26: Funnel Weaver Spiders
I write to you from Arapahoe, Ute, and Cheyenne land. I am interested in learning about the different animals that live in the place where I was born. I want to mention that biological classification as taught by western science has its roots in racism, sexism, and transphobia – here’s a good explainer about why.
Today we have a (cue up some dance music) Colorado Arachnid of Interestaccording to CSU: the Funnel Weaver Spider, a group made up of several species, and often mistaken for the brown recluse or for wolf spiders. Nineteen species of this spider live in Colorado, and they are often found inside the home – as you probably know, if you do live here! They also like to make webs in the grass and these will be very visible if there is morning dew.
Interestingly the most common species of funnel weaver in Colorado, Tegenaria domestica, is invasive, and a native of Europe. Stories say that they came in lumber brought to the United States during the Napoleonic Wars era, but it is unclear if this is true…
The name gives you an idea of what these spiders do with their webs: they weave them into the form of a funnel, with the spider living in the base of the funnel, waiting for prey to come on in. Some species of funnel weavers are identifiable due to their long, tail-like spinnerets, which is the part of the back end of the spider that silk emerges from to create a web.
Tomorrow we will meet a charming, endangered amphibian.