Spiderling Watch!

  The marsh is home to a myriad of critters that are not often seen.  We pass by hundreds of unseen critters every day.  However, one that is quite visible this time of year is the Argiope aurantia which is much better known as the black and yellow garden spider but also goes by writing spider or zipper spider.  During the months of July and August, the spiders are seen more often than other times of the year.  This is simply due to the fact that the females are now large enough to be noticed. These are huge spiders!  The females' body size is up to 1 1/8th inch not counting the legs.  One would fit nicely in the palm of the hand!  Males are much smaller and are rarely even noticed.  

  The female spins a gigantic web (two or more feet across) that can span garden paths, between trees or, in this case, in the marsh.  In the middle of the web, she weaves a "zipper" pattern (hence one of her common names).  There is some controversy about the purpose of this decorative weaving.  Some folks claim it attracts flying insects while other say it is to deter birds from flying through the web.  The female will stay in this web unless food is scarce.  The male usually "roams" in search of a willing female and then build a smaller web near hers. Once mated, the female will lay up to 1400 eggs that are housed in a papery egg sac.  This sac will be attached to her web and she will protect it as long as she can.  A late fall frost can kill her but the eggs remain safe inside the sac.  Sometimes the spiderlings will overwinter in the sac and emerge with the warmth of spring.  

  This spider will most likely do well catching prey in the marsh.  Instead of her fretting about an early frost, she has more worries of an extremely high tide from a tropical storm or hurricane.  If this occurs, Mama Spider will cling to her eggsac and float to higher ground.  If the storm surge is not too violent, she may make it to safety with her brood.  So goes life on the Bayou.  We all try to protect what is ours against the ravages of nature.  Now, I just have to sit back and wait!  Hopefully, Mama Spider will soon have her egg sac on the web and eventually....SPIDERLINGS!