Tuesday 21 April 2020 / 2 Weeks Lock Down Extension

Spiders

We have a new visitor that has taken up residence during our confinement. Isn’t she a beautiful spider?

A Compromised Spider Web

I grew up under the generation of thinking that believed that anything that crawled across the threshold, great or small, should be bludgeoned to death.  Needless to say that spiders did not have much life expectancy in the house. They were either met with mother’s slipper of death or tortured with the chemical warfare of a Doom insecticide. Ironically, in some quarters of South Africa these days, a few local pastors seem to associate members of their congregation with spiders.

Spider Education

Some years back I had the opportunity to illustrate some youth educational books, one of which was all about spiders. Much fascinated research was given to the project. I found myself completely captivated by these endearing and complex creatures.

Some Interesting Facts

Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, so they are not to be confused with insects. Even though their fangs can inject venom, most spiders are of the garden variety and harmless to humans, much against the grain of mainstream spider dogma. They rank seventh in total species diversity among all orders of organisms. Spiders are found worldwide on every continent except for Antarctica, and have become established in nearly every habitat with the exceptions of air and sea colonisation. As of July 2019, at least 48,200 spider species, and 120 families have been recorded by taxonomists. Did you know that most spiders have eight eyes?

Working with Nature

These days it is a criminal offense to kill a spider in the house.
Relocating a spider is easy and can be fun as well as educational. By simply taking an empty jar and placing the opening over the spider, it becomes trapped. Gently sliding a piece of paper underneath closes the jar enough to be able to then tip the jar over still holding the paper down, blocking the escape and avoiding direct contact.

You can put a lid on the jar and observe for a while if you wish, but please do set the spider free.