It’s Day 38 of the Papa’s Walk Challenge.

 On my walk today, I was struck by the number of orb weaver spider webs I saw.  They are the circular, wheel-shaped spider webs that you’ll see suspended between plants in gardens. (Every summer we find an orb weaver web suspended between the posts on our front porch, near our garden.)  In the center of almost every web I saw,  there was an orb weaver spider waiting patiently for an insect to get trapped in the sticky netting.  Mmmm…lunch!

Did you know that orb weavers make a new web every day?  Want to know more?  Print out a fact sheet about orb weaver spiders.

Or, better yet, watch an amazing video on the rescue of an orb weaver spider (set to classical guitar music) by Bob, The Spider Hunter!

When I was little I was afraid of spiders.  Papa wasn’t afraid of them at all. Sometimes, when a spider found its way into our home, Papa would pick it up and put it outside.  He often repeated an old wives’ tale that, “Spiders are good luck.”

There is a Greek myth, Arachne, that explains how spiders came to be. Watch a modernized animated video version of the story.