The Spiders That Decorate Their Own Webs

Posted by Queuebot in Animal, Pictures on September 20, 2009 at 9:23 pm


To give them their proper name, stabilimenta are quite literally web decorations.  Some spiders, once their webs are complete, choose to further enhance them.  While there are competing theories as to why this is done, the jury is still out for the final verdict.  They do, however, look fantastic.

In the early nineteen fifties the children’s author EB White was struggling to come up with ideas for his second novel. One day he noticed the additional decorations on the web of a Banded Garden Spider – much like the one above. It was from this natural inspiration that he would come up with the idea of a writing spider and would go on to write one of the world’s most cherished children’s books, Charlotte’s Web. Although anecdotal this story serves as a fine introduction to this most peculiar of insect habits.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by taliesyn30.


Previous post
this post? Please Email this               
Next post

Tags:


FUN PRODUCTS FROM THE NEATORAMA SHOP:
BuckyBalls (w/ Mystery Bonus!)


COMMENT

8 comments to "The Spiders That Decorate Their Own Webs"

  1. Johnny Cat
    September 20th, 2009 at 11:10 pm

    I really find this stuff fascinating.

  2. The Fly aka The Dead Fly
    September 20th, 2009 at 11:36 pm

    How purdee...

  3. Arnþór
    September 21st, 2009 at 8:43 am

    Some speculate that the spiders make these decorations to tighten the web.

  4. felixthecat
    September 21st, 2009 at 9:03 am

    Or maybe they are just being creative. Who says that only humans can be creative and clever?

  5. Omar
    September 21st, 2009 at 10:46 am

    "Although anecdotal this story serves as a fine introduction to this most peculiar of insect habits."

    I hate to be a pedant, but spiders aren't insects, they are arachnids...

  6. Cnidaria
    September 21st, 2009 at 2:42 pm

    As a biologist that has studied the genus Agriope, I am fairly confident that the reason there is a "definite correlation between the presence of a stabilimentum and the presence of a male" is because the male builds it. In my experience, females kept to themselves do not build these, and males kept to themselves built a small web that resembles a stabilimentum. Only when they are kept together do they produce a web with a stabilimentum. I have seen males weave these, but never seen females do it.

  7. LoveMeorDie236
    September 23rd, 2009 at 12:41 am

    I think they do this to seem bigger to their predators, as in most of the photographs they're standing over the design as if it were an extension of their legs.. maybe.

  8. Celeste
    October 8th, 2009 at 8:54 am

    Beautiful


PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT

Neatorama Comment Policy
You don't have to register or login to comment, but it's easier if you do so. Comments aren't censored, but those that are abusive or off-topic may be edited or deleted.


Stay updated on the comments with Comment RSS