Indoor Wildlife

It's not surprising that other animals take advantage of our habitations, especially here in the temperate northlands where long winters require the fauna to have good strategies for surviving the cold. One strategy, common among a number of non-native species, is to take up residence inside our heated houses. On frigid days like today with the high temperature in the single digits it's not too likely to encounter an insect or spider outside, so it makes sense to go looking for indoor wildlife—just one of the many benefits of having spiders and other insects inside the house. Besides, there's more than enough heat to go around, and I certainly can't begrudge them the space.

Of all the arthropod residents in our house, Cellar Spiders must be the most numerous. Since they prefer out of the way ceiling corners, they go about their business unnoticed and undisturbed for the most part. The exception is when they venture into my daughter's room; she has a zero tolerance policy against spiders (despite all my best efforts to sway her opinion). Today's photo is of a spider found hanging out above our kitchen table.

These spiders, if fallen or knocked down from their webs, look quite ungainly when forced to use their filamentous legs to walk upon the ground. Most of the time, however, they dangle upside down from their loosely woven webs. If disturbed while hanging on their webs they shake back-and-forth so frenetically that they appear to blur or seem to spin, a wild and unforgettable behavior once observed.

Posted on 09 de fevereiro de 2017, 03:50 AM by scottking