Bugging You From San Juan Island

Meet Scarlette! She is my sweet little resident Cross Orb Weaver (Araneus diadematus). Scarlette has a web, but she knew it was going to rain and sought shelter in this leaf stuck to the screen door. I just went and checked on her and she is securely tucked into her little leaf hidey, safe from the wind and rain in the San Juan’s today.

If you’re an observant person, you may have the good fortune to see one of Scarlette’s relatives at your house. Orb Weavers are very common and often found hanging out near your doorway, under an eave, or on shrubs near your home or in your garden.

If you are actually reading this, you’re likely already a spider lover or at least someone who appreciates the natural world. Sadly, many folks are extremely fearful and reactive around spiders. Before I go today, I have a request. Will you share with this with your friends who may be arachnophobes?

Maybe we can work together to dispel some of those unfounded rumors about spiders biting folks. It just doesn’t (or very rarely) ever happen! Spiders don’t go around biting people. They need to conserve their energy for hunting and catching their own food, and for spiders that means little invertebrates like flies and occasionally other spiders. They don’t want to eat people. Also, their fangs aren’t designed to penetrate tough human skin. It’s way more likely for a human to harm a spider than the other way around.

So, show your friends this link https://arthropodecology.com/2012/02/15/spiders-do-not-bite/?fbclid=IwAR3Lg36-1Fc7VK_oBdc1ctpTbcUMr81AXZSnQV9lRFUeye-wZ5KhEP4AThM – and share my post with them. Let’s be nice to SPIDERS! They are our friends.

For more about Cross Orbweavers, take a look at the link below:

https://bugguide.net/node/view/3376

Thanks for reading!