Daddy long-legs

Actually, this page should more aptly be entitled Mommy long-legs. I found this spider hanging from a corner of the garage ceiling. Curious what that ball was, I got a ladder, climbed up and took this picture. Eggs! And look at the structure visible on the outside.

 Well, needless to say, I checked mommy every day when I got home from work. Sure enough, one fine day, there she was, covered with hatchlings!

By the next day, the hatchlings had spread around on the ceiling. But wait! What’s that ball mommy still has?

I confess – cruelty to animals – I took it away from her. Here’s what it was, a bundle of legs and spiderling shells. Now, does it just mean that spiderlings molt early, or is this evidence of cannibalism in the nest? Don’t know.

Well, the kids might eat each other, but mom is going to make sure no one else (daddy, for example) eats the kids.

In 2012, I was able to make an amateur video of spiders hatching!