Nature Note #204: Web Heads
If you're as tall as I am (6' 3" to be precise) then you have no doubt experienced the horror, dread, and inconvenience caused by a spider web as it wraps around your head and neck. Frantically, you pull at its sticky strands with growing concern that the web's creator is just a short leap from your neck. Nine times out of ten, you're lucky enough to rid yourself of the nefarious net. The other day, I could have sworn I felt the spider moving in a panicked pattern up and down my neck as I tried to free myself from its trap. Later, I thought that maybe it had bitten off more than it could chew. That, of course, was a silly thought, though. If it really wanted to eat me, it would have to be massive and if that were the case, we humans would have bigger problems fighting an army of 6 foot long Shelobs. There are three web weavers on the island that are frequently encountered: the golden silk spider ( Nephila clavipes ), the black and yellow orb weaver ( Argiope aura...