Meet the Golden Silk Orb Weaver (Nephila clavipes). I've been ducking and dodging and fearing these beasts all my life, yet when I pluck up the courage to stop within about 80 feet to check one out I find myself somewhere between completely fascinated and completely repulsed. They're bizarre (okay, terrifying) to look at and huge. A fully grown female can have a two-inch body and be half a foot across when you add legs. They have tufts of fur at their knees and their webs are large and strong enough to catch bats. If you get too close they will bounce on the web like a trampoline.
Hey, where did everybody go? Is anyone still here? Anyone...?
Here's why these spiders are fascinating: it's their silk. Some lab tests have shown it to be a promising tool for repairing damaged nerves and the human immune system does not recognize it as a threatening foreign body. Their dragline silk is stronger than Kevlar. It has a tensile strength six times that of steel. If you could convince one to spin a line the thickness of a pencil lead (hint: offer it mosquitos, a pension, and stock options), the silk could be used to stop a fighter jet landing on an aircraft carrier. Kevin says this is a good reason to love the spider. I say it is a good excuse to sleep in and not be the first cyclist down the trail on a summer morning.
In fact, just writing this post and editing the photos gave me the willies so bad I had to go put on extra clothes then Google images of kittens. You may feel the same way. I can hear you all now. "Would you people go back to Yosemite, or something?" Actually, when we were there we spent twenty minutes watching a ginormous black widow wrap up a bumblebee.
Aren't you glad you checked in today? You're welcome.
-Jenni