Time for Spiders

September is the month for spiders. They are everywhere, and getting bigger. Some people like them, others don't. Here in Japan we get some pretty big ones. How about this fellow:


This is called a Wasp Spider because its markings are very like that of a wasp. Its scientific name is Argiope bruennichii, and Japanese name: Nagakogane-gumo. Gumo in Japanese is the word for spider.

Spider webs are amazing. Just watch a spider weave his web and you will notice how methodically he goes about it, and getting the distances and gaps just right as he measures the distances with his legs.



Notice the web silks from tail end and from the head. This is another kind of spider. It does not bite. This one is called Joro-gumo in Japanese and Nephila clavata for its scientific name.

The human eye is capable of detecting objects at a distance of 10 cm with a diameter of 25 mm. The average diameter of a thread in a orb web is around 0.15 mm. The smallest measured thread was only 0.02 mm thick. We are able to see the web only because of the reflection of sunlight on the thread.



You can just make out the web of this very large spider, Scientific name: Argiope amoena, Japanese Name - Kogane-gumo, but yet it will catch insects as large as cicadas, butterflies, and flying beetles.

These thin wires are capable of stopping a bee flying at full speed. This thread is not only strong but also very elastic. These properties make the material very tough. Another comment I read was that a spider's thread with a radius of 3 cm could stop a Boeing 747 in full flight. That is amazing. But of course, the spider's webs that we usually see are no way that thick, and if they were we would soon be caught in such a web. The web is not only elastic but sticky, although the spider can also spin non sticky threads so that he doesn't get caught up in his own web.

The spider is mentioned twice in the Bible. Once in Job 8:14 where Bildad the Shuhite is accusing Job of forgetting God. What Job is being accused of is that anything that he might put his hope in, such as his innocence, is useless and inadequate, such as we might found when leaning on a spider's web. He leans on the web, but it gives way; he clings to it, but it does not hold. So says Bildad, your trust in God and your righteousness is like that. However, Bildad was to be proved wrong later.

The second reference is in Isaiah 59:5 where Isaiah the prophet, describes the wicked as those who hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider's web. They cannot make clothing from cobwebs, they are useless for clothing and they cannot cover themselves with what they make. What Isaiah is saying is that they are harming themselves, the hatching of viper eggs, and cobwebs can easily be seen through and God knows all that they are doing and they cannot hide from Him. God's judgement will be revealed at the proper time.

These Arachnida creatures created by God are part of God's great wide world. Though we may not like them, we can still appreciate them for being part of God's great creation.