ARANEUS spiderlings

[Robin Leech]

Last Thursday, 29 June, I watched about 350 or so spiderlings (Fam. Araneidae, _Araneus_ sp.) as they emerged from under some of the siding on the west side of my home.  I could not see the egg sac, so I presume it must be up and inside, under the siding.  By Friday, most had ballooned away.  Today, all that remained there were the webs they spun and the bodies of about 15 that "did not make it" - either died of natural causes or perhaps were eaten by their brothers and sisters.  Some were obviously shrivelled.

About a half hour ago, on the north side of my home, I found more _Araneus_ spiderlings, just newly emerged, about 600 total.  They are clustered in four spots under three different edges of the siding.  Some are actively moving here and there, but most are tighly clustered as though they are highly thigmotropic.

This is a late emergence for Edmonton - usually it occurs about mid-June.  All our garden plants, garden vegetables, tomatoes, etc., are also about 2-3 weeks late, confirming a cool spring/summer so far.

Perhaps when we know more about the different species of _Araneus_ and their emergence dates, we can use them for phenological studies.  

Robin Leech