Skip to main content

Spiders

My hub hates spiders.

He has never made it all the way through the movie "Arachnophobia".

Occasionally, I will have to get a spider out of the bathtub, temporarily reversing our roles.

Spiders really don't scare me, although I was bitten by a brown recluse many years ago. They are just spiders.

They have their place in the world, just like we do.



From National Geographic News, Christine Dell'Amore, October 21, 2009:

Part of a well-known group of golden orb-weaver spiders—which can spin webs up to three feet (one meter) wide—Nephila komaci was first identified in a South African museum collection in 2000.

N. komaci is likely rare within its small habitats in South Africa and Madagascar, researchers say, and females are much less common than males.

Much is still unknown about the species' biology, but study co-author and spider expert Jonathan Coddington suspects the female evolved her extreme size to thwart smaller predators and to be able to lay more eggs.

In addition, the males are "sort of fanatically monogamous" during their roughly one-year life spans, said Coddington, a senior scientist at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

When ready to mate, a male will usually make his move when the female is molting, he added.

"Her legs are soft and her body's soft, and she can't prevent being inseminated by the male," Coddington said. "Once he's inseminated her, he'll break off his genitalia in hers, thereby plugging her up."

The male, which is left sterile, then drives away other males until he dies.

This strategy should stymie other males' mating attempts—though some females have been found with several dismembered male organs lodged inside them, he said.

Overall, Coddington added, the discovery of this new species is "just further evidence that it's a wonderful world."

You go, girl!

The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces. Proverbs 30:28 KJV

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

100 miles or less: Rattlesnake Saloon

The Rattlesnake Saloon was opened on Labor Day, 2009.  Dining there is an unique experience. It is way out in the boonies in Colbert County, Alabama.  It is hard to get to, even for locals, but they have had visitors from all over the United States and many countries throughout the world. Sitting comfortably under the huge rock overhang, I couldn't help but think about the people who have sought shelter there from storms or heat.  I can imagine the Native Americans using this place for a meeting area or a dry place to camp for a while.  Not so many years ago, it was used as a pig pen. They have good food and live music and a hitching post if you want to ride your horse there.  Most of us were picked up in a pickup, called the "Saloon Taxi", that runs from the parking lot to the restaurant continuously while they are open. The Rattlesnake Saloon is aptly named.  During construction, workers unearthed a mother rattler with twelve babie...

Amish in Stantonville, Tennessee

Last week, my sis and her hub went with us to the Amish community near Stantonville, Tennessee.  It was a beautiful day, and we love driving to new places and finding new treasures.  We enjoy these mini-trips we take together, where we giggle a lot and get caught up on everything.  Also, the squirrels ate all our tomatoes, so we needed to find some to buy. You know the food you are buying is fresh when they bring it from the field while you are standing there waiting for it. Here is part of what we brought home, and it was all delicious. Stantonville is located in McNairy County, Tennessee, northwest of Shiloh National Military Park.

Old Water Tower in Florence, Alabama

So, we have lived in Florence since 1986 and I didn't see this old water tower until last week.  Shame on me.   It is located on Seymore Street, in a residential neighborhood in Florence. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this tower of native stone was completed in 1890 as the foundation for a wrought- iron tank with a capacity of 280,000 gallons of water. It is 70 feet high and is located on the highest elevation in the city. Water was pumped here from Cypress Creek. It was constructed during the Industrial Boom at which time the population of Florence increased from approximately 2,000 in 1887 to over 6,000 in 1889. It was replaced by the adjoining standpipe in 1935.   (from historical marker on site.)   I'm sure there was lots of planning, lots of discussion about funding, and lots of joy when this water tower was completed.  Not one person who was there to celebrate its completion is alive today, but the water...