Autumn is setting in, here on the Northern hemisphere.That means shorter days and falling leaves. Leaves that have turned from a green to all sorts of reds and yellows and everything in between. It's given the garden a whole new look and i love it!
But... this transition also gives rise to another phenomena, something most people are not so keen on; the abundance of spiders in and around the house. The most common specie around here is the Cross spider, or Araneus diadematus. These little creatures (no more then 10 - 12 mm) thrive this time of year and you can observe them building wheel webs all around the garden. And they grow bigger and bigger with every day passing.
I'm actually quite impressed by them, to see how they spin their webs with devotion and accuracy. And to watch them 'hunt', or should i say 'sit & watch' with nothing else but patience, and solely relying on their building skills. Bravo! I really like 'm and am not scared of 'm cos they stay out of my way. And i avoid them too, making sure i don't destroy their means of life (i.e. their web).So far so good, but the other day i was clearing up my workbench, getting ready for a new project. (For those who don't know it yet, my workshop is at the end of the garden, separated from the main house) I was happily tidying up and I came across a jar in the corner, filled with water to rinse some brushes i'd used. I left it there a few days earlier but now the time had come to clean it up.
It was then i saw something that scared the wits out of me; a spider, the size of a giant! I'd soon realized it was dead cos it was floating in the jar, but being in the water it looked huge!
As it daunted on me it could do me no harm i had a closer look and actually felt sorry for her. Cos she'd drowned... It's a 'she' cos i looked it up in some determination books i have. I read the females of this specie (Tegenaria gigantea) are way bigger then males (you can say thát again!). It's said in autumn the females explore their surroundings, looking for males to mate with and that must have been how she found her end. Poor thing...
It also stated they don't build webs; they hunt in an active way... and are known to be seen running around... ooh boy! I'm glad i'd never seen them before, but to know they seem to live in my workshop too?! Brrrr...
ps. I realize some of you miniature friends live on the other side of the globe and probably laugh at my fright... for all i know you consider this spider as just a tiny one compared with the even bigger specie that are common in your neighborhood? Just know i admire you all!
It's a good thing they're not that common! It seems to me that this year we're having more spiders than previous years. Even inside the house they are everywhere. Thankfully not the species you described.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 8 years old we moved into a new house which was built on what had previously been meadowland. We did have many of these huge spiders there but I can't recall seeing them since. Maybe they like damp conditions?
I try to imagine what it must have been like, to see these one's as an eight year old... they obviously have had a lasting effect on you as you can still recall 'm?!? I' mglad you've been spared ever since!
DeleteOh, that one would scare me too!!! We have big ones here that tend to come into the house, mostly spotted in the rainy season, so they are commonly called rain spiders and are completely harmless, but I get a fright every time I find one in the house.
ReplyDeleteOops, the rainy season just started, better keep my eyes wide open ;-)
ooh my Elga!! I looked up 'rain spiders' and i can't say i envy you, by the looks of them! There are só enormous, my little giant actually looks really small :D So yes Elga, please do keep your eyes open!
DeleteI hate spiders, we have one that has built a big web under the night light outside and my son laughs at the way I walk to avoid it, lucky for me he doesn't mind them so he catches them and gets rid of them for me,
ReplyDeleteHi Debbie, Good to hear your son does help you out here. Let him laugh :) as long as he does what any son should do for his Mom, help you out :)
DeleteI know both types of spiders you mention. The ones with the cross on the back live happily in my garden and I try not to destroy their webs since I admire them very much. The other species come in my house occasionally, I try to catch them with a jar and bring them in the garden since I do not like them in the house.
ReplyDeleteMiniature greetings
Nice to hear you admire them too. Like you i also try not to destroy their webs. The big ones look really intricate and very pretty when covered in dew. Sad to say my workshop is at the back of the garden and some how these little athletes seem to have span the width of the path to the back? And then i have to pull 'm aside.
DeleteI like your solution to use a jar. I better set aside a big one though, for the future... cos the jars i know would have a hard time fitting this lady. Could it be the ones you see running are the males? Cos i have seen them too, but never this size!
Oh myyy... I am SO spider-phobic...and that one terrifies me. I have NO idea how you can......get that close.....even if it is dead. People who are not "phobic" say "oh it won't hurt you"...well I'm not afraid of gettin' hurt!!! I'm just totally creeped out, apparently hard to explain??? Oh well, I have some big nasty ones here, and yes, it's been a bad year-lots of yucky bugs. I suppose because we (I'm in the northeast USA) had no winter to speak of. Thanks...for...ummm--sharing???? hahaha kidding, your pictures are SO gorgeous-- (that is, till I scrolled down...)
ReplyDeleteooh i'm so sorry Linda, if this post has startled you. I should have put up a warning in the beginning. Cos i do realize some of us are not just frightened, but even panic when they see one. Sorry it has been a bad bug year for you then too. Would moving in a penthouse help you perhaps? Cos i have no clue how you can keep these buggars out of your home! I wish i knew... :( Anybody?
ReplyDeleteHe Deborah,
ReplyDeleteI would of screamed like a little girl!lol! I'm more grosse dout by spiders then afraid. I feel terrible when I see one that got hurt or died suffering. My husband and I are 2 extremes. I crush them fast and hard, he traps them in a glass, slips paper under, and releases them outside. He told me to read charlotte's Web and see if I could kill another one...The joy's of autumn I guess.
Big hug,
Giac
We have the Brown Recluse spider. If they bite you, you are going to need medical attention fast. I had a gardener that had a huge hole in his arm as the result of a bite. I know people who's houses have gotten infested with them. It means having to go though everything you own (in every drawer) after the house has been treated. Scary!!!
ReplyDeleteGeweldige foto's.
ReplyDeleteZaterdag was ik nog in Portugal met 30 gr en nu is het echt al hefst aan het worden.
Ik vind het wel gezellig de dagen die korter worden.
Vette foto van de spin, ik had een dikke in mijn klomp zitten, ik zag hem net op tijd.Brrrr!!!
I thought it was only MY garden in Ireland that got covered with spiders at this time of year. I am reassured not to be alone. Question is - where do they hide the rest of the year? Great photos of your garden. The hydrangea look so autumnal. Time to start thinking of pumpkins and witches soon. Big hug, Carol x
ReplyDeleteI think they are gross too... don't mind to have them in the garden but when they are in the house I switch to kill-mode in an instance.
ReplyDeleteIt seems the spiders get bigger by the year, the past years we've had some as big as my thumb (no cross at the back, just black)...yikes! I don't care what kind they are I just want them out.
However I do admire their webs, as long as its outside :)
Hi Deb,
ReplyDeleteWell here I am, one of your miniaturist friends who live on the other side of the globe. And yes, she does look like a delicate little thing although I have to admit she would have still startled me if i found her on my work bench. We are used to that here, coming across large spiders the size of your whole hand is a regular occurrence, I think most women here have a spider radar, we can see them in our peripheral vision which is a must when pulling down the blinds at night. They fall out of the gum trees and come into the house. My daughter and I recently got stuck up stairs because we couldn't bare to cross the path of one of the biggest ones we have seen in the stair well. The problem was it kept running up and down the wall. We waited till my husband got home and he removed it. These are called Huntsman spiders and are common but not deadly, the deadly ones are red backs and very small and easy to miss, usually found in wood or stone piles, a trip to hospital for antivenin if you get bitten.
Hugs from Australia,
Fi x
Eeeeewwww! I had a big ol' spider like that in MY BED once when I was a kid and ever since, they give me the shivers...but I have to admit, I won't kill them either --A jar and a piece of paper and a trip outside is my means of extermination.
ReplyDeleteThis site was... how ԁo you ѕay it?
ReplyDeleteRelеvant!! Finаlly I've found something that helped me. Many thanks!
My web page; payday loans