I was walking into work this morning, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, the wolf spiders were underfoot, and I saw all these delicate lines of silk draped over everything (once your eye is attuned to spotting silk lines, you discover that they are everywhere, on every fence post and bush.) I stopped by the lab and saw that the temperature in the spider incubators was a comfortable 27°C, and the humidity is rising at last to about 35%, so I checked the colony. Nobody is laying eggs yet, but they are looking plump and healthy and ready for a season of fecundity.
Steatoda triangulosa
Once the semester is truly over, in about a week and a half, I’m going to be doing some matchmaking, and that lovely virgin is going to take a lover.
I had a spider on my bedroom ceiling a few days ago. I prefer geckos, but if the spiders help keep the insects at bay and themselves provide a tasty treat for geckos and anoles, I’m ok with that.
I had a recent ant incursion a few months ago and a spider set up residence with its web close to the floor. There were multiple victims in its trap. I had to resort to spray though.
Breaking news! Springtime springs on Mars as well!
https://www.livescience.com/space/mars/hundreds-of-black-spiders-spotted-in-mysterious-inca-city-on-mars-in-new-satellite-photos