Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

They are “on the wing” at this time of the year. Spiders do not have wings of course, but they can fly for many miles – it’s called Ballooning.    There are many examples of them flying in jet streams, thousands of feet off the ground, across water, seas, oceans. Each year we get the juveniles of those huge Australia Golden Orb-Weaving Spiders in NZ – they grow up to become huge Australian Golden Orb-Weaving Spiders and frighten the life out of New Zealanders!   At this time of the year, look up on a fine, sunny almost wind-still day and see what’s floating past!  Spider silk glands have liquid proteins called spidroins. They're actually kinda gooey and are pressed out gently to form silk; it’s strong, yet light and flexible – a fabulous building material that serves many purposes.  We all know about the famous “websites” that spiders make to catch flying prey.  Take the kids outside on a dew-laden morning to find those webs and see if you can find the owner nearby. Those webs h