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| You Are Here: Burke Museum : Spider Myths : General : Summertime |
General Fallacies
Myth: Spiders are most numerous in late summer.
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71 common spider species of western
Washington state graphed by months
when they are mature. Click image to enlarge |
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Fact: Actually, August and September are the worst
time of year for northern hemisphere spider collectors. A few large conspicuous
spider species (including the larger
orbweavers and the giant house
spiders) are mature at that time, but not many other spiders are.
People who believe this myth judge all spiders from the very few species that
they happen to notice. It's also at that time (late summer) that people ask
me "why are there so many more spiders this year than usual," something I've
heard every year for the past 30 years!
In reality, low moisture availability makes summer a much worse time for spiders
than fall (October-December) and spring. In mild climates such as western Washington
where I live, winter is also better than summer for spiders.
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2003, Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture, University of Washington, Box 353010, Seattle, WA 98195, USA Phone: 206-543-5590 Photos © as credited |
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to Spider Myths author, Rod Crawford This page last updated 2 September, 2010 This site best viewed at 800 x 600 using IE 5.0 or above. |