While I certainly don’t expect everyone to have an insect epiphany like I described in yesterday’s post, allow me to say that if you, like me, are not a tremendous fan of bugs, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to try to force your acceptance of them. We live in a world of constant coddling, so God forbid you’re a bit uncomfortable here and there.
Being uncomfortable is a component of life, whether we like it or not, and I think a lot of people could seriously benefit from not being catered to 24/7.
I don’t love bugs, but I’m working on trying to understand them to a better extent, as ridiculous as that sounds. I do believe spiders are seriously misunderstood creatures, and that thought is what inspired these past two posts. Again, this information comes from www.si.edu.
“4. Spiders can work together
“While most spiders are solitary animals, there are some that form communities building large communal cobwebs. Colonies can number in the thousands of individuals and they will work together to incapacitate prey trapped in their webs and share the harvest with each other.
“5. Spiders can go fishing
“There are some ingenious ways spiders use to capture prey. For instance, the ogre-faced spider weaves a net between its front legs and then dangles above places where prey are likely to pass through. By using its web like a net, it scoops up hapless prey. Bolas spiders use a long line of silk ended with a spot of sticky glue (a bolas), swinging it at nearby moths to catch them, much like a fishing line.
“6. Spiders are the real superheroes
“For its weight, spider web silk is actually stronger and tougher than steel.
“7. Ants can be spiders in disguise
“There are over 100 species of spiders that mimic ants by having evolved similar appearances and even similar pheromones. Most do it to evade predators, but a few do it to help them prey on ants.
“8. Spiders have inspired their own dance
“During the 16th and 17th centuries it was believed that a bite from a species of wolf spider (named ‘tarantula,’ found in the Taranto region of Italy) would be fatal unless the victim engaged in frenzied dancing to a specific piece of music. It inspired a dance locally known as the tarantella,” the web page explains.
They’re far more intelligent than we give them credit for.
Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash
ontheedgeofeverything 