Entomologists from around the world are very excited about a unique spider web that looks like something out of a movie. The web is so large that it covers a good number of trees and surrounding plants at Lake Tawokoni State Park.
The magnificent picture of the giant spider web below was taken by the Donna Garde, superintendent of the state park. Walking upon this site may scare many, and it’s reported that some visitors actually fear that their small dogs may be webbed and consumed ‘nothing could be further from the truth!’ In fact, it is one of the best bug free areas in the park acting as a giant mosquito net.
Although no one has given a definitive answer, many spider experts conclude that the ’stretch spiders’, pictured below, are working together to form the massive web. Some say these webs happen every few years while others say it is a rarity.
Stretch Spiders, or Tetragnatha, are found all over the world, although most occur in the tropics and subtropics. They obtain their name from the ability to stretch out and hide on a stick or blade of grass when in danger. These spiders are commonly found close to water and compose large webs. In the case of above, these spiders appear to be working together.
If you have seen spider webs like this in your area, or have more information, please post for others to see!
If you would like to see these webs for yourself, visit the Lake Tawokoni State Park website at or give them a call at 10822 FM 2475, Wills Point, TX 75169 (903) 560-7123
Lake Tawakoni State Park is a 376.3-acre park in Hunt County with 5.2 miles of shoreline along the south central shore of the main body of the reservoir. The park operates the 36,700 surface acre reservoir and Iron Bridge Dam, on the headwaters of the Sabine River.
A special mention to Sonya Fenton who was very knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with ‘thank you Sonya!’
In many of the thumbnails below, you’ll notice all the bugs captured within the spider webs. Some look dark in color because of the number of insects collected!
This Spider Bite information sheet is from the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine and offers some great tips on spider bite treatment and facts.
Bitten by a Spider
There have been reports, from barrack residents, of skin sores (lesions, ulcers, vesicles) that have been attributed to the bites of spiders. These incidents often do not include the observation, by the patient or other witness, of a spider actually biting nor the capture/retention of a spider specimen that was responsible for the bite.
These incidents often do not involve an identifiable moment of pain linked to the advent of the sore. Often several individuals living in the same barracks have exhibited similar sores, during the same period of time. Sores have appeared on any part of the body. Sometimes these have been called brown recluse bites? because they appear to enlarge over time and are raw and oozing. They also may somewhat resemble photographs on numerous websites that show the degenerative wounds caused by brown recluse spiders.
Confirmed spider bites of humans are relatively uncommon. Most spiders are non-aggressive and only bite humans when accidentally pressed against the skin while hiding in clothing, shoes, bedding.
Although all spiders have some type of venom, most spiders are too small or otherwise incapable of puncturing the skin and only a few species of spiders have venom toxic enough to cause harm.
Spiders are often blamed for skin sores or apparent bites when no other cause is found.
Brown Recluse Locations
Lesions obtained in states other than: FL, TX, LA, MS, AL, GA, TN, AR, OK, NB, IA, KS, MO, IL, IN, or OH are not likely to be caused by Brown Recluse spiders.
Treating a Spider Bite
If a spider bite is suspected but no spider was observed or collected by the patient, a thorough inspection of the patients room and adjacent barracks areas should conducted. Areas in closets, baseboards, corners, under beds, behind furniture, and objects on the floor (e.g., shoes) should be inspected using a flashlight.
Adhesive survey traps should be placed in sufficient numbers (e.g., at least 5 per room) and checked regularly to detect spiders, if present. If numerous non-spider arthropods are caught, this could be an indication that spider prey is available to support spider populations.
Any sanitation deficiencies which might support spiders should be corrected. One of the most important spider controlling tools is a vacuum cleaner.
If a spider is found associated with a bite, SAVE IT (in a pill vial or any container). It should be brought along if medical care is sought.
At the same time that a spider inspection is taking place, possible non-spider causes should be considered.
Multiple lesions on one individual, or multiple individuals (room mates, barrack mates) with similar lesions, are strong indicators that the problem may not be caused by spiders.
Spiders not Biting
One emerging cause of mis-diagnosed spider bites is an infection called Community-Acquired (or associated), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or CA-MRSA.
This is a treatable bacterial skin infection that is spread by contact (e.g., bedding, towels, furniture upholstery, work-out equipment).
CA-MRSA lesions can be found on any part of the body and can consist of raw, open, weeping, painful pustules. Sometimes ancillary (additional) pustules may develop adjacent to the original wound.
It is important to differentiate spider bites from CA-MRSA because their respective treatments are different. Also, CA-MRSA is infectious to others. CA-MRSA can be confirmed by medical personnel via culture.
Whatever the cause, if skin lesions or bites of unknown origin are experienced, seek medical attention immediately.
This is an Interactive video of Spiders On Drugs. To participate, simply feed the Spider a drug and watch him weave his web!
A test was performed were spiders were given a number of drugs which included LSD, Caffeine, Mescaline and Hash.
The spiders on drugs would weave a spider web and then the web would be analyzed. The end results were amazing and produced some very strange looking designs.
This animation allows you to feed your spider one of the drugs mentioned above. Once the spider consumes the drug, it sets out to build the spider web.
The end result, the final spider web, is the actual design created by the spider on that particular drug* but the actual process of creating that web is embellished a bit : )
However, if you feed the spider the regular fly, the web and process of creating that web is an accurate representation and not embellished.
* I have spent a lot of time on the web researching the tops of ’spiders on drugs’. My findings are based on tests completed by universities and other creditable resources. If you find something that may be of value to our readers or a correction, please post - thank you!
Ok, so the spiders didn’t really drink Dew, but they did eat flies injected with Caffeine and other drugs, then made their spider web producing some of the strangest looking webs!
If you want to see a video of a spider making these webs, then visit Spiders On Drugs
Spiders on Caffeine
The picture below is of a spider web who was on Caffeine, this web seems to be the most confusing design of all - perhaps I should stop drinking Dew!!!
Spider on Mescaline
This spider web below was made by a spider who ate a fly filled with Mescaline, the extract from peyote used in native American religious ceremonies.
Spider Web - Hash
The image below is what happens when a spider eats a fly injected with hash. Not a big change from the picture above but the spider web is missing more.
Spider on LSD
Here is what you get when you have a spider that is on LSD. The spider just forgot the detail, a major portion of the web!
Spider Webs
The spider web below is a normal web and was made by a spider free of drugs!
As you can see, the drug that caused the spider to weave a completely whacked out web was Caffeine. So, the next time you think about drinking a pop or filling yourself with coffee, think about these webs!
See Camel Spider for detailed information on this spider, otherwise, read on.
Did you know that the government was performing a top secret genetic experiment on the camel spider? That experiment was intended to develop a super gene that allowed humans to heal almost instantly; in fact, scientists speculated that it would cure cancer.
Unfortunately, something horrible happened in the lab which caused the camel spiders to grow to a foot in length! All the scientists in the lab were bitten and many are exhibiting strange behavior.
It is your job to find a cure for the camel spider and its bite! To start, click on proceed.
Spiders are often recognized by the web they weave. There are many types of webs, but this page focuses in on the Spiral Orb Web.
Spiral orb webs and the ones most people are familiar with, such as the webs near your door, corners, lights, etc.
Technically speaking, these spider webs are commonly associated with the family Araneidae, Tetragnathidae and Uloboridae.
There are many types of silk that spiders use to build their web. The spider web allows a spider to trap its food without having to spend a lot of energy chasing its prey; however, the energy required to create a spider web consumes a lot of protein, so the spider will often consume its own web (recycle).
Above, you’ll see an example of a spider web (the orb web), being constructed. Actually, there is a lot more to building a spider web, but this covers all the basics and serves as an excellent overview.
Did you know that a spider’s silk strands can be stronger than strands of steel of the same thickness? In fact, many high tech companies are studying the structure of the material to help develop new products for building and design!
Here is an awesome picture of an Orb Weaver provided by David Cappaert at forestryimages.org.
Poisonous spider bite symptoms may not be the same for everyone, one may have a mild reaction to a bite while another may lose a finger or be scarred for life. The most common symptom is a spider bite that has a red line traveling from the bitten area and / or flu like symptoms.
At BadSpiderBites.com, we have a very large collection of spider bite pictures that have been submitted by victims to help you identify your bite.
You will notice a number of different pages on this site and each page can have hundreds of comments and pictures. Look around and you’ll find that poisonous spider bite symptoms can vary from spider to spider and in fact, most spiders are harmless.
If you have been bitten, please take the time to submit a photograph of the bite so that others may benefit from the experience.
By far, the biggest mistake most bite victims make is delaying treatment! Many times the individual feels embarrassed to seek medical attention or the doctor may not recognize the bite.
Never feel embarrassed about seeking medical attention and never be shy about asking questions of your doctor. In fact, most doctors welcome such questions which usually lead to further research on the poisonous bite and associated symptoms. It’s a way to let your doctor know you’re serious about this and you expect concrete answers.
By letting your doctor know that you have submitted your information and their treatment for the world to see here, they may take a more active role in your recovery. You are also soliciting the help of people from around the world while helping others that may be going through the same pain.
This section is for questions about spiders and insects that do not fit elsewhere. If you have a question about spiders or insects of any type, post it here for everyone to see. I am not an expert, but I do my very best to make sure your comments and pictures are posted as soon as possible.
One question about spiders that keeps popping up is how many spiders does humans eat without knowing it? The common response is that one to two spiders per day make their way into your mouth and trigger an involuntary response that causes a person to swallow the spiders.
That’s hogwash and in fact, spiders will avoid you when they can. Most of us sleep with our mouths closed unless we are snoring, and even sleeping, spiders crawling on your face will likely be brushed off before they would ever make their way into your mouth. Breathing alone would be enough to dissuade most spiders from crawling up your nose or into your mouth.
Chances are, you’ll eat more spiders than you’ll find crawling around your body. Did you know that the Food and Drug Administration has a set of guidelines that allow insects and parts to be included in certain food products? It applies to fruits and veggies, such as apples with worms, etc.
Giant sea spiders spanning six feet in length and faster than one cares to imagine have been found in the waters of Antarctica! Below is a picture of the sea spider as it retreats from the light.
When I heard about these giant sea spiders, I had to verify the information and it is true, giant spiders never before seen have recently been discovered. The length of the spider is not six feet, but more like 1 foot as in the picture above. Still, a 12 inch spider is enough to freak me out!
A project that spanned two months with a team of Scientists from Japan, Australia and France recently obtained specimens from the waters off of Antarctica. They went more than 6,000 feet deep to collect these creatures and found that most of the specimens, including the giant sea spider, have never been seen before.
Led by the Australian Antarctic Division, the team reported that “Gigantism is common in Antarctic waters - we have collected huge worms, giant crustaceans and sea spiders the size of dinner plates,” Australian scientist Martin Riddle, voyage leader on the research ship Aurora Australis, said.
Besides creatures like the sea spider, interesting findings included fish with unusually large eyes - very unusual for such a deep environment. Unless, we find that these fish can actually see in pitch black which would give way to a whole new technology! We can see in the dark, but we need some light - down that deep, there is no light of any type. You can see that the sea spider is completely white.
All the specimens have been sent to labs for research and needles to say, we are all anxiously awaiting the results!
