The Book of the Spider by Paul Hillyard, a book review

The Book of the Spider: From Arachnophobia to the Love of Spiders is a good, informative book tackling a huge range of spider subjects: Spiders in myths and legends, spiders as they live all over the world, the history of arachnology (or "spiderology," as Hillyard calls it), spider silk, attitudes toward spiders around the world, and etc. It's an impressive and informative array, very well organized, and enthusiastically presented. The book is well worth reading if one is interested in spiders.

Stylistically it is, as I said well-organized, no mean feat for a book covering such a broad array of topics, and everything presented with enthusiasm and warmth. It doesn't quite tip over into spectacular, though: It is a book you'll enjoy if you like spiders, but not a book that will convince you to like them if you aren't already interested.

The two main drawbacks are its age and the complete lack of color. The age is no one's fault: Time passes, and a book that had the latest information in 1994 won't in 2010, and in biology, that matters. The breadth of the book also mitigates this: Legends remain the same, and arachnology may have advanced, but the basic history is still what it was.

The lack of color is  possibly also a function of age. I did, however, find  it a bit odd in a book on spiders. Illustrations of any kind are scant, and there is one spider drawing which reappears, seemingly at random, and irritated me by being without any label at all (I've since decided, based on another book, that it's a drawing of a wolf spider. It's nice not to have that nagging at me).

Verdict: worth reading, full of lots of intriguing tidbits (Did you know there are, or were, groups of people who used spiders' webs for fishnets? I didn't), but not one to hunt for if it isn't on hand.

An Unfinished Web: Worrying About Belle

Day before yesterday, Belle started her web.  I watched for a while and then took the dog for her walk. When I came back, the web was still there, unfinished.

I couldn't find any trace of Belle last night, either, and her web is still there. Both nights I saw her before, she tidied up the web. I wonder what became of her?

It's a troublesome side effect of watching spiders, this business of semi-adopting them.

There's a selfish side to this, I admit: Belle was at eye-level and large enough that I could get a look at what she was doing. The smaller ones weave so quickly, I can't see.

Updates and Introductions

So, how is everyone in the spider realm? Just fine, thanks!

Mostly, anyway. Someone vacuumed Legs up a few days ago, and she hasn't reappeared. Dead or moved to a less hazardous corner? I don't know, but I suspect the former. I have been looking for her. Milady also seems to have disappeared, but not to worry. There are plenty of widows in the garden!

Speckles stills spins her web, and Peekaboo and her kind are busy all over the yard. I'm getting quite fond of the Funnel Spiders, actually. They're so blessedly easy to spot, and they build such impressive webs.

Now, on to the cast:

 

On first spotting the messy web, we thought there might be another widow lurking between the lime tree and the wall. They (widows) do like the rims of pots. Turns out, though, that this is an entirely different lady. Like Legs, Penelope is a Cellar Spider, aka a Daddy Long Legs Spider, aka a Pholcidae. They eat widows. Go Penelope!

I love the little pattern there on her back, such a delicate little etching.

 

Ozymandias here is one of the Funnel Web Spiders aka a Grass Spider (who doesn't live in grass), from the Family Agelenidae, Genus Agelenopsis (thanks, bugguide!). She's got a massive web. It covers the space between several of the leaves and is far, far larger than you'd think a lady her size could manage.

 

I'm working on learning to spot spiders resting during the day. I'm not terribly good at it yet, but it's fun to try. Here's Speckles, resting in her homemade hammock at the edge of her web.

I think I mentioned we have no shortage of Black Widows? Here's Francoise, settled in comfortably on the statue of Saint Francis in our yard.

Objectively considered, she's beautiful.

I'm not sure I'm objective.

Spider Byte

"As a threat, spiders rank way down on the list, below bees, wasps, and even lightning strikes."
          from Spiders by Dan Greenberg

Belle

I mentioned earlier that I was wanting to get a good picture of Sister Sue or Big Spider so you could see just how lovely and multi-shaded these beauties are.

Neither of them felt cooperative; in fact, Sister Sue has moved higher than ever, but Belle moved in a couple of days ago and she was kind enough to pose at eye level. Isn't she stunning?

Sister Sue Moves Again

At least, I think this is she.

This is probably the last picture I'll post of her unless she moves again. She's now between yards and best photographed from the neighbors' yard. The new neighbors' yard. We haven't met yet, and I am reluctant to march up to their door and ask permission to photograph spiders in their yard.

When I started this, I thought spiders stayed put! I know, this contradicted the mysterious multiplication of webs in the Fall, but it was one of the things I "knew" all the same. Nope. They move. Mind, I'm only almost sure this is Sue. I know she's not over the gate any more, and that the tree isn't, measured in web-lengths, an impossible distance away. It's the same size web, too, though slanted a bit more because of its location. So--for my purposes, this is Sue. Maybe one of these days I'll find out how arachnologists track their subjects.

The Eensy-Weensy Spider adapted by Mary Ann Hoberman, Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott, a book review

The Eensy-Weensy Spider is tremendously fun.

Hoberman's rhyme takes the eensy-weensy spider off exploring after she's finished climbing the water spout. She visits a playground, swims with a frog, marches in a band, stays out too late, and has a collection of preschool-sized adventures with the other bugs in the area.

Initially, I thought the rhymes had a very odd rhythm, but once I started singing them I realized that the fit the original song perfectly. It just isn't meant to be spoken.

Westcott's illustrations are cute, bright, and a tremendous amount of fun. Her little pink spider is expressive as she marches off determinedly to explore the world. She is surrounded by a bright, cheerful, challenging world. I found the whole delightful, though I have a special fondness for the preying mantis and the helpful beetle.

Spider Byte

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Brown Widows: Not So Bad

When I first heard of brown widows I jumped to the conclusion were black widows only a different color. I've been poking around a bit, though, and they a) are not the same spider, nor, apparently particularly dangerous. The bite hurts, but that's it. This UCR article on Brown Widows is a fairly good example of what I found, and I'd say they are a reliable source, so it seems that I can go back to gardening among the rose bushes in peace untroubled by the five I know live there.

Sister Sue Shows Off

Sister Sue's Finished Web

Sister Sue is a showoff. Like Big Spider, she's moved her web. Unlike Big Spider, she is more visible now than before, arching over the gate. Also unlike Big Spider, she starts her web early. Last night, she started around six, before it was at all dark. Someone broke one of the weblines of her old web, and that got her busy. I'm not sure she was wise; one of the times I went out to check on her, there was a bird perched nearby and looking very interested.

She also stayed well into the morning, I guess because it was a cloudy day. Again, this is unlike Big Spider who has spent the day tucked away.

I'm still trying to get a picture that will adequately reflect the range of browns and golds on the two. They are truly stunning. The flash, unfortunately, washes them out a bit, and even Sue isn't out in full sun.

Barn Spider Dorsal View

Barn Spider Ventral View