The fun thing about Bug of the Week is that sometimes you spot a critter that has been there all along, you just haven’t paid attention to it before. Today’s spider is an example of this. Here’s a little spider that has built a web in the corner and is hanging from it.
It is a tiny little spider, it’s body is less than 1/3 of an inch long. I have seen these spiders many times before with their long front legs stretched out in front, but they are so small, I never really looked at them carefully.
In a closer view you can see the front legs have a soft, feathery appearance, which led to the common name of feather-legged orb weaver. They are also called cribellate orb weavers.
It’s amazing when you look at a macro photograph how the color and details pop out.
I learned from Nature at Close Range that the cribellate orb weavers have no venom, but catch their prey in the hairy front legs.
Now that I have been formally introduced to my fuzzy little neighbor, I’ll be sure to pay more attention to it in the future.
If you or your children are interested in learning more about your spider neighbors, try:
I have more information about these books at baby spiders and some books.
I had the same experience recently with my kids identifying an American House Spider. They are everywhere, but we never took the time to really notice them. Now they see them and call out about their find.
Like spider hide and seek, fun!