“Oh gracious, why wasn’t I born old and ugly,” said a Charles Dickens character in the 1841 serialized novel Barnaby Rudge. This is not an often-heard sentiment in the 21st century which is focused on youth and beauty.
While this pronouncement is the complete opposite of contemporary culture, the statement does apply to some in the world of insects and arthropods. The delicate and short-lived insects of summer in many cases come to a premature end at the grasp of another native bug in early autumn.
Caterpillars of every imaginable size and color pattern which morph into butterflies and moths, along with aphids, scale insects, and the entire rogue’s gallery of hungry bugs are all dining options for these north Florida residents. The destructive insects having a year of aggressive expansion are literally the feed stock for spiders.
A female Black and Yellow Garden Spider hangs motionless in the foreground, anticipating her chance at a meal. A recent victim hangs in the background just below this hunter, no doubt an unlucky flying insect that got tangled in the web.
Spiders have long been credited with a high degree of malevolence in the psyche of many people. Possessing eight legs but being completely silent and lurking in dark recesses or camouflaged sites has not helped with their challenging public image.
Reality is quite different. Panhandle Florida’s native spiders are not aggressive to humans and most pass their lives unseen except by their meals.
Two local spiders which are large enough to be noticed, several inches toe to toe, are the Wolf Spider and the Golden Orb Spider. While big on the local spider scale, they lead very different lives.
Wolf spiders (Lycosa carolinensisare) are ambush predators and superb insect hunters. They are frequently found in burrows serving both as their home and a base for a surprise attack on unlucky bugs which happened to wonder too close.
Wolf spiders are ambush predators and superb insect hunters. They are primarily nocturnal and are known to spring out and chase their intended victims for short distances. Two of their six eyes are large and will reflect light at night, making them easy to spot with a flashlight.
While seen during the day, these spiders are primarily nocturnal hunters which are known to spring out and chase their intended victims for short distances. Two of their six eyes are large and will reflect light at night, making them easy to spot with a flashlight.
If provoked, they will bite non-insect molesters. Their venom is mildly toxic and will cause swelling and redness.
These spiders are protective mothers with an egg sac attached at the end of their abdomen. This allows the mother-spider to carry her unborn young with her.
The abdomen is held in a raised position to keep the egg case from dragging on the ground. Despite this cumbersome trait, wolf spiders are still capable of effective hunting.
Immediately after the next generation of wolf spiders emerges from their protective silken case, they clamber up their mother’s legs and crowd onto her abdomen. She provides them with food and protection until they are able to fend for themselves.
Black and Yellow Garden Spiders (Arigope aurantia), sometimes called orb weavers, are noted for their impressively large webs. These big spiders are frequently found on their webs between trees or large shrubs but are commonly seen in and around human habitation sites.
The white webs are used to trap insects which are attracted to its color and may be several yards wide. Portions of the webs are sticky, but the outer web is not and is used by the spider for quickly reaching its prey.
As with the wolf spider, this garden spider’s venom is not lethal to humans. It has a neurotoxic effect similar to that of the black widow, but only a small fraction as potent.
While ugly is a matter of taste and perspective, if these two spiders are hunting in the proximity it is a toss-up whether any insect gets to see old age.
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