🐾 Maybe the reason I love animals so much, is because the only time they have broken my heart is when theirs has stopped beating.
Showing posts with label spiders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spiders. Show all posts

Friday 17 July 2015

Tread softly!

If you want to live and thrive, let the spider run alive. 


Our egos tells us we're the only ones that have any kind of feelings. We're the only ones with a relationship. We're the only ones with family. You know, I think that, if you kill a spider, there is a relationship that you're ruining.


There's a conversation going on outside with the other spiders.

"Did you hear about Chris?.... Killed! Yeah.... SNEAKER! And now Stephanie has nine hundred babies to raise all alone. Well, she's got her legs full I'll tell you that right now. Chris was so kind, wouldn't hurt a fly. It's just been tough for them lately. They just lost their web last week. Those humans think they're so smart. Let them try shooting silk out of their butt and see what they can make!”

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Wednesday 13 February 2013

SOCIAL SPIDERS (Stegodyphus)

 Part of the large web of Social spiders in my garden

A couple of years ago I watched with amazement as a rather large spider web, stretched between two plants in my garden, evolved into a HUGE, messy mass of webs that contained hundreds of small, rather crab-looking, grey spiders. 

At first I wasn't sure whether I should allow this or not, that corner of my garden started looking like something out of a horror movie, with entire plants being enveloped by huge nests. But after days of observation, I was entranced by the fact that the nest was filled with dozens of spiders and that they seemed quite happy living in such close proximity with one another. When prey lands in the web, a few spiders rush out, overpower and collectively drag it to a nest chamber where they will be joined by other spiders for the feast. The larger the prey, the larger the number of spiders that assist with its capture and removal. It was awesome to watch!

 Social spiders in my garden capturing prey

Upon further investigation, I discovered that they are Stegodyphus, commonly called social spiders, occurring in Africa and South America with 8 species occurring in South Africa. This genus has the typical Eresidae feature and the colour varies from shades of grey to brown with black markings and yellow infusions. 


Most species are solitary except the social Stegodyphus domicola that occurs in most of southern Africa. 

Stegodyphus could in fact have been called the tennis net spider due to its hackle web that is stretched between two points. The hackled appearance is due to the cribellate (teased) silk used. At one end of the web is a small ball-shaped nest attached to the vegetation, about a meter above the ground. In the Western Cape, these webs are found in the Fynbos while in the Bushveld, the Acacia trees are used. However, fences, poles and other structures are also used. 


A new nest is started by as few as two spiders (usually female) that leave their original nest. As the colony increases, the nest is enlarged by successive generations. The nest includes mostly female and young; the latter living in chambers within the nest, much like a block of flats. 

The nest can be used for many years and can house in excess of 100 or even thousands of spiders. Birds often use the silk to line their nests. 

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Friday 2 April 2010

Uninformed and Totally Irrational

My heart and soul cringe when I hear how uninformed people can behave, becoming totally irrational and losing all perspective. Following on an article written by Heather Valance in her blog Personal Thoughts, "Our irrational fear of living things", it reminded me of an article I read on the website of Scorpions of South Africa, which illustrates exactly what our environment has to contend with, despite the fact that everybody is shouting "Green!" and "Global Warming!" and thought I'd post it as enlightenment to the wonderful insect world we have been blessed with.

"Deadly Spiders" at Eagle Canyon



"I had an e-mail from concerned someone who lived at Eagle Canyon, a Golf Estate in Gauteng. After receiving a hoax e-mail regarding Violin Spiders, the Estate Manager decided that to protect all the children on the estate, all spiders should be killed on sight. I was also told that there were Violin Spiders everywhere in people’s houses. Cool! I said, please collect some and bring them along to the talk.

Feelings obviously ran deep as I received a phone call instructing me not to say any good things about spiders. As you can imagine... I was not impressed. This kind of behaviour really disturbed me so I offered to give the facts about venomous spiders and scorpions.

I gave a presentation that I give to Pretoria University for their Diploma on Tropical diseases. It’s a post doctoral course and therefore my data and presentation has to be top notch, referenced and based on medical facts. I had modified it for the target audience but it contained the same facts, spider bite pictures and reference to hoax emails.

Digital projector and laptop under my arms I entered the Club House determined to present the facts, and answer any questions that they may have. The talk was well attended but I could see that it was going to be an uphill battle. The majority of the audience were so negative and misinformed. Claims of spider bite victims slipping into comas, descriptions of massive tissue damage and even numerous unnamed medical Doctors who were grateful that I was going to warn the public of the dangers these spiders cause were kicked around with idle contempt. Initially I was told that “there are Violin Spiders everywhere inside houses”, something I serious doubt in Gauteng. Someone did bring a single dreaded Violin Spider to the presentation but it was in fact a harmless Wolf Spider. So much for Violin Spiders running around everywhere.



During the presentation I gave the facts. What was interesting was the lack of understanding and appreciation from the educated audience. Most of us want to live with Nature and even pay a premium for it. The Golf Estate was no exception. However, when nature comes too close some get upset and react in an irrational way. “Kill it” is the reaction but hang on... We as humans built out homes on their homes. We have destroyed their natural habitat and provided attractants such as lights at night, water and favourable habitats. It’s no wonder that many creatures seek refuge near human habitation.

Something that that I always find to strange is that we shop at Woolworths because their food is pesticide and additive free. We pay a premium for organic vegetables and meat because of the risks associated with preservative, colour enhancing and growth stimulating chemicals that so many foods contain today. However, we are perfectly happy to spray our homes top to bottom with insecticides in order to kill insects that we encouraged to move in, in the first place. These insecticides are safe in small doses but how many of us actually adhere to the recommendations on the back of the can? These recommendations are there to make the product safe to use. Spray more than you should do and you are exposing you and your family to harmful levels of toxic chemicals.

Another issue I want to touch on in this article is the idea of unused land is waste land. Open, unused land is not wasteland. It’s not a piece of land that should be manicured, tidied up or made visually beautiful. It’s a piece of naturally occurring land that provides much needed micro habitats to a myriad of creatures and plants. It’s not a waste of space. They are islands within the urban environment where nature can thrive and seek shelter from humanity. Don’t hack and slash the grass, remove rocks to build a rockery, introducing Large Mouth Bass to natural waterways spells death for indigenous fish and amphibian populations.

Of all the preconceived ideas that had prompted me to give the presentation, not a single one was rational and factual. As I wrapped up my presentation, I felt I had added my bit of good in the world. The facts had been presented, questions answered, hoaxes expound, opinions changed. I hoped that the little good that I had done would spread to others at the Golf Estate and even further. The spiders would not be seen as deadly creatures to be persecuted on site. A little more thought would be taken, and a little more tolerance and respect would be given to Mother Nature."

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