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ResidentSadist -> RE: -=Resident Spider=- (10/27/2011 9:22:19 AM)
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Update - everhopes' pleadings have succeeded and I didn't eject the spider from the yard. Turns out the spider was a Lucy Ricardo not a Ricky Ricardo. She laid the largest spider egg sack I have ever seen. It was the size of a ping pong ball and all tied off at the top like an old fashioned leather pouch with drawstrings. I didn't fancy the idea of 1,400 baby spiders growing up in my pool cage so I removed the sack. Shortly after capturing a dragonfly 4 times her size, in which I got to witness what is called a "wrap attack", she laid yet another (normal sized) sack of eggs.
A "wrap attack" is when the spider uses that same UV reflective special silk they decorate their webs with to "tie up" their target. So it turns out that St Andrew's Cross spiders put their victims in "bondage". The more I learn about this spider, the more endearing it becomes. Lucy is nearing the end of her spider life-cycle. She has been an interesting addition to the household and yes, I grew to like her and may have even tossed a moth or two into her web now and then.
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