Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Corn Spiders!

I've always loved Corn Spiders!
(a.k.a. argiope aurantia, a.k.a. black and yellow argiope)
There is just something about them.
They are in abundance this time of year. They love gardens and I seem to provide them with lots of habitat in which to live.

I have to tell you one of my favorite stories concerning this lovely species of spider:
My babies were still very young, and being a mom of "country kids," I was always trying to find creative ways to pass the time. No such thing as "Go play next door!" Anyway, I went outside and saw a big beautiful corn spider with a lovely web on my deck. I got two chairs and plunked them in front of the spider's web, sat each kid in a chair, and quickly caught a nearby grasshopper. I threw said hopper into the web and the spider swiftly came down and made quick work of it. Now here's the best part...my eldest looked up at me with those big blue eyes, grinning from ear to ear and said: "You are the best mom in the whole wide world!"
Why, yes! Yes, I am! (I thought at the time.)


Speaking of babies...that tan colored round blob
in the lower right side of the pic is this spiders egg sack. She is guarding it.
What a good momma!

3 comments:

  1. I love those too - I haven't seen any in my garnden this year, but I haven't looked very hard either.
    Are you ever coming back to Farmers' Market??? I miss seeing you guys there?
    And a final question - could I get some sunflower seed heads from you for Eliot's class at school? They have been plucking each individual seed from the seed head with tweezers (dexterity excersice) and they have already gone through all the ones I got from Jill. I thought you might be able to set us up with one or two or a dozen.
    Thanks Kris!!!

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  2. We hope to get to the market this weekend. Right now I have a nasty cold but intend to be much better by Saturday. We will see how it goes. And yes, I can hook you up with some sunflower heads.

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  3. sometimes we see things the way god wants us too other times we see things like spiders.Why you are saying the spider could hypothecialy be dead.38%kids are molested.1000 each one 1000 the next owel finger is very un american but as a kid i had a joe namath kickin doll i dont know where it went 70 all crime happens in divorce.so to make a short story longer Homer Simpson said something foul in the mirror

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