Whitebacked Garden Spider

Spider-Man uses a line of silk to swing through cityscapes and subdue evildoers. But in the arthropod world, spider-women are the masters of silk. Female spiders have seven different silk glands from which they draw an array of different types of silk for different purposes, including constructing intricate webs to snare prey.

There are almost 60 species of orb weaver spiders (family Araneidae) in Ohio. They capture and kill insects making them an important pest management bio-ally. This is the time of the year when the females of many species have reached their maximum size. Their gossamer creations are made even more noticeable if cloaked in morning dew.