Maggie's Moments: My mind was full of cobwebs and I was in a fog

Sunday, September 28, 2014

My mind was full of cobwebs and I was in a fog

I found it strange this morning that the lake had little fog compared to the fog bound fields as we headed north east.

I like looking at spider webs and I like trying to get shots of them. The roadsides today were festooned with thousands of these works of art, bringing marvel to the morning.

Spiders have several spinnerets at the base of their abdomen: usually three. They have seven known glands which produce a thread for a special purpose. All spiders have some of these glands but no spider has all of them.

Orb weaving spiders are nocturnal, spinning their web in the night and they usually take them down during the day by eating all but the baseline.

The nightly weavers start with one sticky thread and they carefully walk over it several times, each time adding strength. Then they make a Y. Next, the radials are added. Once the radials are complete the spider returns to the centre and adds about five circular threads once again adding strength to the silky structure.

In order for the spider to move around quickly on the web, addition of spirals of non sticky, evenly spaced, circular threads assist in the completion the lair. When the web is complete these non sticky threads are removed. From the outside in, the spider adds sticky spiral threads. Finally the spider will chew off the initial three centre spirals and wait for mealtime. I think it is one of nature’s truly neat things that the spaces between each spiral are directly proportional to the distance from the tip of the spider’s leg to its spinners. Spiders use their bodies as measuring and spacing devices!