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Cool. Ginormous cobwebs formed by 50000 spiders (pic!)
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Caught in a web of deceit.
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What happens when 50,000 spiders hunt together?
Social spiders live in self-contained nests that house up to 50,000 insects. Group living can enhance foraging success and provide better protection against strong rains and predators such as wasps, ants and praying mantises. But all this togetherness also leads to high rates of inbreeding, leaving colonies vulnerable to disease.
And there are exceptions to the rules that Prof. Avilés has observed. She has discovered one new social species living 1,800 metres above sea level - about 1,000 metres above where loners were thought to take over. Prey insects are smaller at this elevation, however, so the species lives in smaller groups than its lowland cousins.
Then there are those spiders in Texas. Unlike their social counterparts, these opportunistic critters were less co-operative than tolerant of activity among other species in a time of rare bounty. A particularly lush summer created fantastic feeding conditions that attracted a huge variety of spiders to the park's lakeshore - and in this tangle, each spider remained territorial to its own piece of the lucrative cobweb.
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: The Rock
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Online
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I read about this a long time ago, but I don't remember if it was on here or not so I can't claim timeline. Boo.
That's pretty damn freaky, though. Actually when I see that picture the very first thing I think of is the Gremlins movie with the mutated spider-Gremlin.
*shudders*
greg
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Mankind's only chance is to harness the power of stupid.
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Moderator  Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Polwaristan
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Arachnophobia come to life.
Spray the suckers into oblivion.
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Administrator  Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: San Antonio TX USA
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Nope, these spiders are (generally) our friends. They probably get the odd bird now and then, but mostly they catch insect. Tons of 'em. Between spiders and bats, Texas has a lot of help in managing our insect population. I wish the article had said what park the webs were found in.
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Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Colorado
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Gah! I hate spiders! That's soooo disgusting.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: planning a comeback !
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This has been news 2 months ago.
-t
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Senior User
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Toronto
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Neat- thanks for posting it!
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Yose.
Give me ambiguity or give me something else.
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: South Detroit
Status:
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Originally Posted by Eug 
Social spiders live in self-contained nests that house up to 50,000 insects....
Wow, there's 50,000 insects living in there??? Wow, how many spiders? And how do they live together like that? 
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I love the U.S., but we need some time apart.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: San Diego, CA, USA
Status:
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Don't you mean "wginormous"?
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Chuck
___
"Instead of either 'multi-talented' or 'multitalented' use 'bisexual'."
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Seattle, WA, USA
Status:
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Spiders are awesome. I fully support this latest action.
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Any ramblings are entirely my own, and do not represent those of my employers, coworkers, friends, or species
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Caught in a web of deceit.
Status:
Offline
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Originally Posted by mrtew
Wow, there's 50,000 insects living in there??? Wow, how many spiders? And how do they live together like that?
Hahah.
Well, one meal for every spider. 
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Moderator Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Polwaristan
Status:
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Originally Posted by TheoCryst
Spiders are awesome. I fully support this latest action.
Hah, that sounds a bit like Weyland-Yutani.
"Your corporate overlords approve this action."
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