portraits of nature
( walking into webs )
by “porcupine pat” mckinney
you’ve felt them outside while walking on a lawn or traipsing a trail in the woods—those thin strands of spider webbing that tickle your nose or stick to your shirt are commonplace at this time of year. fall is the season for spiders to think fanciful thoughts in family-ways, and because of that, their presence is more pronounced.
warm days and cool nights bring rise to morning dew that accentuates webs, whether on the ground or dangling between two logical spots. you swear that spiders must have some semblance of intelligence, given the engineering feat they construct, weaved not only in the name of utility but art, too.
( notice the dark hole weaved into this web to the right
of this fence post; inside it is the resting spider who made it )
gossamer is the name for the flying airborne strands of extremely fine silk, aka webbing. spiders spin strands to launch themselves to move from one place to another. this is the art of “ballooning.” male spiders are on the prowl in search of a perfect match of female.
although most rides will end a few yards later, it seems to be a common way for spiders to invade islands. many sailors have reported that spiders have been caught in their ship's sails, even when far from land !
the silk spun from spiders is a protein which functions as a trap or net to catch their prey. their silk is also used as nests or cocoons to protect their little ones and also to keep themselves suspended. spiders are also the only critters which use silk in their daily lives.
spider webs have existed for at least 100 million years, as witnessed in a rare find of early cretaceous amber from england. insects can get trapped in spider webs, providing nutrition to the spider; however, not all spiders build webs to catch prey, and some do not build webs at all, like the wolf spider which prowls the ground in search of food.
"spider web" is typically used to refer to a web that is apparently still in use (i.e. clean), whereas "cobweb" refers to abandoned (i.e. dusty) webs. those spider “webby” nooks and crannies now hold greater meaning.
some silk strands are stronger than steel strands of the same thickness. the silk of the nephila spider is the strongest natural fiber known and is used to make tote bags and fish nets. in a certain species, spiders can use their web to capture an air bubble; with this bubble, the spider can survive and hunt under water where other spiders and insects would drown.
every web begins with a single thread, which forms the basis of the rest of the structure. to establish this bridge, the spider climbs to a suitable starting point (up a tree branch, for example) and releases a length of thread into the wind. with any luck, the free end of the thread will catch onto another branch. if the spider feels that the thread has caught onto something, it cinches up the silk and attaches the thread to the starting point.
pioneer housewives might swat you if you smashed a spider in their cabins. they served as nature’s bug zappers back then ! spiders do their part by controlling the massive population growth of insects, especially insect pests. keep this in mind as you enjoy the prominent autumn display of webs and webbing all around you.