Social Spiders

 Have you ever noticed when you see one spider you're likely to see another not too long afterwards?

 Picture from Live Science

It's because some species of spiders are very social animals who build webs and live together in large colonies.  Some species can form colonies of up to 50,000 individuals.  Members of other species have also been known to be social within the same family.  They will form smaller colonies, but share webs when feeding together.

Sea Spiders

There is a group of (often) eight-legged animals living in many of the world’s oceans, and while they might resemble our web-building friends, sea spiders are not arachnids at all.

Photo: Steve Childs

Unlike the terrestrial spiders they resemble, sea spiders can have up to twelve legs, though eight is more common. They have very thin bodies and thus have no need for a respiratory system, instead breathing through a process called diffusion.

Sea spiders can grow quite large, with some reaching diameters of up to three feet; however, most are much smaller. These animals are capable of either swimming or walking on the sea floor and spend their days hunting or scavenging for sea life such as sea-anemones and sponges.

A Salute to Space Animals

As you’re probably aware, the Space Shuttle Atlantis made its final launch today, marking an end to the shuttle program and the start of an open-ended hiatus for manned American space flight. As commonplace as shuttle missions now seem, it’s important to remember how many animals blasted off into the unknown and in many cases gave their lives to help advance space programs throughout the world.


Baker, the first monkey to survive space flight.

 The first animals launched into space were fruit flies aboard a United States V2 rocket in 1947 to explore high-altitude radiation exposure, followed just a few years later by a rhesus monkey named Albert II in 1949.



Laika, the first dog to enter orbit.

In 1957, a Russian dog named Laika became the first animal to enter orbit aboard Sputnik 2. Unfortunately, at the time the technology to reenter the atmosphere from orbit did not yet exist, and Laika was unable to survive the mission. She is memorialized by a statue and plaque at the Russian Star City cosmonaut training facility and her likeness has appeared on postage stamps. In 1960, two other Russian dogs named Belka and Strelka became the first animals to enter orbit and return alive on Sputnik 5.

Ham the chimp upon recovery from his mission in 1961.

In 1961, chimpanzees entered the space program when Ham the chimp was launched into space as part of the U.S. Mercury-Redstone 2 mission. Ham was trained to pull levers in flight to receive food, proving that it was possible to perform tasks in space. Later that same year another chimp named Enos became the first chimpanzee to enter orbit.

With manned spaceflight becoming possible in the 1960s, animals became less common on missions. However in the decades since, hundreds of animals from tortoises to mice have taken part in missions as part of scientific studies. Even as recently as May, 2011 spiders were taken into orbit on the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavor to study the effects of zero gravity on their behavior.




Space Shuttle Endeavour

 Although the future of space exploration is uncertain, we all owe a debt of gratitude to the brave animals that have helped advance technology and our understanding of the universe.

Animals in Literature

In Charlotte's Web the intelligence and love of a spider saves the life of a pig.

We don't know much about the type of pig Wilbur is. The farm girl, Fern, admires his pinkish color and erect ears. This gives us the hint that Wilbur is more than likely an American Yorkshire pig, one of the most popular breeds of domestic pig in the United States. Pigs are highly intelligent, smarter than dogs, and can live for 20 years or more. But Wilbur is destined to be dinner on Christmas day unless someone else's brains help him find a way to stay alive.

Charlotte is that someone and we learn a lot about Charlotte. She tells us herself she is a Barn Spider but it is E. B. White's story that tells us about her species. A Barn Spider prefers a habitat of wooden rafters and eaves. Charlotte makes her home in the doorway of Wilber's sty. Barn Spiders are insectivores and subsist entirely on bugs they catch in their webs. Wilber is horrified as he watches his new spider friend catch, wrap and prepare a juicy fly. It takes him a while to forgive her. Barn Spiders are orb weavers and nocturnal, they hide during the day and rebuild their wheel-shaped web every night. It is always while Wilber sleeps that Charlotte creates the web-messages that convince the farmer to spare him. A Barn Spider's lifespan is not long. Wilber and Charlotte meet in spring, and by fall, Charlotte has grown old and dies.

When we finish Charlotte's Web we'll know we've read a wonderful story about loyalty, compassion and the power of friendship. What we probably didn't know is that we got a great education about Barn Spiders as well.