Golden Silk Orbweaver comes back to life after 2 day freeze.
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January 2017
A couple days ago I posted a photo in comments about the demise of this amazing Golden Orbweaver still alive as we entered the new year. The web hangs off the back roof on the southside where it gets a bit of morning sun and shelter from north winds. Still with all that, I figured 2 nights below freezing, down to 24º, it was a goner. It looked like a goner.
Those drooping legs, the sag to the belly, I tried a little poke and saw no movement. A shame what with a huge dinner stuck in the web. Well, you've seen the cover photo - it's still alive.
These large females survive late into the year but January is something else. Here's some tidbits I found while looking for information about how much cold a spider can take. Wish the author didn't call them banana spiders but I guess he's writing for kids.
BugGuide has this:
Toward the end of fall, the females will lay their last clutch of eggs, and then die at the first frost. The eggs can survive the winter (even withstanding freezing) due to the simplistic nature/chemistry of the eggs. The warmth of the spring will cause the eggs to mature, releasing a new generation of orb weavers.
So BugGuide says my spider should be dead but from the University of Michigan critter site:
Adult Orb-weavers can't usually survive below-freezing weather, so they don't live for more than a year. In tropical regions with warm winters, they may live longer.
North Florida, the Gulf Coast, is considered subtropical so maybe.
Checking the Entomology department at the University of Florida - Featured Creatures - they don't mention cold weather or freezing but do cover how the species evolved to deal with overheating — a shiny top reflects the hot sun. Around here the spiders sit in the shade of trees like I do. These also catch smaller insects than other species of orbweavers. It's all about the efficiency of web design and capture technique.
And finally from Wiki: “Beyond 40° N latitude these spiders seldom survive the winter.” Tallahassee is around 30º latitude so maybe this is not unusual. That's about as close to a final answer as I could find but it’s still not clear about winter survival.
So the question of the day, if y'all have any thoughts … thanks for reading and see ya in the comments.
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