Fall Spiders in Virginia

Discussion in 'Celebrate Biodiversity' started by John O, Sep 24, 2007.

  1. John O

    John O Member

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    Every Year my spider buddies return. Always the same areas in my small yard. and bigger every year. I really think they are the same ones year after year. They are not aggresive but their webs can be a nusience ocassionally but it takes little effort to sorta train them on what area's are allowable for their webs.

    Years ago they were brite orange. Now they are yellow and black Tiger colored. They are similar to a Black widow with a tad longer body. I've never seen any babies. Now I have three in the yard.
    I never have liked spiders but these guys really don't affect my life negatively. They are interesting to view Outside Only. I named them Fred 1-2-3. This one on my porch sure eats a lot. His web is right under the porch light but it is small. Smart spider.
    I've gotton soft as I get older. I feel everything has a right to live if they stay outside where they belong. And they aren't a nusience. Doing this also helps me deal with my spider fears. I don't jump as much now when one surprises me. When they get a bit too neighborly I easily move them with a long stick or piece of wood to another friendlier location. In reality they are a Living Halloween decoration if one can deal with it.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 24, 2007
  2. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Ones you see with big abdomens all females, waiting for other insects and spiders to come along and make a meal. Species overwinters as eggs, unless some individuals manage to find a place to hibernate successfully - this probably doesn't happen that much in frosty climates. Suspect most freeze and die in their little nooks, despite their efforts.
     
  3. John O

    John O Member

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    Thanks Ron. I read after my post that they are common Black & Yellow Garden Spiders. They seldom bite unless provoked. They do make pretty webs. Yes the big ones are females. Just funny how they return year after year around August. I get a jumping beedie eyed fuzzy spider ocassionally. They are cute. Had one take up residence on my Monitor once. We just got along. Fast critter. I'm not a spider freak. I really don't like them. But I prefer them over nusience flies or roaches. These two types I can deal with. Both normally run from humans but both species can also accept humans too if humans just treat them okay. I don't have to feed or water my spider neighbors. But My cat and dog gobble daily. Plus my Bird friends.
     
  4. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    No, you won't ever be paying 30 dollars per bag for spider food at the pet or feed store. Jumping spiders hunt, stalk and pounce like felines. I once saw a zebra spider nail a moth on the indise of my utility room window. It got above the moth on the glass, secured its dragline and then dropped, seizing its prey on the way past and then coming to rest on the glass again, farther down.

    Even some arachnids can be showoffs.
     
  5. Chuck White

    Chuck White Active Member

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    John O: Many baby spiders will spin a web upon hatching, while standing on some "promentory". As the web spins out in a single strand, the breeze catches this "sail" and wafts the baby away to a less populated location. One of Natures ways of limiting population density. Perhaps this is why you don't see babies. On certain days in the fall, especially over vacant fields, you might witness the air filled with vertical webs drifting by. ( The spider is always the period under the exclamation mark).
     
  6. John O

    John O Member

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    Thanks Chuck '
    Well one built her nest over night and she looked worn out and smaller. Looks like a ball with an opening at the top just hanging there off my small ship style door bell. This nest is about 2 feet from my Home entrance and I really don't want her babies invading my home.
    Any suggestions?
    I probably shouldn't have allowed this to begin with but I thought it was neet. I thought she was a he because the one in back is twice the size. I heard the males were smaller. Fooled me. Until this year I've just blown spiders away with a water hose. And never gave it a thought. Any idea how long it takes for the babies to hatch?Like I saw the nest wasn't there yesterday.
     
  7. WeaponTheory

    WeaponTheory Member

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    I understand, I too feel everything has a right to live, sometimes when I kill ants in my house I 10% feel bad for doing it. One time I killed a bug I think it was a moth and I cried cause I felt bad and also it didn't die instantly, it was just suffering and I couldn't bother to finish it off. But when it comes to spiders in my house, they must die. I immediately stop what I'm doing and do nothing but try to kill it.
    The only time I don't kill things is if I have them in jars. I either let them go later or let it die in the jar.

    But I think I know what spiders your talking about. Cause right now, I have one in a jar, found it inside of my house. At my house it's also a yearly thing too, every year this one spider would be on my front porch in the same area. But it appears at night, and gone during the day (hiding).

    I'm gonna describe and tell me if its the same ones.

    It's brown with black markings on it, kinda makes it look like this spider is going to war. The body is almost the size of a thumb, like the nail part, errr a size of dime or nickel?
    But when it's legs are stretched out holy ****! Right?

    The one currently in my jar is real lazy, when I first placed the jar over it, I was expecting it to go crazy, but it barely moved at all! But I think because it made a tiny bit of web on the window for it to stick to and I guess go to sleep.
    Maybe it's more of a night spider which would make sense cause of the spider that appears on my porch only at night. I would check to see if I caught the same spider, but right now it's morning :P What I really wanna do now is catch the one at my porch and let it meet this one. Hope to see some fighting, the winner lives and gets place on the porch.
     
  8. John O

    John O Member

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    Yes WeaponTheory you have brown garden spiders. The colors vary but basically the same. I was out washing my two trucks just now and looking at this spider and nest bye my door. Well he got a Tsunami today and washed off the porch on to a big bush where he belongs. I allowed it life all this time and figured this was the best way to move spider-nest and all and not feel so bad about it. I feared the babies invading my home so close to the door. You mentioned ants..I lived in Texas around fire ants 4 years. I can't stand ants now.Fire ants are vicious and attack in large groups. Good luck with your bugs Weapons and thanks for responding. John
     
  9. Cactus Jack

    Cactus Jack Active Member

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    How can you not like spiders? Spiders are fascinating creatures! Although they do venture into my home on pain of death. A big one crawled onto me in a grocery store a while back, and I didn't notice until it crawled over my collar onto my neck. Damn, it scared the **** out of me!!!!!

    But I have loved observing spiders ever since I was a kid. I would sit for ages staring at a web, examining the art of its structure; or pouring over a spider with a magnifying glass, marvelling at its eyes and hairy legs and fat belly -- I should have been an entymologist!

    I'll always remember once dropping a bit of leaf into a web and watching the spider run over to it. It grabbed hold, examined it for a moment, and then (almost contemptuously) threw it back at me!
     
  10. John O

    John O Member

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    Hello Jack,
    Well I moved out the Black Yellow spiders and the Ugly Brown and Blacks moved in. I do notice the Browns appear to get the hint I don't like their web across my gate now.I have a piece of long PVC pipe Bye my gate to move their web. They get the hint eventually I noticed. I never heard of spiders being tested for intelligence but they do learn it appears to stay out of we human's way eventually. They will also test humans too. The one I Tsunamied off the porch had no fear of me for about 3 weeks. I moved her to the back yard behind a storage shed. I have 4 now putting up free Halloween decor in the back yard away from me walking into it. Two build their webs 8' off the ground now too tied off to whatever is close. Spiders learn.
     

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