The Orb-weaving Cave Spider

Meta menardi

Not too many people know that I own a man cave. I acquired it along with my flat but in all the years that I've lived here, it's been occupied by a large family of orb-weaving cave spiders. I've not really been of a mind to disturb them. 

With the house here renting a communal skip, an opportunity was finally presented to get rid of a number of old doors that were rotting away inside. The spiders were using them to hang their beautiful tear-shaped egg-sacs, so we had to carefully move each one into the safety of the rafters. We tried to make sure we didn't remove any of the spiders with the doors, but one snucked away to the skip and I had to take it back home. I worried that it might not have found its way without some help. They get a bit dazzled by the light of the day. 

I love spiders. This one is rather special. We developed such a bond that it didn't want to leave my hand once back inside the dark!

Comments
Sign in or get an account to comment.