's interesting...but I haven't been able to identify it.
Is it a crab spider? house spider?
I'm not sure.
Do you ladies have an idea?
Thanks....
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Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Sept 10 2006 at 9:09am | IP Logged
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It looks like another species of Orb weaver. Remember that Orb weavers are an entire family of spiders with many genera and species. This gal just looks as if she is in her retreat for the day and will most likely build her orb at night. Many orb weavers build each night and take them down (they eat the silk to recycle it) each morning.
Of course she may be making ready to build her egg case, during which time females will leave their webs for a few days. Look for a silken case attached to a surface nearby.
If she is by your porch light then she is a very clever girl indeed--the light should draw alot of bugs for her to eat!
These spiders may be creepy looking, but they are harmless and a real blessing as they eat so many insects. If she creeps you out too badly you can gently catch her in a cup and move her to another location away from high traffic areas.
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Theresa
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ladybugs
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| Posted: Sept 10 2006 at 10:36am | IP Logged
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Thank you, Theresa!
I was really thrown by the size of her abdomen! In the websites I checked, I couldn't find reference to a large abdomen except for a crab spider...
Even though she creeps me out a bit, I like her too much and she can reside on my porch!
Perhaps, she'll scare away any solicitors! 
Thanks, again!
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Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
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ladybugs
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Theresa,
You helped me remember!
I typed it up on my blog so if you don't mind clicking over there again...I gave the whole wrap up there!
Thanks, again!
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Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
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marihalojen
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That is amazing! The abdomen would have thrown me too! 
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The Mari Hal-O-Jen
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Dawn
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Maria, your post and pictures are wonderful! I linked to your blog and JoAnna's this morning when I posted about an orb weaver we spied outside our family room window the other night.
I don't remember spiders being this BIG before!  I know how you feel though - we were kind of creeped out at first but they are fascinating to watch and as long as we keep our distance (and why wouldn't we ) they can stay. 
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ladybugs
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Thanks, Dawn!
I checked out JoAnna's blog - very cool pics there - and Dawn, your pic of your spider is very good, too!
Theresa mentioned on my blog that while I thought that the large-abdomened spider was the same one as a skinnier one we spotted earlier in the summer, that it could be the same one OR it could be a male.
Better run....
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Maria P
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Dawn
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ladybugs wrote:
| Theresa mentioned on my blog that while I thought that the large-abdomened spider was the same one as a skinnier one we spotted earlier in the summer, that it could be the same one OR it could be a male. |
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Now this makes me curious. The three orb weavers we have spotted in our yard all have very large abdomens. Does that mean they are female?
Also, in my autumn nature study photo album, I have some pictures of a smaller spider (not sure of the type) living under a leaf that has caught up in our family room picture window (on the outside ). The really interesting thing about it is there is a second identical spider under that leaf - but it appears lifeless. Did she kill it? She hasn't wrapped it like she does with other bugs. Do spiders live together like that?
Spiders are truly fascinating to watch! 
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lapazfarm
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Dawn, I would have to see it better to tell, but your spider in the leaf looks like it is in the family Theridiidae, which is the same family as black widows. And we know that back widows will sometimes kill and feed on their mates (as well as anything else that stumbles into their web when she's hungry). So, it could be her mate,or another spider, or it could be simply her molted exoskeleton(Spiders molt when they grow, sort of like snakes). If you see that it is very thin and papery, that could be it. I have not looked up that family to see how long lived they are or how many times they molt, but it is a possibility. I vote for the dead mate, though.
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Dawn
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Thank you for the information, Theresa. I think it is a dead mate too. It looks too whole to be an exoskeleton. You mention this spider is in the Black Widow family - not poisonous though, I hope? 
We watched the deck orb weaver eat her web this morning! It was so cool! 
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lapazfarm
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Most likely not poisonous. There are only a few poisonous spiders in that family. The black and brown widows are the only ones I can think of and they are pretty distinct. The brown also has the red hourglass mark under the abdomen. I couldn't see that in the picture. Much more likely to be Achearanea tepidariorium or common brown house spider (just a guess). Harmless and very, very common.
Neat thing about Theridiid webs: they are typical "cobwebs" but are spring-loaded. They attach certain strands to the surface under tension like booby traps so that when an ant (their favorite prey) walks by and hits the strand they get snatched up and tossed into the rest of the web. Cool if you can see it happen. Also neat about this family is that they are called "comb footed spiders" because they have a comb-like structure on their third (I think) legs with which they pull the silk from their spinnerets to build their webs and to wrap prey, which is also neat to watch.
I am glad you got to see the spider eating her web. Pretty cool conservation strategy!
Can you tell I just love spider talk? I specialized in Araneology in school and just don't get much chance to share anymore! Not many folks are interested, so it is nice to find some folks who are! What a great forum!
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ladybugs
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Ok, Spiderholics...
I know I'm one! Tonight at soccer practice, I even shared the news of our lovely front-porch spider. I think they thought I was weird.
Anyway, I posted a picture of the spider with the large abdomen on my blog - it's a new picture and she's in the middle of the web. It's an interesting perspective.
Theresa, with your expertise, can you enlighten me, please? Female, male?
Thank you in advance.
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Maria P
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lapazfarm
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Maria,
I left this response on your blog, but for the benefit of others I will also leave it here:
I am fairly certain this is a female, based on body size and lack of any visible palpal organs, but would actually need a closer look to be certain.
The way you tell is this: spiders have 8 legs, right? But if you look at the front of the spider she has two small leg-like appendages called pedipalps. These are used for manipulating prey, etc. In a female (and juveniles) they just look like very reduced legs. In an adult male they will look distictly swollen like he is wearing little "boxing gloves" on them. These are his palpal organs, which are used for mating. So, it is usually pretty easy to tell a male spider. But you have to get fairly close to see them.
Also, as I said earlier, males tend to be smaller bodied (sometimes drastically so) and often do not build their own webs, but travel around looking for females.
Hope that helps!
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Theresa
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ladybugs
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Thank you so very much, Theresa!
I really appreciate it!
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Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
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ladybugs
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| Posted: Sept 16 2006 at 6:16pm | IP Logged
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I'm really enjoying our spiders this year.
If you go to my blog, I've posted another pic of one of the orb web spiders and you can still see her attached via a sliver of silk to the web!
Just in case you're interested...
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Maria P
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ladybugs
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Ok, well, now that spider with the large abdomen has gone and laid her egg sac...
Go to my blog and check it the pictures...
Does anyone know if I can move the sac without a problem for mom and spiderettes?
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Maria P
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Topic: Great Spider site
