Charlotte is that you?

The beauty and mystery of one of Mother Nature’s finest architects, but for the life of me I couldn’t figure out where this web was built.    I finally asked Martina – whaaat????    She replies:  ”Charlotte built her web between our deck rails – the green is the grass below.   I find it fascinating how the pattern changes in some areas of the web.    I took this in the early morning & is much more noticeable with the dew.   Do you think the little web in the top left corner is created by the same spider?    Look for Charlotte in the top left!”

DID YOU KNOW?    Spider web material is about one-tenth the diameter of a human hair, but it is ten times stronger than a steel strand of the same weight.    The silk is made up of two proteins:  The first is a bubble gum like material.    This is what gives the web inredible elasticity so when the prey hits the web, it stretches but does not break.    The second protein has two kinds of crystalline material – these toughen the web.    They are tightly pleated and resist stretching, but only one of them is truly rigid.

AND NOW – EVERYTHING YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT HOW A SPIDER SPINS ITS WEB:

To begin its construction the spider climbs to a perfect starting point – like a tree branch and releases a length of thread into the wind.    That thread catches onto another branch.   The spider then cinches up the silk and attaches the thread to the starting point.    Now, the spider walks across the thread, releasing a looser thread below the first one.    It attaches this thread on both ends and climbs to its center.    The looser strand sags downward, forming a V-shape.    The spider lowers itself from this point, to form a Y-shape.    This forms the core support structure of the web as the spider creates a ‘perimeter’ and little catch areas.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/zoology/insects-arachnids/spider5.htm

MOTHER NATURE’S MYSTERIES ARE THERE FOR THE TAKING.    THE PICTURE TAKING THAT IS.    UPLOAD YOUR FRESH AIR PHOTO TODAY!