I have often said that I have more critter friends than human ones and that I prefer it that way. Critters are not all about drama and turmoil. They wish to live their lives in peace and go out of their way to do just that. It is my nature to befriend any critter that wishes to be near me whether they be furry, feathery, scaley or have exoskeletons. They can be reptiles, amphibians, fish, birds, insects or whatever happens to be their lot in life. I am good with that. In fact, this whole tale is about a one of those critters that most folks get the hebejeebies at the mere mention of the name. A large Black and Yellow Garden Spider made her web in front of the shed door. Well, I use that shed almost daily but hated to disturb her. I devised a method of entering without tearing her web. A long slender board was placed against the shed door and she readily attached her web to it instead of the door. Each day, I could move the slat to the side and enter the shed without bothering her. The spider and I became so accustomed to each other's presence that neither were alarmed at any time. We became friends, if there could be such a thing.
Today when I went to the shed, I was both elated and saddened. Attached to the wall with a web of silken threads was a golden orb! My sweet friend had created the sac, filled it with eggs and secured it to the wall. It brought great joy to know that next spring hundreds of little spiders would crawl from that orb. At the same time, it greatly saddened me to know that the beautiful spider's life was about to end. I put my hand next to her and with one of her long legs, she gently tapped me. I stood there a long time just being with her. I think she understood and appreciated that I came to say goodbye.
It is funny how life is sometimes. Things come. Things go. Things stay the same. Life goes on. Growing mentally attached to anything and then letting go can be hard. I will be the first to admit that I am going to miss my daily visits with the spider but I can only hope that one of her offspring will rebuild a web nearby so I can appreciate her even all the more. Goodbye, my sweet friend. I will do my best to protect your egg sac and little ones when they hatch.
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!
