God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:21)
Spider Webs
Tradtionally known as “cobwebs”, based on the old English word for “spider”, spider webs are a thing of beauty. As the sunlight sparkles on the early morning dewdrops their beauty can take your breath away, even though they are built for a purpose – catching prey!
Often it is the Orb web which unwittingly come to mind when we first think about them. Made by Garden spiders (Araneus diadematus) they are generally found among vegetation resembling the spokes of a bicycle wheel with horizontal strands supporting them
If you come across a web in the corners of your rooms, or on low lying vegetation, its likely to be the Sheet web, generally built by the tiny Money spider (Linyphiidae). Shaped like a hammock, the spider can often be found hanging beneath the web waiting for its prey to land.
As summer morphs into early autumn, you will undoubtably see the Tangled Web, notably the result of busy Daddy-longlegs (Pholcus phalangioides) festooning the corners of your rooms.
Finally look among your garden conifers, and you will find the untidy tangle of Lace Webs made by the busy Laceweaving spider (Amaurobius).
What they trust in is fragile; what they rely on is a spider’s web. (Job 8:14)
VJC
Click here to see “A Brief Guide to Spider Webs” by Geoff Oxford.
Feature Image : “Dew on spider web Luc Viatour”, Wikicommons (P.D.)