Thursday, January 17, 2008

Arachnids Galore

The height of summer is a great time for spiders, and many a scene can be played out in front of your eyes if you look carefully enough.


The demise of a black house spider to a white tail is just such a scene...



Then you have those spiders that are hard to see, and those not so hard...









..and if walking on land, and flying through the air wasn't enough....there are those that walk on water as well....





Yes, spiders are a successful species that has taken advantage of nearly every environment....even under water (still hunting for them :) ), and its unnerving to know that the average person swallows....in their sleep.... at least two in their lifetime.
Pleasant dreams....lol

5 comments:

  1. I heard it was ten a year we swallow, but how does anyone know this?

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  2. Hi Michael,

    True... how do we know.
    There has to be a touch of urban myth to this, though it must happen on occasion.
    thanks for the comment :)

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  3. Thanks David
    Oh, and how do water spiders physically differ from ordinary spiders? any idea?

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  4. Im not sure how they differ...though the walking on water is prob. done by a combination of clever weight distribution and "foot" construction...perhaps little hairs. Most spiders, those that produce aerial webs anyway, have little hooks on their "feet"...for a water spider this may be a problem, as it would disrupt surface tension. A good site for spiders was given to me by Denis Wilson, and that is: http://www.usq.edu.au/spider/find/common.htm
    If you have a fascination with arachnids, as I do, you will love it.
    Cheers

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  5. Thanks David, I'll take a look at that site. A fascination yes... There are many things about them that are yet to be discovered I do believe.

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