It’s that time of year again when we venture out at our Nature Center with families to celebrate the world of spiders. Our exploratory walk, at night, is known as the Creepy Spider Hunt. As we hunt in the dark with our flashlights, we hope to encounter an assortment of spiders. The star of the show will likely be the wolf spider with its eyes all aglow.

The excitement builds as we gather on the edge of darkness for a brief overview of spiders. The children name a few spiders that they know - the tarantula, the wolf spider, and the black widow. Someone mentions the daddy-long-legs, or the harvestman (not a true spider) which leads us nicely to a discussion of spider form. The kids present hit the key points - spiders have two body parts and eight legs, and, surprise, eight eyes! We also briefly discuss spider lifestyles - they are meat eaters all, some utilizing webs, others employing various hunting techniques. Collectively these kids know spiders, or at least, know that they like them.

Before I share some of our findings, I should point out that the parents are not mere tag-alongs on this event. In fact, it is because of the parents that this gathering is happening. Each of them has decided, at least at this moment, to feed the curiosity of their youngsters. In fact, every single person there was actively honoring their sense of wonder, from preschool-aged Joli through this middle-aged adult. Parents brought young children past their bedtimes, middle school and high school students and one parent even brought her college-aged daughter as part of her birthday celebration. Happy Birthday Regina!

Out in the meadow it was dark. Spooky dark. Magic dark.  And that is the point, to meet the spiders on their terms. We gather in the dark, with flashlights, to seek the reflective eyes of Lycosa, a wolf spider.  These spiders use keen eyesight (and large eyes) to hunt and catch their prey. The grass is loaded with dew but after several minutes people begin to discern the orange or greenish glow of the wolf spider eyes from the sparkly reflection of dew drops. “I found one! I found one!” is the rallying cry heard throughout the meadow. They are crawling on the ground and they are climbing in the grasses and they are just about everywhere.

The Creepy Spider Hunt is essentially an annotated scavenger hunt. We learn about the spiders and their lives as we search and encounter. Looking for crab spiders in the goldenrod we find jumping spiders and a “purse-web” weaver. Looking for wolf spiders we find small orb web weavers. One young naturalist Quinn seems to specialize in the tiniest of spiders, 1/8 inch long cobweb weavers whose small tangled webs will fill with dew overnight.

Probably the most impressive spider of the evening is the black-and-yellow garden spider, Argiope aurantia. This spider is as large as the end of your pinky and dressed in brilliant yellow and black markings. Its large web, nearly two feet across, is marked by a vertical zigzag down the middle, known as the stabilimentum. This adornment has earned the spider the additional name of the writing spider.  The spider, not at all dangerous, is scary for its large size, yet it enthralls all with its beauty. Nearby, poised on a smaller web, is a suitor, an interested male, maybe one-eight of her size. He too seems mesmerized by her beauty but to him, she is dangerous. If he is lucky, he will mate with her. If he is really lucky, he will do so and escape with his life.

Two hours after starting our spider adventure, the crowd disperses. Youngsters make their way slowly to cars, surely to fall asleep before reaching their front doors. Their dreams will be filled with creepy, crawly spiders, only these dreams aren’t nightmares. Filled with a wonder for spiders, the children dream fantasies of a sort, remembering the relationship we have had for generations with the natural world.