Baby Orb-weaving Spider Photography by Kozmic Dreams

My Digital Photography of

Baby Orb-Weaving Spiders

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Baby Cross Spiders, Araneus diadematus emerging at Weatherbee Woods Preserve, April 21, 2021

I don't have my macro lens with me when I'm out, especially not on a rainy day like today. Just as the rain ended, hundreds of these spiderlings emerged and climbed long silk threads to the top of a young tree. I'm guessing the mother made those strands last year when she laid the sac. There were about 4 threads to the top of the little tree and a few more remnants at the top.

Baby Orbweavers emerging on downspout, May 10, 2010

I photographed the emergence of hundreds of baby orb-weavers all over the gutter downspout. I am not sure of what kind they are, but I am guessing they could be from the spiders I had on the porch last year, orb-weavers 9a and 9b. A few seemed to drift away, but most stayed in a clump with their siblings. Thinking I was doing them a favor (there were other spiders just waiting for the stragglers to climb onto the wall where they could be eaten), I blew some of them on a piece of paper and took them to other places in the yard.

I expected that by the following day, the remaining spiderlings would be gone, but when I arrived home from work, there was still a clump of them. These photos were taken on May 19, 2010.

It wasn't until I started looking more closely that I saw what was really going on---the babies were cannibals! They were sinking their fangs into unsuspecting brothers and sisters in the clump and eating them! Now I wonder if I should have left the others there because maybe part of their lifecycle is to get stronger by feeding on siblings first. I have always separated my jumping spider babies to prevent cannibalism, but maybe in the wild, they would also do this.