August 30, 1990 - The Keepers of the Silken SnaresAugust 30, 1990 - The Suffolk Times C13
The Keepers of the Silken Snares
By Paul Stoutenburah
My day usually starts by walking my
golden retriever around the back pasture.
It's a time for me alone to get the kinks
out of my body and to get a feel for the
day. It's a time of awakening. Lately,
with the wet and humid weather it's
been a wet -foot walk, one that requires
appropriate footwear. I started with
boots but they were hot and clumsy; so
I switched to open sandals that work out
Focus on
Nature
fine. The wetness of the cool dew from
the grass is a bit like that first plunge
when you go swimming, but once wet
the sensation is wonderful. I walk and
stop and enjoy the world around me as
my feet squish and squash.
One thing that always catches my eye
and makes me stop to admire it is a del-
icate and intricate spider web that has
taken on the jewels of dew during the
night. These classic spider -web designs
are constructed while the world sleeps
by the orb -weave spiders to entangle
any insect that might pass through
during the darkness.
At the center or off to the side of the
web is the master builder waiting pa-
tiently for his elaborate trap to be
sprung. Even though most spiders have
eight eyes and can see their victim well,
they wait until the unsuspecting insect
flies into or walks across one of the
sticky, silken threads of the web.
Then, like a fisherman's bite on the
end of his line that tells him there is
something there, the spider dashes out
to make sure his newly arrived meal
does not escape. He wraps it up and
makes it immobile, then eats his prey. I
really shouldn't say "eats" because spi-
ders don't eat in the way we think of
eating. Rather, like a can of soda, the
spider sucks out the liquid of its prey,
then discards the useless body. It's actu-
ally cut clear of the web and dropped.
This is why you often see spider webs
in neat repair and the web ready for its
next victim.
Spiders in the Tropics
I'm told in the tropics where plant
and animal life are at their extremes,
there is a spider that builds a web so
strong it actually catches hummingbirds
and, yes, eats them. It's been estimated
that the spider's silky thread is stronger
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
ORB -WEAVE SPIDER WEB —Few can resist stopping and admiring
the interesting design of a spider's web. Enhanced by early morning
dew, it becomes part of a fairy world.
than iron by three times. Man has
actually used the fine, strong and
durable threads of the spider in many of
his instruments such as the cross hairs
in microscopes, telescopes, gun sights
and surveying instruments.
Spiders are not classified as insects
but are actually arthropods related to the
daddy longlegs, mites and the far distant
relatives of the scorpions and crabs. It's
why we say the horseshoe crab is not a
true crab but an ancient relic of the spi-
der. The spider has two body sections
while insects have three. The spider has
four pairs of legs while the insect has
but three and, of course, spiders don't
have antennae which insects do, plus
other reasons as well.
What makes spiders so noticeable, of
course, is the web they spin from a
series of openings in their abdomen. So
specialized are these spinnerets that they
can spin one heavy strand of silk or, if
need be, two or three thinner ones all at
one time. One type of silk hardens on
contact with the air. The webs are so de-
signed that the spiral threads of an orb -
weaver spider are sticky to entrap the
unlucky transient and yet the spider is
so clever it coats its own feet and legs
with a special oil so that it won't be
caught in its own trap.
Read all about it
The Suite& Times
`die `13irdvoak6 s Companion
"Ev oaq for 16 `—&dam
- Bird Feeders - Field Guides - Bird Baths
- Bird CDs - Bird Houses - Seed /Suet
- Binoculars - Gifts - Bird Tapes
- Bird Jewelry - Bird T -Shirts - Bird Artwork
North Road, (County Road 48), Southold
765 -5872
OPEN OPEN
7 DAYS .'. -YEAR-ROUND
Many young spiders have a unique
way of traveling away from home. They
spin a fine thread that literally floats in
the air; then, when there is enough lift
and air currents, they merely let go and
drift off into space, being carried aloft
by the wind to their new home. Some
spider balloonists have been found drift-
ing far out to sea, their fate, unless a
ship passes by, is dubious.
No matter how intriguing I might
make the spider I'm sure most people
will still say "I don't like them." I can
understand that but hopefully we'll start
to appreciate the remarkable abilities of
these little creatures. Actually, they do
man much good by ridding his world of
many pesky insects and, of course, I can
hear your remarks, `But they don't have
to do it in my home."
Some spiders bite but most do not.
The ones that do can give you a nip
anywhere from a mosquito -like bite to a
comparable sting of a bee. The most
dangerous, of course, is the black
widow spider, once found mostly in the
south but now found in the north. It's a
spider of cracks and crevices, usually
out of sight. It is shiny black with an
orangeish -red hourglass marking on its
abdomen. Few people will ever en-
counter one and fewer still will be bit-
ten. Its bite, like a bee's, depending on
the condition of the person, can be
painful and in extremely rare cases fatal.
Probably the most annoying spiders
are the ones that make the cobwebs in
your home. These, by the way, are not
noticeable when new but through time
they accumulate dust from the air and
are then quite visible. I know because
my wife has a special duster on a long
pole that reaches into the comers where
cobwebs usually form. But for all this I
find spiders interesting and a worthy
part of our natural world. I'll never
regret stopping to marvel at their varied
and intricate webs.
"With spiders I had friendship made,
And watch'd them in their sullen
trade."
from "The Prisoner of Chillon"
by Lord Byron
I WA 7,- Looking for
Big Lobsters
this Labor Day se Food
weekend?
1 Lb. Lobster Dinner $8.95
(corn, fries, slaw) Twin $15.95
31 b. Lobster for 2 - =33.95 ( 2 aps of dxm*r, baked clans
or 12 dams on khe hall shell,
4 lb. Lobster for 2- $44.95 cm, ivies, mow)
5 Ib. Lobster for 2 - $55.95
Mussels from the bay (in our own garlic- butter sauce)$3.95
Fish and Chips ..................$4.951..... Childs..... $2.95
Lobster Roll ..................... ............................... $4.95
Piping Hot Steamers (with broth served with drawn butter)......
..................................................... ............................... $5.95
Seafood Tempura Combo (shrimp, scallops and fish)$8.95
Shrimp Scampi (corn, fries, coleslaw) ..................... $9.95
Soft -Shell Crab (coleslaw, fries) ..........(1)$6.95, (2 ?10.95
Barbecued Seafood Combo (tuna, sea scallops and shrimp).
.......... ............................... $11.95
Blue Water Surf And Turf (1 Lb. lobster & Filet Mignon, corn
fries, tole slaw) ............... ............................... .........................$15.95
CHARCOAL GRILL FEATURING:
BARBECUE SHRIMP withgarllcbuher....$9.95
SWORDFISH .. ......................... $11.95
BLUEFIN TUNA ....................... $10.95
Open 7 days for lunch and dinner.
Sunday- Thursday 12 -9, Friday- Saturday 12 -10
FISH MARKET
LOBSTERS
$3.99 Ib.
Homemade
Chowders,
Beer Bread tit Pies
Route 25, Mattituck
298 -5960
298 -4009
Open daily
Special This Week
Blue Water Lobster Bake-1
lb. lobster, steamed clams, mussels
and cup of chowder. $15.95
Lobster meat scampi over
linguini $15.95
Route. 25, Mattituck 298 -5960 9 298 -4009