Saturday, June 10, 2017

An Engineering Feat

When I took the bird feeders out this morning, I saw where a spider spun a single strand of its web from very high up in a tree down to the bird feeder stand.  This amazed me.  It was quite an engineering feat.  If that spider had planned it that way, he or she or it would have had to take into consideration the distance away from straight down, the direction and velocity of the wind, and combining those two, decide the very best moment to jump.  Of course it could have been a "Hail Mary" type of jump and it just worked out that way.

I took a couple of pictures.  I hope you can see just how far that strand is.  It seems to be coming from the eye of the metal bird:

OK, it is hard to see in the above picture.  I also took one closer to the bird feeder stand that shows it a lot clearer.  Now that was a very acrobatic spider for sure:


Yep, that sure was a long, long strand.  I wish I could have seen the spider doing it.  Isn't Nature wonderful and full of surprises.  Surprises?  Yes, it is quite a surprise when you are walking in the woods and walk right into a spider web.  Now, you all have a great day, you hear?

20 comments:

  1. Whenever I walk through a spider web I apologize to the spider for ruining his fine work.

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    1. Oh yes, I have walked into many spider webs, but this was different. This was one single strand that came down from a tall tree to the bird feeder stand.

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  2. I remember backpacking on the Appalachian Trail and walking through spider webs every morning. They must do their work overnight. I like spiders and if I get one inside my house I scoop it up on a piece of paper and take it outside before it knows what is happening!

    Good to see you posting again. Don't wait so long next time.

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    1. Just make sure that you don't get too friendly with a Brown Recluse.

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  3. Spider webs are really are fascinating to me. Lots of spiders this year, went out to my shed the other day and I saw this beetle dangling in a web I then spotted the spider and just couldn't believe how fast he got to that beetle. But unfortunately I realized it was a black widow and I couldn't let it live and get into something where I wouldn't see it and get stung. Will have to bomb the shed this coming week

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    1. No, you sure don't want to have a black widow spider moving into your shed or worse yet, your home. Although I usually go by "live and let live", there are a few exceptions.

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  4. They are something, aren't they? Can't help but think it's more than just instinct, ya know?

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    1. I know what you mean. I guess our Maker pre-programed animal and plant life to survive.

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  5. One day I was out for an early morning walk and noticed a spider and its web on the fence line and was drawn to it.

    Fascinating ... the spider was taking its web down for the day. I watched for a long time and couldn't figure out where it was putting the web, but it separated it at every attachment and it went "somewhere."

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    1. Wow!! I never heard of them taking down a web, but maybe they packed it up and moved to another neighborhood.

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  6. had a ladder spider one year, and chased grasshoppers every day to feed it. When the g/hopper touched the web, it would run soooo fast and had it wrapped in seconds. It made 4 or 5 egg sacs, then would fall off and die. Hated that part.

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    1. I guess their one and only chore in life is to reproduce. Once completed, there is nothing left to do so they die????

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  7. o yeah, i can see the web line in both pics... amazing

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    1. Yes, I thought it was. Would have sure liked to have seen the spider making it.

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  8. That truly is an engineering feat. Wow!!! Some of the webs spiders weave can only be described as amazing. I saw the strand in both pictures.

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    1. Hard to tell from one strand. I know some spiders travel through the air at the end of a long strand, so maybe this one got too low and hit the tree. . .???

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  9. I wonder if your spider is a "Garden Orb Weaver."

    http://www.minibeastwildlife.com.au/resources/garden-orb-weavers/

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    1. Like I said above, it would be hard to tell what kind of spider it was just from one strand. I wish I had seen it spinning this long web.

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  10. I don't mind spiders as long as they stay out of the house and car. Hope the Mrs. is better!

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    1. All wildlife is beautiful and has its place in the system. Humans just seem to get in the way. As far as the Mrs., the doc said it would take at least six weeks, so we got a while to go.

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