A Spider Sheds

Animal caretakers Adrian Eng and Cari Garand had the good luck to be present for an unexpected and fascinating view of a spider shedding her skin. But if it took luck to be present, it took patience, understanding and care to observe this phenomenon from beginning to end without disturbing the spider.



This week we got a chance to witness one of our garden orb weavers shed its carapace.

When we spotted our garden orb weaver shedding she hung from her own spun web with all eight of her legs gripping on silk. The top cap of her thorax had peeled back and her abdomen began to pull away from her old skin. She retreated from her exoskeleton by pulling downwards while her old skin remained hanging from the web. She looked very uncomfortable and as she pulled away and her legs seem twitch as she struggled to escape. As soon as she pulled completely away from her old skin she righted herself up. After shedding, her skin was soft and weak. Her legs almost dangled like an octopus out of water. As more time went by I notice her skin darkening and begin to harden. Within the day she was back to looking normal.


Molting is a dangerous time, but our spider needed to do it in order to grow. Spiders and other arthropods do not have an internal skeleton like mammals, fishes, reptiles and birds. Instead, spiders have an outside covering (exoskeleton) made up of layers of carbohydrates and proteins. Because their exoskeleton is hard and durable, it does not grow. Spiders need to go through a series of molts until they are adults. During their molt period they are susceptible to attack and need time to rest and grow. If they do not escape from their old exoskeleton in time they risk being trapped and subsequently die.

-Adrian Eng
-Cari Garand, photos

Congratulations to our spider on her successful shed, and to our staff members for noticing and documenting this amazing transition.
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Orb Weavers

Now that Halloween is over, we can take down all the spooky decorations. However, here in the Pacific Northwest there is one seasonal artifact that you shouldn’t take down and you needn’t be scared of at all. Have you noticed the beautiful and elaborate webs of the garden orb weavers? How do they make these webs? And why are there so many of them all of the sudden?



If you’ve spent time outdoors recently, chances are you’ve seen one or more of these active spiders. Garden orb weavers are named after the intricate, circular web they build. There are almost 3,000 different species of orb weavers, found all around the world. In Western Washington, the most common orb weaver that you might see is the garden orb weaver. This species is also common throughout the United States and much of Western Europe.

Although they are relatively common, that doesn’t make them any less fantastic. A giant spider web might be a nuisance when you accidently walk into it face first. But if you can spot it before you break it, take a second to marvel at the architectural design of these tiny creatures.

Many orb weavers build a new web every single day. At nightfall they consume their web, rest for a short while, and then rebuild a new one. This is why we see so many fresh webs every morning.


Garden orb weavers are most visible in the fall, but they are actually around all year. Most of the year they are smaller and harder to see. They are at their largest in early autumn, just before laying their egg sacs which will hatch next spring. It won’t be long before these marvelous webs will disappear for the winter. So enjoy them while they’re here!

Some of the above photographs of orb weaver spiders are in the public domain.

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