Abundance of Spiders Weaving Scores of Webs
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Researchers are trying to figure out the properties of the glue-like substance that spiders deposit along the rings of silk in their webs that give the web its stickiness. Here, a banded garden spider, one type of orb weaver used in the study, waits for prey to become entangled in its web. CREDIT: Allison Hazen |
This article was provided by AccuWeather.com.
Above-average temperatures from the spring and summer have created the ideal conditions for spiders to thrive in many U.S. locations.
More spiders, of course, also means more spiderwebs. Why are there so many spiders? Does the increase in spiders mean a harsher winter?
Michael Raupp, a professor with the University of Maryland Department of Entomology, has the answer.
"The weather has been unusually warm this year. The warmer temperatures have allowed flying insects to produce more generations," Raupp said.
Spiders feed on flying insects like flies and mosquitoes. When the population of the insects increases, the spider population also increases.
Raupp said, "It's been a spectacular year for multivoltine insects (producing many broods). When the temperatures are 70 degrees F, the time it takes a mosquito to develop from egg to adult is about two weeks. If the temperature is increased to 90 degrees F, the cycle will take only a week."
"The temperatures this summer, reported at the Baltimore Washington International Airport in Maryland, were 3.1 degrees above the average summer temperatures," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Steve Travis.
The increase in spider populations are tied to the favorable weather conditions during the spring and summer. They are not an indication of what the winter will bring.
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