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Fire Frog's
Fred Spiders!
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My family has almost always had a pet spider at the front door called Fred. There have been a variety of spider, from Wolf to Daddy Longlegs. Since living in Western Australia the Fred's have been Golden Orb spiders, particularly large and handsome creatures. Sometimes they get too large for their own good. Many's the time we've gone out to find a hole in the middle of a web and the resident Fred gone, victim of her own size and meal appeal to some passing bird. They get the name 'golden' not from their colour, but from a single golden thread that they spin. This thread is very tough to break, it's like cotton, and is the web's foundation. A female orb will have quite a larder hanging near her to snack on. The male is tiny compared to her, but he is quite safe. Orb families may even share webspace together! I think keeping Fred's about the place probably began as part of the 'money spider' myth and we just turned it into our own little family habit. Fred's are protected, for although we may ruthlessly sweep away all other cobwebs, hers will always stay. It is quite sad to find a Fred has passed on. |
Find out more on Golden Orb's at Steve's Aussie Spider Pics Page -
http://www.swtch.com.au/users/clarkse/spideyntro.html
