Posted on 08/30/2007 2:44:49 PM PDT by Orange1998
WILLS POINT — Entomologists are debating the origin and rarity of a sprawling spider web that blankets several trees, shrubs and the ground along a 200-yard stretch of trail in a North Texas park.
Officials at Lake Tawakoni State Park say the massive mosquito trap is a big attraction for some visitors, while others won't go anywhere near it.
"At first, it was so white it looked like fairyland," said Donna Garde, superintendent of the park about 45 miles east of Dallas. "Now it's filled with so many mosquitoes that it's turned a little brown. There are times you can literally hear the screech of millions of mosquitoes caught in those webs."
Spider experts say the web may have been constructed by social cobweb spiders, which work together, or could be the result of a mass dispersal in which the arachnids spin webs to spread out from one another.
"I've been hearing from entomologists from Ohio, Kansas, British Columbia — all over the place," said Mike Quinn, an invertebrate biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department who first posted photos online.
Herbert A. "Joe" Pase, a Texas Forest Service entomologist, said the massive web is very unusual.
"From what I'm hearing it could be a once-in-a-lifetime event," he said.
But John Jackman, a professor and extension entomologist for Texas A&M University, said he hears reports of similar webs every couple of years.
"There are a lot of folks that don't realize spiders do that," said Jackman, author of "A Field Guide to the Spiders and Scorpions of Texas."
"Until we get some samples sent to us, we really won't know what species of spider we're talking about," Jackman said.
Garde invited the entomologists out to the park to get a firsthand look at the giant web.
"Somebody needs to come out that's an expert. I would love to see some entomology intern come out and study this," she said.
Park rangers said they expect the web to last until fall, when the spiders will start dying off.
Why? Is she a Bedouin?
THAT ought to stop those Mexican trucks...
That’s a war plan I can support.
Argiope aurantia, Yellow Garden Spider, is how I’ve been classifying them. They are beneficial and harmless, kind of fun to watch. That could mean that I’ve been in this swamp too long, LOL.
http://www.pbase.com/tsiya/root
http://photobucket.com/albums/v244/tsiya/
I get quite a few of those in the woods here. I always ‘clear the path’ with a stick as I walk between close trees, as have walked into entirely too many of those damn things! I’m certain I scared the bejeezus out of them, too!
The other ones I get are what I’ve hear dcalled “wolf spiders” or hobo spiders....not sure which they are.
The get pretty damn big.
And I’ve had one tarantula wander into the shop.
But I like the little furry garden spiders. They just hop up on you and check things out....no big deal. Until you say ‘boo’ and they totally freak out and try to hide. lol.
So some spiders freak me out, and some don’t ‘bug’ me at all.
A thing of beauty!
Probably true, but in my yard the dragonflies outnumber the mosquitoes (I live by the river). I still get a few mosquito bites, but watching the dragonfly chomp one down convinced me they work. It might be a worthwhile experiment to wait until the spray subsides and get a bunch of dragonfly nymphs.
What are they feeding these spiders?
Look at all those webs, bet the Islamic rage boy will go apes**t over this.
Spiderboy got out of the house again...
Good grief, why did you have to do this to me — I won’t sleep a wink tonight!!!!!!
Ewwwww.
I, like you, live in the woods. I have LOTS of spiders and moths. As long as I don’t see the spiders I forget they are there, don’t worry about them.
Ewww.
Didn’t know they eat mosquitos though, maybe they aren’t so bad. I’ve been weedeating, weed pulling, etc., trying to catch up on what I let get out of hand for too long. I have been covered from head to toe by skeeter bites for weeks, to the point I have been miserable. Skeeters love me. Wayne says I’m imagining it, but they cover me and don’t bite him. When I put deet all over my body, they just bite me on the scalp through my hair!!!
I don’t know, if it came down to whether to have spiders or skeeters, what I’d choose. Probably skeeters, as nasty as they are.
I am terrified of spiders.Ewww.
Next time we go fishing I’m sending you out ahead as the spider/snake scout. You can scare them off ahead of my arrival (snicker). I’ll be the mosquito scout, will lead them away from you.
I think we have a deal.
I’m with you on that.
Throughout the history of the world, mosquitoes have killed more humans than any other thing. The number one cause of death for all mankind is mosquitoes and the diseases they carry.
I agree. While just the thought of a spider crawlin’ on me is almost too much to bear, I almost always catch ‘n release (plastic cup and playing card) when I find one in the house.
LOL..Great !
Great site! Thanks for the link.
Yup. Right this minute there is a gigantic web hanging from a pecan tree in our back yard. (No spider visible, but from the size and pattern it’s almost certainly an orb weaver.) It’s gotta be a meter wide. When I think of all the juicy, filthy, bloodsucking mosquitoes that Mrs. Weaver is going to catch in that huge web! And as long as she keeps it outside, she’s very welcome.
Inside the house is like Bohemian Grove: “Weaving spiders come not here”.
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