"Along came a spider and sat down beside her...."

Truth is, I don't really like spiders... and I certainly like them as far away from me as possible outside!  But, about this time every August, my "writing spiders" appear out of nowhere, seemingly overnight:  big girls who are full-grown, and hanging upside down in their beautifully crafted webs... and open for business!

I spotted Miss Thang on Sunday afternoon while out watering the flowers.  Her web was perhaps three feet across and of perfect geometric design.  Surely the envy of The Army Corps of Engineers with its precision! 

So like I said, I'm really not crazy about arachnids... but the black and yellow garden spiders are fascinating to watch (from a comfortable distance) each summer when they appear. 

Female spiders are known to vibrate their webs when potential predators approach.  It's thought that this is used to warn larger ones away, or to help snare smaller bugs in the sticky silk nets for a nice entree.

Because male spiders are usually only one-fifth the size of females, and because females will often eat the males...the vibratory web response is an early warning sytem for the clever spider man who's paying attention here. ("Get the door...it's Dominos!")  The males will usually only dare to mate with the females when she is distracted and eating (something else).  

And so goes The Cirlce of Life for another summer.   :) -Six