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Garden Spiders

| Garden
spiders are orb weavers, known for their intricate orb-shaped webs. Web building
is a complex process: support lines are constructed first; then the radial
lines; and finally the spiraling strands are spun from the center outward.
Without training from adults, even the tiniest just-hatched spiderlings are able
to spin silk and weave webs. Another orb weaver, nephila, builds an
extremely thick and strong web, up to eight feet in diameter. People in
Southeast Asia have found an interesting use for this spider's web -- they bend
a pliable stick into a loop and pass it through the large web, resulting in a
surprisingly strong and effective fishing net! |
Spiders produce silk from glands called spinnerets. Orb weavers can have
three or four pairs of these glands, each producing different textures of silk:
non-stick silk for the radial web lines, and sticky silk for the spiraling
strands. Some spiders even produce an ultraviolet silk to attract insects.
Spider silk, a super protein that hardens as it is stretched from the
spinnerets, may look delicate but it is unbelievably tough. The relative tension
necessary to break it is far greater than for steel.
When finished with the construction of its web, the garden spider will often
go to the center, hang upside down, and wait for a flying or jumping insect to
become ensnared. Having poor eyesight, orb weavers rely on a highly-developed
sense of touch. When an insect becomes caught in the web and struggles, the
spider is alerted by the vibrations. It rushes out to secure its prey, usually
wrapping it in silk. A poison is injected into the victim, paralyzing it and
converting the contents of its body to liquid. The spider returns later to
insert its tube-like fangs and suck up its meal.
The garden spider's profound sense of touch has another purpose: it provides
male spiders with a channel to communicate with females. Before climbing onto
the female's web, the male taps out a special message. Then he cautiously crawls
toward his mate -- a perilous task, for he is always in danger of being mistaken
for prey. It is commonly thought that the female spider kills and eats the male
after mating, but this is an exaggeration. The male, who stops eating during his
mate-hunting ordeal, generally dies of malnourishment and exhaustion.
Spiders are similar to, but not the same as insects. They belong to the class
Arachnida, named after Arachne, a maiden in Greek mythology. She defeated
the goddess Athena in a weaving contest. In a fury of anger, Athena destroyed
Arachne's weaving and beat the girl about the head. In utter disgrace, Arachne
hanged herself. A regretful Athena changed Arachne into a spider so that she
could weave forever.
While they are certainly not going to win any popularity contests, spiders'
insect-eating habits are extremely helpful to humans. Every year, billions of
spiders do away with a large number of disease-carrying and crop-destroying
insects. If every spider ate just one a day for a year, those insects, piled in
one spot, would weigh as much as 50 million people. Spiders are, by far, the
most important predator of insects in our world.
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Support The Registry of Nature Habitats - Buy Conservation Credits For purchasing Conservation
Credit(s) You will receive a copy of the John Audubon Multimedia
CD A replica of the complete
(1840-1844) James Audubon's
Birds of America
You will also receieve a bluebird
house for each Conservation Credit purchased and a 20% off coupon to be used on
the A Bird's Home website!
 The Registry of Nature Habitats - Mission
Statement
The Registry of Nature Habitats is
dedicated to the preservation of land that, over time, has been a
site and home for complex ecosystems. The Registry advocates
preservation of these lands and its inhabitants, environmental
education for community individuals and groups, and nurturing of
these lands through restoration in order to conserve its
natural resources for future generations.
Preserve
The Registry of Nature
Habitats manages critical habitat, consisting of wetland,
lowland, upland, forest and stream habitat, providing a home
to wildlife species and plant species. As part of
the mission to preserve these lands and its inhabitants,
the Registry will continue to contract with owners
of ecologically sensitive land as it becomes
available.
Educate
The Registry of Nature Habitats is
a "teaching ground," able to provide hands-on, interpretive learning
experiences in areas such as ecology, botany, wildlife science, and
geology, as well as the arts and humanities. The
educational mission of The Registry of Nature Habitats is
to teach an understanding and appreciaton of the environment,
the invaluable lesson of land stewardship of our natural resources,
and to expand the general knowledge of this habitat through
scientific research. This will be accomplished through a
year-round experiential, interactive approach, along
with onsite and outreach activities including providing
educational material both on this website, on media and through
educational seminars. An on-site facility is in the
design phase, which will house classrooms and an administrative
space.
Nurture
Through several restoration
projects, including the rebuilding of stream corridors,
reintroducing native flora, and permitting only low-impact
activities, the Registry is nurturing much land back to
its natural state, undoing the damage of hundreds of
years. The Registry of Nature
Habitats restoration plan, developed with public and private
partnerships and with local community support, will increase
the land's value, enhance wildlife habitat, improve water
quality, and preserve the integrity of the land's
bio-diversity. Renewable
Energy
Promote the use of
renewable and efficient energy technologies through education,
training, workforce development, research, and project facilitation.
The Registry supports clean energy development and energy
conservation as the means to protect the environment, enhance
public health, and save our nature
habitats.
Conservation
We seek to educate people and provide innovative
solutions that will help build a clean, more efficient world, by
reducing energy consumption in a prudent way that does not
threaten the natural balance that supports all
life.
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(607) 746-3089 PO Box 351 Delhi, NY
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