It has been hot and humid around the riverrim. There is a fog mist on the mountains at sunrise. I woke to seeing the lawn covered with many webs from the agelenopsis pennsylvanica (american grass spiders). They had been busy the night before.
Their webs looked to me like so many silk hankies, scattered about on the lawn, just waiting to be collected and spun.
The bite from agelenopsis pennsylvanica is not harmful to humans, because the spider's Chelicerae are too tiny to pierce human skin....and the web itself is not sticky...
..I wonder..if...
I reached for an empty spindle to try to spin the web. Living in the wood without neighbors to watch me attempt this task, saved me the embarrassment of having to explain what I was trying to do. Well, I did have to explain to my husband, but he has become rather understanding of my ideas.
My attempts were unsuccessful. I was not able to spin more than a few inches at best before the webs broke. Maybe they were too wet, or just to fragile, but I did have fun giving it try.
I love to watch the spiders spin. I wonder if they have success and failures. Do they spin a perfect web every time? Being a spinner, I've gained a great deal of respect for the other spinsters. There is a special comradery that exists between those that know how to spin silk ...and other fibers.
I took my own spindle and distaff to the garden, and wondered if the spiders were watching me, but web spinning spiders cannot see well at all, despite the fact that they have several pairs of eyes, they navigate mostly by sense of touch. Maybe that is why they are so very skilled at what they do.
8 comments:
I've thought about trying that too. What if we waited until they were dryer?
Before I read through your post I was wondering if you had ever tried this. I think it is a wonderful thing to do. You don't know until you've tried. I don't see this species in my garden. Maybe there is too much traffic. My garden is so small. I go all over it most days. Right now baby rabbits are eating my hostas. UGH... Hopefully they will learn to eat the clover in the lawn. The chipmunk is terrorizing the robins, eating their eggs. Grrrrrr
LOL! I had a lawn full of dewy webs this morning and wondered what kind of spider they belonged to. Thank you for the answer. :-) And kudos for trying to spin one!
Interesting to know you gave it a spin. Be even more intriguing to find out about dryer webs.
We've had them for the past couple weeks. I think that they are earlier this year. I usually see them in August more than June / July. It is like magic to wake up to see the grass decorated with all the hankies.
I never tried to spin one... Cathy may be on to something. The webs that I run into at face height sure are strong. lol!
My mom always told us they were fairy tents.
It is very interesting and strange for me. I've never seen such a spider web like these. At first I thought they are mushrooms :-).
Fantastic!
Post a Comment