"I will speak of the glorious honor of Thy majesty, and of Thy wondrous works." Psa. 145:5
In our discussion about spiders last week, we learned that all spiders spin silk, but not all spiders make webs. Each species of spider has a different life story.
The first spider we'll look at is the bola spider which catches its dinners by "fishing." Instead of spinning a web, it produces one long thread with a drop of sticky silk on the end. It sits on a branch and drops this line down, swinging it back and forth until an insect flies into the sticky ball. Then it pulls up the thread, like reeling in a fishing line, and eats its meal.
The triangle spider spins a three-sided web between two twigs, with a tail hanging down from the bottom. The spider holds tightly to this tail to keep the web open. The moment an insect touches the triangle, the spider lets go of the tail, and the web springs like a trap and captures the victim.
Any female spider may mistake the male for prey and eat him. However, males have ways of guarding against this. If a male wishes to make friends with a female, he vibrates the edge of her web with one of his feet. The female is immediately alerted. If she is hungry, she crosses the web, and that's a signal for the male to make a quick exit. But if the female remains quiet, he senses she has already eaten and he goes to her, sometimes taking a little present. However, he never stays long or he will have to pay for his visit with his life. This is why one species is known as the black widow, because she almost always kills and eats her mate.
Flying spiders point their abdomens toward the sky and spin webs that act like parachutes. When the wind catches one of these, the spider holds on tightly, and off it flies on a real adventure. Sometimes they are lifted thousands of feet in the air and are carried over oceans and mountains before landing.
The crab spider hides in a flower and waits for an insect to land and then captures it. It not only looks like a miniature crab, it can walk backwards and sidewards like a crab. Some crab spiders change their color to match the flower they are hiding in.
The many spiders all over the world and their amazing ways remind us of the wonders of God's creation. They show us that the little things, as well as the big things of life, are all under His watchful care. It is well for us to remember that we are also under His care, and that "the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good" (Prov. 15:3).