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- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Oct 16, 2019
- Photographed: Oct 16, 2019
- Spider: Unidentified
- Location: Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States
- Spotted Outdoors: Man-made structure (building wall, fences, etc.)
- Found in web?: No
- Attributes:
Unidentified
Picture ID 92250
Spider found in a mailbox. Has been there for days.
She looks like a Nursery Web Spider, Pisaurina mira. It appears to be in the middle of molting. Down the center of its body there is a split where an older layer is broken in two. That’s quite interesting! Are her first two pairs of legs stuck together? This is a normal pose for them, but the way she has glued down her silk repeatedly in a small area either suggests that she is in a moving vehicle or wind or can’t go far.
I’m the owner of the mailbox.
It has been windy lately.
I bought a new mailbox. When it arrives I think I’ll put this one somewhere protected like my shed so the spider has a chance. Will that help it?
It will help the spider be protected from getting smooshed by mail. We hear from mail carriers sometimes when they want to know more about the spiders they find in the boxes. I’ve never heard of one harming a spider or complaining about them! My own mail carrier has been remarkably tolerant of my hive of paper wasps a few feet from the mailbox. I would remove them if asked. An Amazon delivery subcontractor even stopped to admire the variety of stinging pollinators on the hydrangeas next-to the porch. Yes, your spider would be healthier in a shed. The flying… Read more »
I read they can leap more than 3 feet!
Good. I’ll move it to the shed for protection. I was also thinking on the floor of the porch against the wall. I wasn’t sure if that would be warmer, and protected from wind because it’s lower…
Thoughts?
(Thanks so much for your advice)
You’re very welcome! Three feet! Now I wonder if mine was jumping off of the corner of my house onto insects instead of going to the ground to hunt. She was a very successful hunter though I don’t have grass (just moss, ferns, and bigger plants). That would explain how she was able to catch insects that jump. If your shed is wooden it probably has insects in it and would be better. The porch probably doesn’t have as many. A neighbor took a sledgehammer to my wooden shed to the eyesore find its way out of her view (it’s… Read more »
It’s metal but has lots of debris!! Thank yo very much, Tangled Web!