Web Watching

Larry Weber has the perfect name for a lifelong spider and web watcher. He was a science teacher for more than 40 years and received the Minnesota Secondary Science Teacher of the Year and the National Biology Teacher Association’s Middle School Life Science Teacher of the Year awards. He has a weekly radio phenology program, a phenology column for a local newspaper and is one of the founders of the Minnesota Phenology Network. Larry taught University for Seniors for several years and also teaches many Minnesota Master Naturalist courses. He is also the author of Butterflies of the North Woods, Spiders of the North Woods, Fascinating Fungi of the North Woods, Backyard Almanac, Webwood: Seasons of Life in the North Woods, and Minnesota Phenology. Larry lives on an old farmstead in Carlton County, Minnesota, where daily walks keep him in tune with the phenology of our northern flora and fauna.

• 1 A Guide to Web Watching2 Spider Classification3 Insect & Spider Comparison4 Spider External Anatomy8 Spider Internal Anatomy9 Spinnerets & Silk10 Silk Glands12 Spider Silk13 Types of Webs17 Other Uses for Silk17 Web Construction24 Web Destruction25 Web Watching TipsSPECIES ACCOUNTS28 COB WEBS--30 Theridiidae--36 Pholcidae--38 Dictynidae40 SHEET WEBS--42 Linyphiidae--48 Hahnidae50 FUNNEL WEBS--52 Agelenidae--56 Amaurobiidae58 ORB WEBS--60 Araneidae--106 Tetragnathidae--116 UloboridaePHOTO GALLERIES120 Insects Caught in Webs122 Dewy Webs124 Frosty Webs125 Snowy Web126 Dusty Webs127 Seeds in Webs130 Other Silk Constructions132 Man-made Web Substrates133 Titles of Interest134 Photo Credits135 Index