PICAYUNE —
Miles and miles of spiders are back at the Arboretum.
Have you seen the spider show on I-59? I first noticed this spectacular three-mile display of spider webs last August, while driving north between the Honey Island Swamp exit and the Pearl River Turnaround. On the east side of the interstate, between the three lower utility lines, are “two stories” of spider webs. With drops of dew caught by the early morning sunlight, at highway speeds, the sight is much like shimmering bars of music. Do the math – every five or ten feet for about three miles, stacked two stories high, that adds up to a lot of spiders
These spiders are most likely golden orb-weavers, also called “banana spiders”. If you need a positive I.D., sorry, someone other than me will have to skinny up one of those power poles for a closer look. At the clip of seventy miles an hour, they certainly appear to be the same species we encounter on the paths at the Crosby Arboretum. But, the faint-hearted can rest assured - by the time visitors venture down our pathways, grounds manager Terry Johnson will have made his morning rounds on the golf cart and cleared away any webs, both accidentally and on purpose.
I invite you for a moment to set aside any preconceived notions, and ponder for a moment the incredible talents of these creatures. Golden orb-weavers are so named because of the beautiful golden silk with which they weave their webs, not the color of the spider. Their genus name Nephila originates from an ancient Greek word that means “fond of spinning”. Search the internet for a photo of the beautiful golden cloth which was woven from spider silk and exhibited last year by the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, and I guarantee that your opinion of these spiders will be forever altered.
The silk from more than one million female golden-orb spiders was used to produce this intricate 11-foot long piece of fabric. Seventy people spent four years collecting enough golden orb-weaver spiders from telephone poles in Madagascar to produce the silk.
After learning about a spider silk-extracting machine invented by a French missionary in Madagascar before the turn of the century, a textile expert named Simon Peers successfully re-created the machine, which compresses the abdomens of 24 spiders at once. As the silk is extracted from their bodies, it is wound onto a reel. After “milking”, the spiders are released so that they can regenerate their silk, which takes about a week. Apparently, no spiders were harmed in the making of this cloth!
The appearance of the spider webs on the utility lines, and along the Arboretum’s pathways, are a harbinger of our Bugfest on September 17 and 18.
For more information on this two-day family event, see the program calendar at the Crosby Arboretum website, HYPERLINK "http://www.crosbyarboretum.msstate.edu" www.crosbyarboretum.msstate.edu.
Features
Related Photos
-
This female golden orb-weaver spider, and her much-smaller mate are enjoying a tasty cicada caught in their web, near the deck of the Arboretum’s Cypress Cove. Patricia Drackett
-
A web in the Crosby Arboretum’s Woodland Exhibit sparkles with morning dew. Patricia Drackett
Nothing but spiders for miles and miles
- Features
-
-
Everyday Heroes: Officers and families of the Picayune Police Department
The Picayune Police Department held a Memorial Service on May 4th, at which Senator Tony Smith was the guest speaker.
-
Picayune Rotary Club inducts new members
The Picayune Rotary Club inducted two new members on Tuesday. They are from left: Paul DeVille of Alliance Consulting Group, LLC and Blake Travis of the Pearl River County Assessors Office, being inducted by Rotary President Mark Stockstill. Rotary is a service club who gave out $20,000 in scholarships and donations for 2011.
-
Back home in high school with memories of the summer
By Dr. Stanley Watson/Syndicated columnist
Before I hardly realized it the summer was ending and school would be starting soon. It never occurred to me to attend school any place besides Randlett. I was impatient to get back with the gang - my kind of people. I left California with a somewhat slanted view of that state. I was no doubt biased because of my limited social contacts. Also, on a few occasions I had been exposed to the bias of Californians against "Okies". -
Hard work gets rewarded for Picayune High biology students
Picayune Memorial High School biology students in Coach Kristi Mitchell’s class were rewarded last week for a full year of hard work by being taken to a local snowball shop during class time.
-
Main Street June Summer Blues Out 2012
This year’s event will be June 2nd, from 5 to 10 p.m., and features exciting performances by Biloxi’s The House Katz, Wardell Williams, Becky Eymard, Barbara Lane and many more.
-
Arboretum Paths
Now is the time of year when spring blooms are a distant memory but we still aren’t firmly settled into the sultry summer days that Mississippi’s coastal residents know all too well. Many our native shrubs and smaller trees are really using this time to shine.
-
Everyday Heroes
Community leaders and former students joined 8th grade students in the library of Picayune Junior High School for Career Day last Thursday. Career Day is held the last week of school each year, in conjunction with a tour of Picayune Memorial High School.
-
Community leaders participate in Jr. High Career Day
Community leaders and former students joined 8th grade students in the library of Picayune Junior High School for Career Day last Thursday. Career Day is held the last week of school each year, in conjunction with a tour of Picayune Memorial High School.
-
Lucille Gasecki:Volunteer, artist and winner of the June Summer Blues Out poster contest
Lucille Gasecki is the winner of the 2012 2nd Annual June Summer Blues Out Poster Contest and this week’s Picayune Item Super Senior.
-
South Miss. Branch Experiment Station in All-America Selections Design Contest
South Miss. Branch Experiment Station, located in Poplarville, is one of 22 select All-America Selections (AAS) Display Gardens competing in the 2012 AAS Landscape Display Contest.
- More Features Headlines
-
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
