If ur feeling blue --- this'll lift ur spirits, TRUST ME!

All i can say is just watch this - u'll find urself laughin for no good reason!

Kleptomanic Spider(hehe!)

Funny documentary i just saw on the RTE Two channel an hour ago, just had to say something about it cos i found it a bit amusing.

Started watching the documentary late so i only caught them when they were talking about how spiders spin their silk webs in perfect symmetry...twas really amazing to see considering the fact that spiders have brains far smaller then peanuts!

Anyway, the Nephila spider aka the Golden silk orb-weaver makes incredible webs in an eye-popping process that u only have to see to appreciate. These spiders take at least an hour (well, according to documentary guy) to spin webs that can fit the space an adult makes when he/she spreads their arms fully apart!






Now for the kleptomaniac part - as most people know, spiders feed by spinning sticky webs and when insects ie bees, flies etc fly into and get stuck in the web.
When a bee gets stuck in a web, it tries to set itself free by vigorously flapping it wings causing vibrations on the web. These vibrations travel all the way up to the center of the web to the spider's legs. The spider feels these vibrations and pulls on a few strings of the web in the general direction of shaking insect to pin-point the exact position of its prey, then starts its menacing crawl towards it...reminds me of a spiderman episode where spidey was the prey.

Stay with me now, then this little fella: the Argyrodes(arr-gee-ro-dees) aka the dewdrop spider - a sly one at that - sees an insect struggling on the Nephila's web, gently tiptoes towards the insect(it's mass is so light that the nephila cant pick up the vibrations), wraps it up in its own silk web and steals off with the nephila's food. HAHA! talk about SNEAKY!

I especially loved the part when the klepto-spider was feasting on the neph's food and the neph was left looking clueless when it got to the place where it thought it food was - not soo funny now that i think about it, but what the heck...

That's my rant for today!