Zigzagging in the Marsh

  I have been missing my writing spiders in the garden,  For some strange reason, they have moved elsewhere and have vacated the tomato patch for good.  This makes me sad as each morning, I could find several with their large two foot in diameter webs strung between the tomato crates.  I knew the spiders were helping keep the place pest free and would often thank my friends for the job well done.  I miss them.  Their disappearance had me confused as there is still a mass of insects for their dining pleasure since I use no pesticides.  Then, a few days ago, I spied a fine specimen in the marsh near the pier.  Ok, so one writing spider down in the marsh is not unusual even though most found there are either wolf spiders or fishing spiders.  The writing spiders, more oft than not, stayed in the garden or the woods behind the house.  This morning, another large web and a healthy writing spider was spied in the marsh.  I am beginning to think that all of my friends have discovered the joy of living on the water!

  Writing spiders are interesting critters.  Also called, zigzag spiders, zipper spiders, black and yellow garden spiders, these spiders get quite large but are usually harmless to humans. They will bite to protect themselves but they are do not go out of their way to do so.  It takes a lot to rile them.  They are, however, a threat to garden invader.  Their large, circular webs usually have a bit of "writing" in the middle. This writing is in a straight line or can be in an X shape.  This is thought to draw insects into the middle of the web. During the day, the large female can be seen on this writing. The smaller male will usually be on the outer edge.  If a predator comes too near, the female will scoot to the outer edge or will bump the web making it vibrate.  The bouncing web can then become a threat to the predator. 

  Although, I miss the spiders in the garden, it is good to know that they are still around the place. I guess I will just have to be happy having the multitude of wolf spiders underfoot as I weed.  At least, I do not have to fret about accidentally walking into the writing spider's web!