Warning: Seriously, do not scroll down if you have arachnophobia.
Large pictures of a spider below...... /X( ;::; )X\
Large pictures of a spider below...... /X( ;::; )X\
For days we've been watching this spider make it's web right outside the bedroom window. She's definitely an orb weaver, we're thinking it's Araneus diadematus. We get a lot of cool orb weavers here but we actually got some good pictures of this one.
Every night she makes a new web and it's perfect. It's fascinating to watch, really. Apparently they eat it during the day so we get to watch her re-build it every night. I'm sure the light from the streetlights and the bedroom lamps attracts the insects, which is why the spider built her web there. The web gets messed up pretty fast from things flying into it, so I'm sure she's happy with her new spot.
Feel free to click to enlarge any of the below pictures!
She's awesome. Thanks spiders for catching all the insects that would normally sneak in through the cracks in the screen and window, (it's an older building,) and bother us. Not that I have anything against any insect, I catch and release them outside, I don't kill anything. I am glad when nature does the work for me though, spiders and bats like this little more woodsy section of the neighborhood. Both animals get a bad rap, but they really do keep the insect population to manageable levels, without them it would be a total bug-pocalypse.
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| Hi friend! |
There's also a basement in this building, filled with everything from tiny cellar spiders to huge wolf spiders. I like spiders, I don't mind one or two in the apartment, but the basement is referred to as "Spider Town," around here. I make up nicknames for things, called it that once, and it stuck. The landlord also once sprayed for them so there's lots of web-y spider skeletons covered in some sort of white pesticide powder. Talk about creepy. I'm not a huge fan of Spider Town, but I'll make an expedition there if there's any reader interest in this sort of thing.
Such an awesome looking spider. Just in case your CPs didn't do their job properly, your fly and mosquito problem is not fixed with friendly Charlotte here. I did not know they eat their own web and weave a new one every night, how cool are they?! You mentioned it, you definitely have to go to Spidertown for us. Looking forward to the post. Be careful though..
ReplyDeleteIt's rare I get a front row seat to spider activities, so although she can't write like Charlotte, she's still fun to watch. I'll have to make a few trips to Spider Town to hopefully catch a decent amount of spiders out to get pictures, so it might be a while. I've been bitten a few times before, usually no big deal. There's really only the brown recluse and black widow spiders that I worry about, but they are hiders so I doubt it'll be an issue. Safety third, kidding, lol!
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