The beauty of the natural world is invisible to us at times, even when it is but inches away.
Weather permitting, I go for a three-mile walk every morning along a route that takes me across the Kennebec River and, later, back home again via another bridge. On clear days, the view from the bridges is spectacular, but there is nothing especially noteworthy about the spans themselves. That is far from true on foggy mornings. On such days, I can see that there are large and intricate spider webs all along the metal railings of each bridge, from one end to the other. Sometimes, they sway a bit in the breeze, but without breaking.
Weather permitting, I go for a three-mile walk every morning along a route that takes me across the Kennebec River and, later, back home again via another bridge. On clear days, the view from the bridges is spectacular, but there is nothing especially noteworthy about the spans themselves. That is far from true on foggy mornings. On such days, I can see that there are large and intricate spider webs all along the metal railings of each bridge, from one end to the other. Sometimes, they sway a bit in the breeze, but without breaking.
Wikipedia says spiders build their webs out of something called proteinaceous spider silk, which is extruded from their spinnerets. Such webs “have existed for at least 140 million years, as witnessed in a rare find of Early Cretaceous amber” from Sussex, England. “Insects can get trapped in spider webs, providing nutrition to the spider; however, not all spiders build webs to catch prey, and some do not build webs at all.”
More than 35,000 species of spiders have been identified around the world, according to The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders. As any trivia buff will tell you, spiders are not insects because they have no antennae or wings and they have eight legs rather than six. And unlike insects, which have three body segments, most arachnids (the class that includes spiders) have two distinct segments.
More than 35,000 species of spiders have been identified around the world, according to The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders. As any trivia buff will tell you, spiders are not insects because they have no antennae or wings and they have eight legs rather than six. And unlike insects, which have three body segments, most arachnids (the class that includes spiders) have two distinct segments.
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