a journal about spiders found around Western PA
One of the most difficult questions I am asked is, "What's your favorite spider?" I never have a consistent answer to this and usually go with what is holding my attention at the moment. In this moment, my favorite spider is hands-down, the crab spider. There are about 130 of them found in North America.... Continue Reading →
Second to snakes, spiders are the most feared animals when it comes to phobias. They seem to have superpowers like hyper speed, materializing out of nowhere (or vanishing), invisible webs, and they're venomous (these are the top four things I've gathered from people who really don't like spiders). With all of that scariness in mind, it's hard... Continue Reading →
"How do spiders always seem to come back to the same place after I vacuum?" a friend asked. I knew what she meant because I've seen the same thing in my own house. I never really paid attention to these spiders as far as how many or how often they return after vacuuming. They just... Continue Reading →
Of the four common types of spider webs, the orb web is the classic spiderweb. It's engineering beauty and perfection is unrivaled in the animal kingdom. Orb webs are composed of four basic parts: the frame, the radial threads (spokes), the hub, and the sticky spiral. Only the spiral is sticky. Spiders have the ability... Continue Reading →
I used to work at Fireborn Studios, a pottery studio in the Southside of Pittsburgh. Part of my job was packing and shipping pottery to wholesale accounts. The packing area was in the basement, a typical cobwebby, dusty, albeit dry basement with no windows. I would occasionally....okay, OFTEN get distracted by the bugs that would... Continue Reading →
It's that time of year! The crispy edges of summer, back to school, football, AND adult Argiope aurantia season. You may know her as the banana spider, garden spider, black and yellow spider, Steelers spider, or some other nickname, but we're all talking about the same lady. Yes, the spider you notice is the female of the species. Males... Continue Reading →
Spiders are arachnids. Depending on what source you look at, there are 10-12 different types of arachnids. Spiders are one type of arachnid or one order with the fancy name Araneae (pronounced a-RA-nee-ee). All arachnids have eight legs, two body parts (sometimes fused to look like one), never any antennae, and never any wings. In addition... Continue Reading →
Have you ever seen a fairly flat, mat-like web that spreads out from a funnel with a spider sitting at the opening of the funnel? I've heard kids call it a "cyclone web", which is a cool description. The web is actually a funnel web and the spider in it is called a funnel web... Continue Reading →
