I spy a Spider!
You have probably encountered a spider or two in your house or yard and reacted to it in a variety of ways. "cool!" "AHHHH!" etc. When we find a spider in the house, we use our rescue kits and release it outside. Spiders are one of nature's best allies in keeping away annoying pests.
Did you know…
many spider species are active at night? You didn't even know you were missing out! One of the most common of these nocturnal spiders is the wolf spider. Go on a shining walk and get to know these nocturnal spiders.
What you'll need:
proper clothes/footwear for night time walk
access to a natural space-your yard works
flashlight or headlamp
a little bit of bravery
What to do:
Find an area with grass & some trees. Hold a flashlight level with your eyes. * This is important. You might feel a little silly doing this, but it means the light will reflect from the spiders’ eyes at an angle that is easier for you to spot.
Sweep the light across the grass or towards the trees about 15 or 20 feet away. If you see a bright point of white or green light, that’s your flashlight reflecting off a spider’s eyes. Walk over and check it out. You will be surprised at how bright the shine from a spider's eyes can be. Keep on the hunt and you will be astounded with how many spiders you see.
A Zoom-In of the Spider we Found on our Night Walk
Once you spot the shiny light (it almost looks like 1 speck piece of glitter!) walk closer to the shiny light and shine your flashlight nice and close to actually see the spider who’s shiny eyes you had spotted from so far away.
When we took a photo of the spider we found up close, we even saw the light reflecting off of the spider’s eyes!
Science behind it:
Have you ever seen a cat or raccoon's eyes glowing at night? It is the same thing with spiders! Their eyes glow in the dark because of a special reflective layer in their eye called the tapetum lucidum. This glow you see is called Eyeshine. Eyeshine is caused when light (from your flashlight) strikes this special membrane behind the retina of the eye -the tapetum. It reflects the light back out of the eye to the light source, making it look like the eyes are glowing. Most animals with eyeshine hunt at night and are nocturnal.
Turn this fun activity into a wonderful learning opportunity!
Math- count how many spiders AND how many eyes you have found on your shining walk
Reading- read one of our many spider books to go along with this activity
Writing- journal about the experience (before going on the shining walk and then after going) or have the learners write a story from the perspective of a spider
Science- learn about the different parts of a spider and all about their eyes!
Social Studies- learn about what spiders are indigenous to your area (are there any myths or folklores about spiders from different parts of the world!?)
