Hi, I’m back to talk about bugs. We are talking about the orb weaver spider today. This spider is named for it’s spooky bicycle-wheel shaped web. I read that in my cool Bug guide my mom got me on a trip. You can see how it catches dew drops in the picture above from our garden. Did you know that a strand of spider silk is stronger for its diameter (my mom says that means how thick it is) than steel? Guess how big the web usually is…go ahead, take a guess.
-is it as big as a cookie?
-is it as big as a dinner plate?
-is it as big as a large pizza?
If you said pizza, you are RIGHT! And this spider is actually not an insect- it is an arachnid. Arachnids have 8 legs. And insects only have 6 legs. Does that mean spiders are better dancers? We’ll leave that question unanswered.
they have eight eyes. Besides the legs, they also have these things at their mouth called pedipalps which helps them hold things. My mom and I love that word. Pedipalps, pedipalps, pedipalps. Maybe you can see them in the photo below. 
So, I think the orb weaver spider is cool because it has so many interesting things about it. My favorite thing is that some of them eat their web and then rebuild it every day. Awesome. And that is all I have to say about that!
The Girl Who Loves Bugs 
Comments on: "Orb Weaver Spider" (9)
Alex I love your blog!! I have a question though…is the orb weaver spider still the size of a pizza if it’s a pepperoni pizza? I must know!
Miss Lauren, the spider is not as big as a pizza, the web is. But yes, the pizza can be either cheese or pepperoni.
Hi Alex, thank you for posting your super-cool blog! I’m so glad to know about the mealybug destroyer–I won’t worry about them any more, thanks to you.
I saw a gorgeous butterfly yesterday: black upper wings and bright turquoise metallic lower wings. Have you ever seen one? Do you know what kind it is? It was sitting on purple flowers in the sunshine–nature is so amazing.
Can’t wait for you to add more bugs to your blog!
Those pictures on your blog are really beautiful. Do you have some help in making them so clear? Is that orb weaver spider like the one that I remember seeing last year on your back door?
Dotti, the pictures were taken by my mommy. Yes, the one we had last year was like this one.
My mom and dad have one of these spiders living just outside their living room window. And my mom had the audacity to say she was going to squash her. I told her I wouldn’t talk to her for a month if she did that – besides, if the spider set up shop right next to the window, it meant that there were a lot of bugs right next to the window and so just leave the darn spider alone to do whatever she wants. That spider is still there 3 weeks later. And even has an egg sack now.
Katine, that is pretty cool. Thanks for not letting your mom squash the spider.
Hi! My name is Sadie. I am ten years old. I think it is so cool that you LOVE bugs!
I LOVE bugs too!!! It must be so cool to have a blog all about it. I had a pet Madagascar hissing cockroach. But today it died. 😦
Sadie, that is too bad and we are really sad for you. We had a chance to meet some Madagascar hissing cockroaches last year and we thought they were very cool. I hope you feel better soon.