I'd like a straightforward and (crucially) exhaustive account of what a spider's (any species, but particularly orb-weavers) life is like.
The circumstances of their birth, what they do right after hatching and how far they travel; when do they build their first web, how often do they rebuild it...
What do they do on the web all day, and how do they respond exactly when something lands in it? How often do things land on it, what are (statistically) the biggest threats to a spider?
Do they do nothing but sit in their webs day in, day out, or do they move around? If so, how often, how far, and why?
Any books or papers would be greatly appreciated. Basically imagine I'm trying to write a novel set from a spider's perspective, that follows it from birth up to death (that's not what I'm trying to do, but I hope it illustrates the kind of information I'd like) Ordinarily I'd take some initiative and find a specimen nearby to observe, but there really are no spiders around here - I tend to be very surprised if I see so much as a tiny money spider.
The circumstances of their birth, what they do right after hatching and how far they travel; when do they build their first web, how often do they rebuild it...
What do they do on the web all day, and how do they respond exactly when something lands in it? How often do things land on it, what are (statistically) the biggest threats to a spider?
Do they do nothing but sit in their webs day in, day out, or do they move around? If so, how often, how far, and why?
Any books or papers would be greatly appreciated. Basically imagine I'm trying to write a novel set from a spider's perspective, that follows it from birth up to death (that's not what I'm trying to do, but I hope it illustrates the kind of information I'd like) Ordinarily I'd take some initiative and find a specimen nearby to observe, but there really are no spiders around here - I tend to be very surprised if I see so much as a tiny money spider.
