Mother spiders and their offspring seem to be a theme lately. Let’s find out more about them.
Right about the same time I found this mother cellar spider carrying her babies last week,
I also found this mother black widow guarding her egg sacs.
Female spiders often lay eggs in sacs, and sometimes guard them afterward. Black widows are also known to create multiple egg sacs, often three.
Some spiders, like wolf spiders, carry their babies on their backs for a while. The female cellar spider above was the first I had seen carrying her offspring in her legs.
To learn more, there are a number of great picture books about spiders. The first two are about baby spiders in particular.
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Sneaky, Spinning Baby Spiders by Sandra Markle
As you can tell from the cover, this book has fantastic close up photographs. It covers spiders from throughout the world. Look for my in depth review at Bouncing Baby Spiders
Up, Up and Away by Ginger Wadsworth and Patricia J. Wynne (Illustrator)
This newly released book has a totally different feel, although it covers a similar topic. Be aware, if your children are sensitive, that the trailer shows an illustration of one spider eating another and a near miss by a predator.
Nic Bishop Spiders by Nic Bishop
Time For Kids: Spiders! by Editors of Time for Kids
Are You a Spider? by Tudor Humphries
These books are always wonderful, and I love how she brings the child into the story by comparing what humans do to what spiders do.
Spinning Spiders (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) by Melvin Berger and S. D. Schindler
Spectacular Spiders by Linda Glaser
The Magic School Bus Spins A Web: A Book About Spiders by Joanna Cole, Jim Durk (Illustrator), Bruce Degan (Illustrator)
The Magic School Bus books walk the line between fiction and nonfiction, but are always well researched and informative.
Spiders by Gail Gibbons
Gail Gibbons books are always well done.
For older kids, try:
Uncover a Tarantula: Take a Three-Dimensional Look Inside a Tarantula! by David George Gordon
For more information, see my review Tarantulas Inside and Out.
