Spider Tale For Monday Mystery...

Some of the most fascinating creatures in Mother Nature's collection is the spider. Many questions abound when we really study them.

No matter how much we learn about these critters, there always seem to be more questions left unanswered. Here is a good example of what I'm talking about.

Bizarre Web Formations In The Amazon

Photo credit: BT.com

In 2013, Troy Alexander discovered several mysterious webs in the Tambopata Research Center in Peru. Each web had a small sphere in the center surrounded by a circular fence. He asked several experts what the formations were, but they didn’t know.

Determined to unravel the mystery, he went back to Peru a few months later. His determination eventually paid off when he discovered that the sphere inside the fence was an egg sac containing a spiderling.

However, scientists still do not know what species creates the bizarre webs. Nor have they discovered the specific purpose of the fence. They have two hypotheses, though. One is that the fence acts as some kind of defense, protecting the egg sacs from ants. The other is that it captures termites, which the spiderlings can feast on once they hatch.

Can you imagine having a paying job that consist of searching out spiders and their webs? Scary way to earn a living if you ask me.

Coffee out on the patio if the rain will hold off long enough.