How Orb Webs Are Made - Spider Basics: Beyond the Eight Legs, Episode 3

[@travismcenery2919]

References: Foelix, R. (2011). Biology of Spiders, 3rd ed. Oxford University Press. Rhisiart, A. A., & Vollrath, F. (1994). Design features of the orb web of the spider, Araneus diadematus. Behavioral Ecology, 5(3), 280-287. Schneider, J. M., & Vollrath, F. (1998). The effect of prey type on the geometry of the capture web of Araneus diadematus. The Science of Nature, 85, 391-394. Zschokke, S. (1996). Early stages of orb web construction in Araneus diadematus Clerck. Rev Suisse Zool, 2, 709-720.

[@amicaaranearum]

I recommend _Biology of Spiders_ to anyone who likes spiders. It’s a great book, answering tons of questions I had (and many more I didn’t).

[@AutodidacticPhd]

I didn't see a card for the link to the cross orb weaver video (have seen the video already, enjoyed it a lot) but just thought I'd mention in case the chore got lost in the shuffle.

[@MARKYMARKSSPIDERSNBUGS]

I watched this for an entire night on a Infra red security camera. It was fascinating, absolutely enthralling. So enthralling I failed to notice a car theft on the other camera. No one understood me.

[@sblower9410]

you know I kinda do

[@Tactical_Turtwig]

You are my long lost brother, I would become entranced by the same 😂

[@simianbarcode3011]

worth it

[@moodyshrew]

@@simianbarcode3011 Absolutely, assuming it wasn't HIS car that was stolen

[@travismcenery2919]

I love this story so much.

[@Croatilillious]

Its scary how smart spiders are. Especially considering how teeny tiny they are. This is by far the best educatuonal spider content I've seen on KZbin.

[@travismcenery2919]

Thank you so much!

[@Natediggetydog]

It’s all pure instinct. What’s really crazy is how behaviors can be passed on genetically. Spiders knowing how to build webs, sea turtles knowing to head into the ocean, baby mammals knowing how to tread water, etc. it’s all very interesting stuff.

[@johnnotownsend6958]

i love knowing for a fact that animals are all smarter than we ever gave them credit for! a lot of what i feel like the earth sciences have learned in the last few decades goes along the lines of "oh heck, the hippies were right about how interconnected our reality is"

[@gracief88]

One week when I was growing up in Indiana, an orb weaver decided to build her web across the outside of our doorframe to our deck at just about head height. The first person out got a nice faceful of that beautiful spiral. The next day, the same thing happened. The third day... the spider had built a web that arched in the middle so a human head could just fit under the whole thing, but the upper corners and a sliver of the top were still webbed to catch prey. Definitely one of my most memorable spider encounters.

[@travismcenery2919]

That's amazing! I think they're much more capable of learning than we thought.

[@lefi_is_here]

There was a massive and beautiful orb weaver in my garden who's web was so big smaller orb weavers used the structural lines to make their webs. Thank you for feeding the spider infested corner of my brain spider related knowledge. It is forever grateful

[@travismcenery2919]

You're most welcome, and thank you for the comment! I think I've seen that before, where spiderlings have made small webs right off of mature spiders' larger webs.

[@Zulmofo]

orb weavers are some of the most beautiful spiders imo and among the most fascinating!

[@Lambda_Ovine]

i love them so much!

[@travismcenery2919]

Yup, I think they're absolutely gorgeous.

[@TheVerendus]

I live in a 300 year old farmhouse, which as you can imagine, is filled with spiders. Yesterday I walked into my bedroom to see a very small spider seemingly suspended in midair. After a moment I noticed though that the spider wasn't dangling from the ceiling, but had somehow connected a horizontal line from the top of my TV to an adjacent wall, and following the thread I would measure it at least 8 feet long! I do always have a fan running in that room so the slight air current must have been just enough to let the spider connect a thread from essentially one corner of the room to another. Unfortunately I did have to undo their work because it was at head height in the middle of my bedroom lol, but spiderbro is hopefully thriving in the corner where I pulled the thread to. Awesome video, wish it was longer :)

[@travismcenery2919]

It's amazing how they do it sometimes. Glad you found a spot the spider could stay, and thanks for the comment!

[@InTheMindOfDavid]

I heard a biologist describe the spiders launching their thread in what I thought was an interesting way. That due to the make up of a spider’s silk and static electricity they’re able to launch a web over relatively large distances because the air is almost a viscous plasma compared to the spider’s silk. Think of something similar to like strand of silk fabric in syrup. So due to the silk having velocity when launched across a gap and the electric charge of the air currents and the spider’s silk, the air carries the thread across the gap. Even if there was only minimal, almost imperceptible(to a human) airflow the silk will still get carried across the gap. Gonna look up that video again just to make sure I described that accurately, but either way I thought that was an interesting explanation.

[@travismcenery2919]

I know electric fields are involved in ballooning, so it makes sense that they'd be involved suspending that silk in the air. I'm not sure if the spiders can propel it reliably in any given direction or if that's up to air currents. I'd like to learn more about that too!

[@InTheMindOfDavid]

Watched the video again there isn’t any mention of the silk having velocity, I don’t know where the heck my brain up with aspect of it. There’s no propulsion or velocity. Maybe i’ve been reading spider-man comics for so long, to the point I started to think spiders could launch their silk like spider-man’s web-launchers 🤣. I was thinking spiders shot their out behind them and they got pulled backs, and that the velocity of that, plus the charge aspect carried them away. Way wrong haha. Yes you’re right, it’s the silks own electric charge interacting with the earth’s own opposite electric charge allowing for the silks to be carried away as if the spider silk were a strand of silk fabric in syrup. And that’s the part that tripped me up, I misunderstood the analogy.

[@thetwitchywitchy]

Oh awesome I just left a comment asking about this!!!! I’m so glad someone else wrote it as well :) Sorry I didn’t catch it before leaving mine

[@Mitsuraga]

This is quickly becoming my favourite series of what has quickly become one of my favourite channels.

[@travismcenery2919]

I'm glad you're enjoying it! I'm still working on species deep dives but I'm enjoying making the Spider Basics series, too.

[@goodwaterhikes]

While hiking the Appalachian Trail I was lucky to spot a very talented orb weaver constructing its web just off trail. The spiral was nearly perfect and its size and orientation to the sun made it reflect like a CD. Beautiful to see 😎✌

[@travismcenery2919]

They're quite impressive when they're new and perfect. Thanks for the comment!

[@goodwaterhikes]

@@travismcenery2919 👍👍😎✌

[@gailwanhala6275]

I LOVE SPIDERS, and you are SO much fun to watch

[@travismcenery2919]

Aw, thanks so much!

[@Natediggetydog]

Can’t wait for that next orb weaver video, they’re such cool little creatures to watch. There’s one that built a huge web in the corner of a doorway where I work, and the web gets damaged every time we open the door. Watching it repair the web; and how insanely quickly it does so; is very cool to see.

[@elfieblue3175]

I used to have a pretty wiggy tree at my front door, and we got loads of ambitious spiders building massive webs in that corner of the front window, from tree to house, from branch to branch... and sometimes across the front door. We called them "big game hunters".

[@oO0catty0Oo]

Unrelated, but this morning I found a cellar spider webbing up the underside of my toilet seat. I was like, "Oh, Buddy, no."

[@travismcenery2919]

I would have done the same. ;)

[@ryanellis4818]

Watching these videos of yours have literally cured my weirdness and fear of spiders. I'll still get a bit spooked if I come across some giant guy on me in the woods, but as far as seeing spiders in and around d my house, I just find them interesting and like little housepets.

[@travismcenery2919]

This is so encouraging to hear. Great job, and thank you!

[@MamaLlama40]

😂😅 oh my gosh your humor combined with my fascination of spiders makes your videos a must see .... again and again and again! Thank you for sharing your passion in a way that is "understandable but yet essentially correct way"!😂

[@travismcenery2919]

Haha, thanks so much! Glad you're enjoying the channel!

[@1646Alex]

Quite frankly I am personally offended KZbin didn’t recommend this video to me. I have notifications on. I have never passed up a new video of yours without immediately watching it. And this video is super interesting! Also I do want to thank you for your videos. I used to be so scared of spiders. But your videos have really changed that for me. Even have allowed a Cellar spider to live in my room named Jeanine(have a habit of naming any animal I can recognize) , and I’ve noticed that since then the problem of bugs finding their way through my screen into my room has disappeared. Been growing weirdly attached to her and one of her spider lings took up shop on the other corner of the window!

[@nikevisor54]

Elite Saturday morning content. So ready for spider facts

[@travismcenery2919]

Glad you like them!

[@LadyKakizaki]

Hey Travis! Love the new video! I share so much information I learn from your videos with my clients. This is FASCINATING to know! Can't wait for the next video! I rarely see A. diadematus at work but it's very exciting every time I do! I have been desperately trying to find an H. ecclesiasticus since your video on them, I keep finding them on my client's glueboards and I'm always upset. I found one and managed to bring it home but it passed away almost immediately which makes me think it must have been exposed to my pesticide. I'll get one one day! Keep up the awesome work and hope all is well! - Charlotte

[@travismcenery2919]

Thanks! Good luck with your parson hunt - I've got two I'm keeping now, which both made eggsacs, but I think the eggs were inert.

[@edwardlybrand3902]

I say it every time, you are much appreciated and we love your videos. Thank you kindly, this was fascinating.

[@travismcenery2919]

Thank you so much, and you are most welcome!

[@vincentgregossoundart4856]

Beautiful webs and video. This is, by far, my favorite spider related channel on KZbin. Thanks Travis!

[@travismcenery2919]

You're most welcome, and thank you!

[@amicaaranearum]

Once or twice, I’ve been lucky enough to catch our local _Neoscona_ orbweavers early enough to see them make the Y-frame from the bridge line, though I’ve never actually seen them make the bridge line. If they have established a good spot to build a web, they will leave the bridge intact when they recycle their web in the morning. At dusk, they will crawl out over their prebuilt bridge and start again by making the Y-frame.

[@travismcenery2919]

Yup - they tend to take down the radii and capture spiral, but leave the anchor and frame threads. I'll be getting into that a bit more in the upcoming Cross Orb Weaver video.

[@8man370]

This is genuinely so interesting! I’ve always been rather afraid of spiders, but this series in particular and your channel more broadly have really helped me broaden my perspective on these fascinating creatures. Thank you for making these!

[@travismcenery2919]

You are very welcome, and that is great to hear! It always makes me feel good when I hear that the channel has helped change people's perceptions of these creatures. Thanks so much for the comment!

[@theboregasms]

Great work as always, Travis! It was so interesting to learn that the size of prey influences their construction process. What brilliant little builders! I'm looking forward to your video on the Cross Orb Weaver. I get loads of them on my garage and it's always fascinating to watch them make their webs (in my experience, they do this at twilight). Another spider that you would probably get a real kick out of covering is the Black Lace Weaver. It's a ground spider that makes a mesh web instead of an orb, and it's one of the species of spiders that is dedicated enough to its young to practice matriphage.

[@iDEATH]

A long time ago, early 90s, maybe, I was lucky enough to catch a spider building her web in the kitchen window while I was doing the dishes. From pretty close to the start, as well! She was a pretty tiny thing, so the web wasn't huge either, but it was beautiful to witness. I've always loved spiders, and they are such amazing creatures, I'm happy more people seem to be getting to the understanding of how important they are for life on this planet.

[@travismcenery2919]

Thanks for the comment. Yeah, watching an orb weaver build a web is almost an entrancing experience if you're lucky enough to see it. And I THINK we're starting to see more people understand the role of spiders - and bees, and bats, and other wildlife.

[@burf90]

So... it's cicada summer all around me, then we had an animal program at work with hissing cockroaches, among other fascinating creatures (mostly with fur and feathers), and then I get home to find a fascinating new video from my favorite spider guy on how spiders build their webs. Best day ever! Well, OK, maybe not ever. But right up there for a nature nerd.

[@travismcenery2919]

Glad I could make your day even better. Thanks so much for the kind comment!

[@treeehuggeer]

NEW TRAVIS UPLOAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FELLOW AUTISTIC PEOPLE (who are oddly hyperfixated on spiders (or not be u) and neurotypical people to you're all cool screw it everyone rejoice) REJOICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i swear this channel got me hyperfixated on spiders and IVE BEEN HYPERFIXATED FOR MONTHS I LOVE THEM I LOVE THEM RAAAAHGUEKJFHDGSFDGDFJKFGS

[@travismcenery2919]

I'm glad you're enjoying the channel so much! And it's great that you've found such an interest. Happy to have helped!

[@colb6171]

We've copied them without knowing it when we shoot a light line from ship to ship for a heavy fuel hose or breachers boy, only they are way better at it and figured it out millions of years ago.Thank you Travis for another fascinating talk

[@travismcenery2919]

You're most welcome, and thank you! And yes, I think it's a similar concept; the first line is a scaffold, the second is the structure.

[@pattijareo7423]

I am so glad you started this channel! Every bit of them is fascinating, and your dry humor can make my day. Onward, Travis, and thank you! Spiders just get more amazing to me. 🕸🕷🕸

[@travismcenery2919]

Thanks so much for the comment, and for watching! Glad you're enjoying the channel.

[@andicarson1339]

This is great! In high school, I had an independent science class where I picked my subject. I did experiments that I wanted answers for. What I chose to do was seeing if spider webs would change with adding things like caffeine and sugar. I never considered the insects that I fed being a factor. I was just a kid, so.... Anyway, this is great info! Thanks!

[@travismcenery2919]

It's amazing what kind of subtle details can cause big changes in biology. Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@osmia]

10:15 That's so cool. I never realized that spiders made short rows. I do that often in knitting and crochet when I want more material area somewhere in the fabric

[@osmia]

And I'm certainly going to look for short rows in all the spider webs I see from now on

[@travismcenery2919]

Yeah, I'd never noticed it until I came across it in the research. When I do the Cross Orb Weaver video, I'll discuss WHY the hub is off center, requiring those changes of direction. It's pretty cool stuff.

[@osmia]

@@travismcenery2919 Looking forward to it

[@davedunks4647]

I think I need to watch this on repeat to fully take everything in. This is. Incredible, thank you

[@dawnt7950]

I could watch orb weavers all day! They are such fascinating spiders!!!

[@blueyl4219]

I’m excited about the araneus diadematus video. That’s the species that got me interested in spiders in the first place. I found one on the side of my house and it was so big and impressive I had to know what it was. I found out its bite was considered harmless to humans, went “Wait, really?” and magically wasn’t afraid of spiders anymore. I caught one and kept it in a terrarium and fed it stink bugs all summer. I named her Dahlia. Watching her build her web and catch prey was so cool, I’ve always wanted to do it again. I might have pulled out my copy of Biology of Spiders to find out how you give drugs to spiders… lol

[@paranoiia8]

Recently I found in my garden Cyrtophora citricola... And oh boy web that spider do is just mind blowing. Its similar to bowl/doily web but WAY more complicated as main body of that web is bowl shaped and its made of precisely made grid with square holes around 4-5mm each, with small hub in the middle where spider sits. And then that whole bowl is hold on top by massive mesh of random strings that is not very dense but very chaotic in design. I actually saw how it work, as bug fly into it, bump around that mesh until it drop down to that dense grid web, spider run to it and pretty much grab that net from bellow and cover that bug with it like it was a bag. Amazing to see it up close.

[@travismcenery2919]

Those kinds of spiders are fascinating. I'm always blown away by the different ways spiders can use silk, from the theridiid cobwebs to orb webs to the bowl and doily webs.

[@amicaaranearum]

@@travismcenery2919 Silk use (including different types of webs) would be a cool topic for a video.

[@erinhaury5773]

I had the pleasure of watching an orb weaver outside of my bedroom window one summer. She built the web from the wall to a bush about two feet away, but it was windy and it kept being blown down. Every evening, within fifteen minutes of 8:30 pm, she would rebuild it. I wish I had recorded it, I didn't realize that it's rare to see the entire process like that!

[@haydendupire7432]

This is the best channel on KZbin, bar none.

[@travismcenery2919]

Thanks so much!

[@rachieebeee]

gonna start drawing webs like this instead of my really scuffed lazy version haha. great video as always, looking forward to the deep dive

[@travismcenery2919]

Hehe, thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@stepford702]

Thank you for this. A big yellow garden spider set up camp right in the middle of my bedroom window. I watched her working on her web like it was a TV show! She made a very elegant web. And you actually explained some of the things I saw her do. Which makes her even cooler! Then she made a beautiful egg sack. I'm excited for the babies! 👁️❤🕷️

[@miniotter]

So cool. And they can do it so fast! I once left the house for a few hours and returned to find my way up the porch blocked by a huge orb weaver web. Both beautiful and inconvenient

[@travismcenery2919]

Yup, they can be the most elegant of annoyances, can't they?

[@Lambda_Ovine]

when i was a kid, i used to spend hours of some of my summer days watching orb weavers just doing their thing. i remember this time i was watching a particularly large specimen walking up and down a branch, using its front legs to "feel the air," only to suddenly it looked like it started walking on the air towards my direction. that scared me at the time, as you can imagine lol, it made me run away lol. watching this, i think i now know what happened, this little gal probably 'shoot' a string to another branch near me and was using it to bridge the gap, maybe to start building a web, i just happened to be close

[@travismcenery2919]

Yup! Those threads are nearly invisible. It's amazing that they can support the whole spiders.

[@lonk2026]

every time you post i love spiders even more somehow

[@travismcenery2919]

Aw, thanks so much, and that's great to hear!

[@s00gee]

You may or may not believe this, but I was actually wondering about this earlier today, and definitely not for the first time. Spiders are so amazing!

[@Psittacus_erithacus]

Excellent, as I've come to expect. Great work. Much appreciated!

[@travismcenery2919]

Thanks so much!

[@deniseharris1845]

Thank you!! Great info for our homeschooling!!

[@swampfaerie]

I spend ALOT of time outdoors and have been lucky enough to watch them throw the thread and ride the wind!

[@krissykolorjunki5304]

My parents had the complete times life book series, one of which contained the study with photographs of that famous drugged spiders weaving webs. Printed in the late 1960's to 1970's. I felt concerned a out the spiders being drugged but fascinated by the photographs. I am so glad you are continuing your various aspects series on spiders! Thank you! Love your ironic and sly sense of humor.

[@nordicpink]

The ones in my yard make the decoration. So pretty

[@glocrowhurst]

I love that you love spiders, and thank you for sharing that love with everyone else. Hooray spiders!!

[@travismcenery2919]

Thanks so much, and thanks for the comment!

[@Handhandme]

Love this channel and the effort you put into these videos, explaining every aspect of these household (and garden!) spiders. They're cool! And sometimes cute too!

[@filip7459]

Awesome video as always Travis 💪 im mindblown by the fact that they change the structure according to the prey available, AND with such short notice of change🤯

[@PrisPrivate]

Great video! This is a question I’ve been wondering for some time, so I’m glad you made a video clearing everything up! Although now I have an odd curiosity about how drugs are given to spiders…

[@travismcenery2919]

I can't stop you from googling it... ;)

[@SendItKelly]

One of the most informational and awesome video! Spiders really are incredible creatures. Thanks for all the great videos and information!

[@travismcenery2919]

Glad you liked it, and thanks!

[@GalaxySpinz]

I used to live in a place where orb weavers covered one side of my house every night. I noticed that they would take their webs down every single morning. Is there a reason they do this? I have also heard that the zigzag patter in the middle of the web was to provide visibility to small birds like hummers so they won't get caught in them. Not sure if it's true but still fascinating. Great video too!

[@travismcenery2919]

Yes, most orb weavers will rebuild their web every day or two. I'll discuss that a little more in the Cross Orb Weaver video, but it's sort of a maintenance thing, as stuff gets caught in it throughout the day. The web, in addition to a trap, is also a giant sensor, so it needs to be clean. Orb weavers usually leave the anchor and frame threads and re-use those, but they eat and recycle the radii and spiral threads.

[@GalaxySpinz]

@@travismcenery2919 They are so intelligent and fascinating. Great video!

[@Mayheme1]

Another fantastically informative video, Travis!

[@travismcenery2919]

Glad you thought so, and thanks for the comment. Good to see you here!

[@Locut0s]

Loved the detailed run down of each step of the web construction! It’s amazing that an animal the size of a spider has this kind of skill and reasoning ability. This is basically the kind of level of skill we see in humans of a master of a trade, carpenter etc. Sure much of this is instinctual in spiders instead of being thought out specifically in the way humans do… but still I think it shows we have no idea how brains and knowledge storage actually works in animals. If spiders can be of this level of complexity in skill, reasoning and problem solving with the minuscule number of neuron’s it has for its ganglia we clearly don’t understand how any of that works.

[@travismcenery2919]

Yeah, I'm continually amazed at the reasoning, learning, and problem-solving capacity some spiders have. It's only been in recent years that we've really started to recognize it.

[@Hi_Im_Akward]

Orb webs are so fascinating. I've seen spiders manuver very agiley with their silk and I've seen spiders move very far with wind on a thread line. Never knew how they constructed their orb webs but I've always wanted to see it done. Thanks for the video!

[@travismcenery2919]

You're welcome, and thanks for the comment. Glad I could answer the question for you!

[@malloid]

Fascinating as always, Travis!

[@travismcenery2919]

Glad you thought so, thanks!

[@Lambda_Ovine]

such clever little creatures, i love them so much

[@travismcenery2919]

They really are. Impressive little animals.

[@scOTTANdrews9]

lol that’s great!!! I live in the woods and have so many different varieties of spiders and they amaze me how fast they construct their elaborate sacred geometric patterns… I use their energy to create and build my house of stone…

[@frogz]

whoa, talk about timing, literally a day after i found old pics of a chonky spider, you put up a video on cross orb weavers!!! thanks for this series, it's been fascinating!

[@travismcenery2919]

Oh hey frogz! The deep dive on the species is in the works, stick around!

[@dshobe720]

Marvelous as always Travis.

[@travismcenery2919]

Thanks!

[@djpenton779]

Great video. What fascinating critters!

[@amyesworldcatherinesminime7945]

My already good day just got gooder

[@moodyshrew]

As everyone knows, a gooder day is more better.

[@travismcenery2919]

Glad I could help with that!

[@osmia]

+

[@osmia]

++

[@stingrayplushies]

I love orb weavers so much!!!

[@travismcenery2919]

They're beautiful. I know everyone is freaking out about the Joro, but honestly I'd love to see one, they look amazing.

[@carymcrawford]

Love this series, Travis.

[@travismcenery2919]

Glad you're enjoying it! I'm still working on species deep dives (with A. diadematus coming up) but I'm enjoying making the Spider Basics series too.

[@kentworch]

Spiders are such amazing creatures. Thank you once again for the awesome and informative video. Love what you're doing. I've been kinda busy lately so sorry I'm a couple days late.

[@travismcenery2919]

No worries, appreciate the comment!

[@potatopotato2635]

i love your content you've lit a fire under my interest in spiders

[@NewMessage]

Imagine putting your whole house together, out of an ikea kit, every single day. No wonder they eat their mates.

[@travismcenery2919]

Laughed out loud at this one!

[@GetOfflineGetGood]

This was so fascinating

[@StygianSunder]

Spiders, the natural architects! I don’t remember where I saw this but I recall seeing an orb weaver constructing the spiral. Something I found interesting is that at some point the spider paused midway through laying a strand, during the pause it lost grip on the radial and took a few tries gripping it again before continuing. Unsure why it paused, perhaps saw movement and waited to see if it was a threat? Or maybe spaced out briefly? But it was a neat little thing I noticed.

[@josephstalin5751]

Keep up the good work my man!

[@rstyles3242]

This is absolutely an awesome video!!! I've always been interested in Spiders, dont like em on me but, incredible creatures! I knew none of this! Thank you. 🤟

[@phobiac281]

As always great work Travis! :D

[@travismcenery2919]

Thanks so much!

[@roxyspamcake]

I loved watching orb weavers as a kid. Such a small creature, spending so much time building something so beautiful and complex, was wonderful to watch. People who didn't like spiders never understood why I got upset when they destroyed their webs on purpose, and ruined all that hard work! Perhaps they should have stayed to watch them weave with me.

[@infpdreams]

I'd love to hear, too, a bit about cobwebs and other types of webs some species create! Cobwebs always pop up in the corners of my ceilings. They're unsightly, but I wait until they are abandoned to remove them.

[@travismcenery2919]

Cobwebs are actually fascinating, and there's more order to them than one might think. I talk a bit about them in my False Widow video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fH23in-PrM6dqqssi=q4eoGnxxg0bfQALJ

[@gastllyxo]

I have a small orb weaver I’ve been keeping track of but I couldn’t find her this morning, bout midway through cooking breakfast I spotted a small black ball following my movements and there she was!! She had webbed up my body enough that she was traversing my arm through drag lines lol. This kinda stuff never happened to me until I developed a fixation on spiders, I like to believe that they can sense a friend

[@markpell8979]

I enjoy how the orb weavers adapt to my movements in the house and yard. First they'll put a web where they want it for the best fishing, according to wind direction mainly, I believe. After I've blundered through it in the dark a few times they'll learn my habitual patterns of movement and adjust their web location. Out in my garden path or on my way to the carport that usually means they anchor the lower frame threads high enough that I won't be walking through the web any more and ruining their beautiful work. This response usually happens within 1-2 days so there's no doubt they are making an intentional adjustment. Knowing where they like to build webs, I try to duck a little too, just to get along better with my pest-controlling friends and let them know I appreciate it. They probably also appreciate that on some level of logic and intelligence. Fascinating.

[@travismcenery2919]

It's amazing how they learn and adapt. It's a lot of intelligenece in such a small brain.

[@markpell8979]

@@travismcenery2919 I have a large back porch with a glass top dining table, where I spend most of my free time outdoors, including watching KZbin and listening to music, paying the bills, having a drink with human friends, etc. I have several regular jumping spider friends who like to drop by the table for a visit and socialize, maybe play a couple interactive games, taking a little break from their hunting activities. We communicate with gestures that form a basic sign language. As I type this, one of them ("Sally," for 'salticidae') is approaching now, moving into position on a nearby seat to play the 'bridge game' for a ride on my hand over to the tabletop to hang out with me for a while. I know that's what she wants because she comes to a particular spot and waits for me to notice her and respond correctly. If she wants to come to the table she'll hop on the back of my hand for a ride to the tabletop. Of course she doesn't need my help to get there, but this is part of the game. She'll wander around and investigate, play on and around the phone (do they 'enjoy' the sound vibrations or maybe the electromagnetic fields of the screen?) then she'll suddenly say goodbye for now and it's back to the hunt. In a day or two, I'll be watching my phone, look away for a few seconds, and when I look back she'll be standing right by the phone or on the screen looking at me, as if to say "Surprise! I was in the neighborhood so decided to drop by. Wassup?" She sneaks up and intentionally surprises me, I have little doubt. I know I'm anthropomorphizing to some extent but there's no question there's an interactive relationship here between two intelligent creatures that we reinforce because we each somehow benefit from it.

[@ErinHoneyBunny]

This is a really cool channel! Thank you for the videos and the information. :)

[@ErizotDread]

I was actually kind of sad when this video ended, I could have watched for another hour! lol It seemed to go by so fast. Nicely done!

[@travismcenery2919]

Glad you enjoyed it so much! The deep dive on the Cross Orb Weaver will be longer, if that helps. ;)

[@ErizotDread]

@@travismcenery2919 Absolutely, I'll watch every minute of it, and I'll damn well like it! lol

[@MrMMAJER]

Loved this video, where I live there's a lot of golden orb weavers in the forest, they surely make some gigantic yellow orbwebs. Luckily they are quite noticeable, so it's hard to get tangled in one, it only happened to me once, terrifying, the lines felt so much thicker than other not yellow orbwebs I've got my head into.

[@Matkovic99]

Youre so lucky you get orb weavers in your house, all of my orb weavers stay outside and all I get are Woodlouse spiders, cellar spiders, and the other day I had a false black widow crawl on my head, fun stuff lol

[@krissykolorjunki5304]

I know I already posted a comment the same night as this video posted, buuuut, I am ready for your next perfect video! Could use your humor during this extended heat wave in California....

[@travismcenery2919]

@@krissykolorjunki5304 it's imminent. I'm editing the last sections right now and should be able to render and post it for the weekend.

[@movingtargets7833]

commendable work sir, thank you so much.

[@travismcenery2919]

You're most welcome, and thank you!

[@ChristieNel]

Absolutely fascinating. I love watching them build webs on my boat. I'm curious whether they can find their web again if they drop to the ground and their drag line is broken.

[@josephconyer2421]

Very informative. Learned a lot, and n a short time.

[@henningbauer7617]

Thank you for another amazing video! Maybe one day you could illuminate how cob weavers operate? There must be method to their seeming madness...

[@travismcenery2919]

The False Widow video gets into it a little bit. Not quite as detailed as this, but theridiid webs are pretty fascinating - they're not as random as they look!

[@KayleeRawrzz]

Great stuff! Thanks for making this content :)

[@travismcenery2919]

You're most welcome, and thanks for the comment!

[@amicaaranearum]

I didn’t know they varied the spiral geometry based on the expected prey. That’s neat! Another example of behavioral plasticity that I’ve seen in orbweavers is that they choose building sites based on prey availability and disturbances. If she is catching plenty of prey, she’ll likely rebuild in the same spot. But she’ll try her luck somewhere else if prey is scarce. If a web is broken more than once or twice, the spider will usually stop building there. This means that if you have an orbweaver that keeps building in an inconvenient location, you can gently encourage her to move by grabbing the web from one side and moving it over. (This will destroy the web, but she can recycle the silk.)

[@travismcenery2919]

Yep, they display a lot of site fidelity. This is how I've been able to keep an orb weaver (the one shown prominiently in the video) in my office, with no real enclosure. She could leave, but I feed her and protect her web, so she just keeps weaving where I want her to and doesn't go anywhere else.

[@amicaaranearum]

@@travismcenery2919 It would be cool to have an orbweaver in the house. We don’t have _Araneus diadematus_ around here, and none of the orbweavers we do have seem suited to indoor life.

[@gcrauwels941]

Well done Travis. The size of some of the webs some species of orb weavers can make, like Trichonephila clavipes, and Eriophora ravilla, are impressive. I once found an E. ravilla (Florida) that had spanned it's web from a powerline to the ground, with the web disk of around a meter. Always wondered how it managed to do that. After walking into one is when I learned they ingested the web for recycling.

[@travismcenery2919]

It truly is impressive. I think the biggest orb weavers we have up here are Argiope. I'd actually love to see Trichonephila.

[@kyliecunnington7711]

I noticed that Spiders are pretty aware of the conditions that attract alot of food. So I'll see webs at high insect traffic areas. Like above standing water, above my compost. And in the spotlight of a outdoor light

[@DavidSmith-jj7ll]

Hey your shopify store features either a cardinal jumper or an Apache jumper, which are great spiders. Apparently they're defensively mimicking he velvet ant (which is a wingless/flightless bee or wasp). Also the fact that orb weavers hang on the downslope side explains why I never got a faceful of 4-inch spider when I managed to walk into golden silk orb weaver webs. They're a close relative and sized similarly to the joro spider that's been making all the headlines recently. In fact I remember visiting Japan many years ago, and during a hike thinking how much the large orb weavers in the Japanese forests looked like the golden silk orb weavers I used to walk into in the Carolina Sea Islands maritime forests. Also man those golden silk spider webs are STRONG. I felt like I bounced back when I walked into them. Interesting that there are geometric differences with non-vertical orb webs. We had a lot of long jawed orb weavers who'd make webs in our canoes and other boats when I was a kid (the boats were kept on a dock on a small pond so over water mostly).

[@travismcenery2919]

I'd love to actually see either a golden orb weaver or a Joro spider, but I'm sadly too far north. And the spider on my Shopify store is actually Foreman, a Phidippus whitmani that I kept for quite some time. There are so many salticids that identification can be a real pain, but that's what occurs up here.

[@auturgicflosculator2183]

Beautiful work~💚

[@travismcenery2919]

Thanks so much!

[@meghandoyle3110]

On a hike I saw a trapdoor spider, and I was really excited! I can't find much information about these guys, though. Will you do a video on them or have you done one already? Or give some places to find information?

[@lachlanmacarthur8992]

Me am absolutely gets that mug. merch mostly is like an injoke Thats soo obscurerer that literally no one will get it. This one is perfecter. AND good grandma too. Fantastic video. Much prefer these more gooderrer in-depth videos than dumbed down one's with dramatically dramatic horror music playing over an animal less than a gram.

[@auturgicflosculator2183]

6:06 Infiltration and exfiltration(air moving into and out of the house through small cracks, joints, etc.): every time the air pressure changes outside, air will force itself through one way or the other, trying to equalize pressure inside with that outside. This can cause air currents that might be imperceptible to a human under normal circumstances.

[@auturgicflosculator2183]

Temperature differentials can also come into play, but I'm too stupid to explain those simply.

[@DocM.]

0:05 That was adorable and well placed music 😂❤

[@davidconner-shover51]

As to the Tarzan method, I've actually seen this. Drop a drag line down about 3/4 of the way from the center, then start swinging till it connects with another line

[@travismcenery2919]

It's cool to see if you get the chance. Glad you did!

[@alex146]

Amazing video indeed

[@travismcenery2919]

Thanks so much!

[@himanshuwilhelm5534]

Damn, the webcrawlers have gotten into my brain. I was just trying to to figure out how one of my friends got the first spokes of her web laid out.