SPIDERLINGS
I am a baby spider
as tiny as can be
My mother laid me as an egg
with many more like me
I stay inside my silken sac
As snug as I can be
I am a baby spider
as tiny as can be
Fall is the perfect time to learn about baby
spiders, called spiderlings. Spiders that hunt, like
wolf spiders and jumping spiders, lay eggs that
hatch in fall. Other spiders lay eggs that hatch in
spring.
Spiders spin a silk sac in which to lay their
eggs. A spider can lay hundreds of tiny eggs at
one time. They may lay more than one sac, with
each sac holding several hundred eggs. Some
mothers stay with their egg sacs until they hatch.
Other spider mothers hide the sac in the web or
under a leaf. The wolf spider carries the sac with
her. When the babies hatch, they climb onto her
back. She carries them until their first molt. (See
photo below.) |
 |
| A mother spider
watches as her babies
leave the egg sac.
©2005 Gumenuk
Vitalij, Dreamstime.com |
|
It can take a few weeks before the eggs hatch.
Egg sacs of some kinds of spiders don't hatch until the spring. When the young spiderlings hatch,
they stay in the sac until after their fi rst molt.
Molting is when a spider sheds its skin, called an
exoskeleton. As it grows, a spiderling will molt
four to twelve times until it is an adult, usually in
a year. |
| Question: Why do mother spiders spin egg sacs
Spiderlings cling to the back of a mother wolf spider.
©2004 Steve Clark |
When spiderlings leave the egg sac, they may
stay clustered together for awhile. Then they must
move away to find food. So many spiders cannot
stay in one spot if there is to be enough food for
all. Some spiderlings will walk to a new place.
Other spiderlings "balloon." When a young spider balloons, it points its abdomen in the air and
sends out a long thread of very fine silk, called
gossamer. Wind catches the light thread and
carries the spider away. Spiderlings have been
known to travel long distances doing this, although most don't go far. You may have seen the
grass or plants covered with a thin layer of fine
silk thread when thousands of spiderlings balloon
at the same time.
 |
| Spiderlings often cluster together until they are
ready to find new homes. ©2004 Randy Lorance, photo |
Question: Why do mother spiders spin egg sacs
to hold their eggs? |
|
