[LTER-sbc_help] The Weird and Wonderful Spiders of Hubbard Brook

[Hubbard Brook Research Foundation]

The Spiders of Hubbard Brook: Spinning Webs Long after Halloween Halloween puts the cultural spotlight on spiders, but they deserve our attention year round! Our resident arachnids include web-building spiders such as the charismatic, colorful orb-weaver; masters of camouflage such as the ‘bird poop spider’; and the elegant, ground-dwelling fishing spider. A closer look at spider habits and adaptations reveals their spectacular world of color, vibration, careful hunting strategies—and their role in our delicate web of life. Here are a few notable spiders from the Hubbard Brook Valley: Web-spinning spiders might successfully evade notice by their prey, but their silk draws the attention of thrifty warblers looking to fortify their small nests. Sticky spider silk provides prime building material for warblers early in the breeding season, making their nests resilient to weather and disturbances. Orb-weavers are responsible for the classic spider web design (orb webs) that decorates our homes during Halloween, but other web-spinning species also create tangled, funnel, and wooly patterns and textures. Bolas spiders employ an unusual tactic to lure their prey: they create a single, pheromone-infused silk strand that tricks moths into flying closer to investigate—close enough for the Bolas spider to pounce under the cover of night. Ground-dwelling spiders do not spin webs. Instead, they use camouflage and stealth to capture prey. Crab spiders mimic flowers’ bright hues and crouch near the bases of petals, waiting to grab pollinators with their long, muscular front pairs of legs. Fishing spiders, of the genus ‘dolomedes’ (‘deceitful’) run across water surfaces to inject prey with their venomous claws.    Harvestmen (“Daddy longlegs”) are not true spiders, yet deserve mention as important indicators of the health of the forest. They scavenge and capture common garden pests, and have adapted the remarkable ability to curl their limbs around twigs like a coil of wire! While we take down our Halloween webs, spiders are still busy spinning theirs—or spinning crafty plots to catch their dinner. Spider diversity marks a healthy forest. Rather than feeling chills the next time you encounter an arachnid, be glad our forest can support such weird, wondrous life! Article and illustrations by Raisa Kochmaruk, HBRF Communications Specialist. Content based on conversations with Dartmouth entomologist Liz Studer. Illustrations in order: orb-weaver, crab spider, fishing spider. Hubbard Brook Research Foundation | 30 Pleasant St., Woodstock, VT 05091 Unsubscribe sbc_help at lternet.edu Update Profile | About Constant Contact Sent by rkochmaruk at hubbardbrookfoundation.org in collaboration with Try email marketing for free today!
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.lternet.edu/pipermail/sbc_help/attachments/20211101/b9e38530/attachment.html>