Tico Tales - Creepy Crawlies Calling

Occasional Tales from our Life in Costa Rica

The rainy season, sometimes euphemistically referred to as the "green" season (though we're not buying it; mud is brown) turned our backyard into a swamp a long time ago. None of us had ventured off the patio in weeks until Sunday when Amy and Sophie donned some galoshes and headed out into the yard. And they were surprised to discover that during our lengthy absence, a new creature has set up residence.



Um, yeah. That's a big spider. It's spotted body (not including its head) is a about the size of a silver dollar. And each leg is about 5 inches long.

But we're not sure our camera can do this spider justice, so here's an image we found on the web:



We did some research and learned that it's a golden silk orb weaver (or banana spider) , a perfect name for a creature that makes yellow, funnel-shaped webs. And you should know that the orb weavers aren't just lurking around Central America. They're also found in . . . the United States. They only look like some kind of crazy rainforest/jungle spider.

The website unsolvedmysteries.com provides the following info: (Do we really want something deemed an "unsolved mystery" living just outside the house?)

The Golden Orb Weavers build large, semi-permanent orb webs. The strong silk has a golden sheen. These spiders remain in their webs day and night and gain some protection from bird attack by the presence of 'barrier network' of threads on one or both sides of the orb web. Sometimes their strong webs manage to trap small birds or bats, and the spider will wrap them and feed upon them.

Hmmm. Small birds and bats. Semi-permanent?

In other creepy crawly news, the saturation outside has driven every ant in Costa Rica straight into our house. And garage. And car. And cabinets. And bathtubs. And microwave. And into every place there is. You would think the geckos in the house would be of some help with this matter, but no. And we have discovered that you can buy roach spray, fly spray, mosquito spray, and bee and wasp spray, but no ant spray in Costa Rica. It seems the Ticos realized long ago that it's a losing battle. The ants will always win.

It's okay. As long as the orb weaver stays outside.