Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Web Walk

The best time to go looking for spiderwebs is early morning, particularly as the fog lifts. That way droplets of water still cling to the spider silk, making webs easier to see.

We find webs everywhere: in the grass, between flower stems, between wires of a fence ... anywhere there's a place to anchor a line is a good place for a web.

Go on a Web Walk.

Grab your camera or sketchbook and pencil, and look for different types of spider webs. Orb webs look like wheels with spokes. Look closely - you might even see a spider sitting in the middle, waiting for breakfast to fly in.

Things to note: 

1. where do you find the web - is it attached to plants, and what kind?
2.  how big is it? bigger than your handspan? as wide as your longest finger?
3. what time of day, and other weather notes.
4. the habitat around you - is it a roadside? a garden? mowed lawn? an alfalfa field?
5. draw a picture (or take a photo) of the web.

 Orb webs aren't the only kind of webs you'll find. This one looks like a hammock slung between chicory plants. Look closer and you might find another layer spun beneath.

Other webs you might find are sheet webs along the ground (spun by funnel-web weavers) and cobby tangled webs.

You can download a guide to spider webs here.

University of Kentucky has a cool spider ID chart here.