Two big tubs sit near the back porch. Each contains a tomato plant. Besides picking cherry tomatoes to eat, we get to do some garden spider watching.
These black and yellow zipper spiders are not as common as they were years ago. The changing weather patterns might be the reason with late frosts and droughts. That makes it special to have such a beauty right outside the back door.
Another reason this is special is my work on “The Little Spider” picture book. The spiderling grows up into a big black and yellow beauty.
Orb Weaving Spiders
Late summer into fall is a good time to spot these architectural masters. They hatch out in the spring, but stay small and inconspicuous until now.
Summer is insect bonanza time and these small spiders start growing into big adults. We’ve seen this garden spider watching as ours doubled in size in a couple of weeks.
Every morning this female spider spins a new web. Knowing the spider is nearly blind, seeing only light and shadow, and spins this large web only by feel makes it even more amazing.
Patient Hunters
All day the spider hangs mead downwards on the zipper in the center of her web. The big spiders are all females.
A male came to call last week. He is a quarter of the size of the female. He spun a little web close to hers and carefully courted her until she invited him to call.
The male is gone, escaped safely to court another spider somewhere else. The female is now trying to put on a lot of size and weight. Her web is bigger with more stickly strands.
The nearby rain barrels catch various insects. We turn wasps, bees and the like loose. However, Japanese beetles and grasshoppers get tossed into the spider web.
The spider pounces, backs off a minute or so, moves back in and wraps ther catch up in silk. About five minutes later, she moves in for a meal.
End of Summer
In time the spider will spin an egg cocoon. When frost comes, she will die. That will bring an end to this year’s garden spider watching. Maybe one of her spiderlings will stay so we can do the same next year.
