The Spider's Cosmos

I was stopped this morning by the sight of a funnel spider's web. I thought "isn't it neat how the web resembles depictions I've seen of the theory of general relativity" Is it merely a great way for the spider to catch itself a meal, or the fabric of space-time on a tiny scale? Who is to say? But I digress. I was struck by the simple beauty intrinsic in the spider's web and so I spent the next hour wandering around our property in the mist taking pictures of other examples of arachnid architecture. And struggling to make our point and shoot camera focus where I wanted it to.

A person does not need to know me for long before they learn that I have an unusual appreciation for the insect world. I usually attribute this to the fact that I am equally fascinated by all life, but insects are far more accessible than a bird or a leopard. However I think that might be incorrect. I've concluded the real source of the appeal for me is that life should exist on such a tiny scale. This is a world where skyscrapers are built from shafts of wheat, the leaves of trees are separated by an unfathomable distance, and a human is a frighteningly large ogre. Lit only by moonlight, the world's spiders methodically create spinning wonders of gossamer stronger than steel. Taking literal leaps of faith on the end of their lifeline of silk, the very smallest throw themselves to the wind seeking an anchor for their webs. They can neither see where they will land nor comprehend the geometric beauty of their final creations; they do this simply because instinct dictates they must. I suppose a wonderful allegory for life could be drawn from that statement, but I will leave that for another time.




The affairs of men are of little import to the spider as it waits patiently for a meal, yet we squash them at every opportunity and create a toxic soup of chemicals to rid them from our homes. Little do we consider how intimately we depend upon even the smallest of creatures. If mankind were to obliterate itself tomorrow the world would gradually revert to the state it enjoyed ten thousand years ago. If spiders and the rest of the phylum of animals they represent vanished the damage to the balance of our planet's delicate ecology would be irreparable. So maybe the next time you raise your hand to squash a spider or another of the one million members of its kin, you'll wonder that we should owe a debt of gratitude to something so small and allow it to continue its work in peace.