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We fear their bite, get tangled in their webs and are inclined to squish them when they crawl inside our house.
Still, spiders are beneficial and perhaps a bit more complex, not to mention interesting. Each week, we’ll join Misericordia University assistant biology professor Dr. Larry Corpus, who has studied entomology at universities in California, Washington and Kansas.
We’ll join Corpus in the field in Luzerne County to delve into the world of spider species that likely inhabit your backyard, basement and any forgotten corner where they can weave a web. Visit us each week to see what species we found next and check out a video on each spider on timesleader.com.
Spider of the week
Common name: Grass spider
Family: oxyopidae
Size: 10-20 mm
Overview: One of the most common spiders, grass spiders are seldom seen due to their speedy nature and reclusiveness. Still, evidence of grass spiders is easy to spot as their web sheets are commonplace across lawns, especially in the morning when dew makes them easy to see. Also known as lynx spiders, they will stalk their prey with stop-and-go movements before jumping to attack. The behavior is similar to the hunting technique of a wild cat, thus the name “lynx.”
