×
BugFinder Insects by State Spiders Butterflies & Moths Bees, Ants, & Wasps Beetles All Bugs Videos (YouTube)

Nursery Web Spider


Information | Behavior

HOME
BY STATE / PROVINCE
BY LETTER GROUP
BUGFINDER
ANTS, BEES & WASPS
BEETLES
BUTTERFLIES & MOTHS
SPIDERS
ALL BUGS

Proof positive that not all spider mothers abandon their young.

Detailed close-up picture of the Nursery Web Spider with young




Anyone who has seen Charlotte's Web knows a little about how spiderlings hatch. Charlotte, the spider, hangs her egg sac on a web inside the barn where she and the pig, Wilbur, live. She stands watch over the egg sac, giving her last pieces of wisdom to her friend. After she dies, Wilbur is grief-stricken until one morning, the egg sac hatches, releasing many spiderlings at once. Three remain to keep him company. This scenario is actually pretty accurate for a Nursery Web Spider.

The mother of this particular species actually creates a web where she will hang her egg sac and guard it while the spiderlings develop. Not all females hang around once they lay the eggs into the sac and hang it out of sight. The egg sac is made of spider silk. The eggs are laid onto it and it is then gathered up into a ball shape. Females carry the egg sac under their bodies. They look like tiny white golf balls. They carry it to a shrub or other vegetation and create a nursery for it by spinning a web that it can hang from. Then she waits, watching over her egg sac.

Once the tiny spiders inside grow enough to form appendages, the egg sac splits open, and a hundred or more miniature spiders exit the sac in all directions. Some head straight away, others linger for a while. Wherever they finally reside, they've all been given a better start in life because of a mother that guarded them, moving them from danger if she had to, increasing the likelihood that her line will carry on.

©InsectIdentification.org
Site Disclaimer  |  Privacy Policy  |  Cookies  |  Sitemap
Beetle Identification Butterfly Identification Caterpillar Identification Spider ID Fungal Infections on Insects Nursery Web Spider Official State Insects Termite Basics Insect Molting Process Bugs of Tennessee House Centipede

2024 www.InsectIdentification.org • Content ©2006-2024 InsectIdentification.org • All Rights Reserved. The InsectIdentification.org logo, its written content, and watermarked photographs/imagery are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and is protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. Material presented throughout this website is for entertainment value and should not to be construed as usable for scientific research or medical advice (regarding bites, etc...).Please consult licensed, degreed professionals for such information. By submitting images to us (InsectIdentification.org) you acknowledge that you have read and understood our Site Disclaimer as it pertains to "User-Submitted Content". Images in JPG format are preferred with a minimum horizontal dimension of 1000px if possible. When emailing please include your location and the general estimated size of the specimen in question if possible. Please direct all inquiries and comments to insectidentification AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

©2024 www.InsectIdentification.org • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2006-2024 (18yrs)