https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/97168311 This spider was 15 feet off the ground, and 10 feet away from each of the trees it was anchored to. How did it bridge the 20-foot gap between those trees to build a web between them? Especially considering it’s of a size and body type where falling …

It depends a lot on the specific situation. For long gaps that they can’t traverse dragging a line they’ll sometimes float a line out on the wind with a sticky bit on the end of it. This attaches, they pull it tight, and make the crossing spinning a stronger line as they go. This becomes the brac…

Ah, that makes sense, thanks. I’ve seen a couple of orb weavers that seemed to have died from falling onto something hard. That abdomen can wind up pretty heavy, and I know tarantulas can be injured by bad falls. Don’t get me wrong, spiders are great. I’m just very much not a fan of open clearings…

Having retired from a 40-year career as a wildlife biologist in the same region as your encounter, I know precisely the issue you describe. See, for instance, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/1930495 I’ve always assumed that the spider puts out a single wispy thread of silk that is caught…

This one walked across my forehead. Had another on the curtain next to my head last night. No web needed … sweet dreams. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/132960002

Pretty sure spiders also use electromagnetism to fly those threads to distant targets. Laughed at the “a bit more visible” comment. They are trying to catch things and you’re not the only one with eyes.

Intellectually, I know very well that their web needs to be invisible. But the arachnophobe part of me would prefer that they make their web of something else, maybe out of that day-glo line flyfishers use sometimes. Why can’t nature bend to my whims??? (joking)

These critters, unfortunately, perch in the very center of the web. I assume it’s so they don’t have to run 10+ feet to go catch whatever hits the web, but it does mean that they’re primed to fall right smack on top of someone. I wonder why these build out in the open this way? Maybe it’s so they c…

I was netting butterflies in some fields and found a yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia) crawling up my leg, the name sounds unassuming, but the spider is not. They’re pretty harmless though. This species makes a zigzag in the center of its web, which the purpose is disputed but, to your point,…

I feel yellow garden spiders stick below face height and often close to the ground at least, so I usually don’t run into them face first :slightly_smiling_face: Their size triggers my arachnophobia more than the (around here at least) smaller orb weavers in the forest. But at least for me personally…

How do spiders build webs so far between trees?

Nature Talk

jhousephotos September 13, 2022, 2:30am 3

I actually took a couple photos of an orbweaver casting the bridge thread. Part of the web-making process I don’t see very often.

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How do spiders build webs so far between trees?

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