This story is about something I observed today, that really amazed me enough to share it.
This story isn't about animal intellect, but insect intellect. Insects are small, with miniscule brains, so after reading this story, imagine how smart animals must really be.........
My office in my home has a window right by my desk. For the last 2 months, there has been an ugly spider outside the window with a large chaotic web that snags leaves and other junk when the wind blows. The spider methodically picks and chooses which debris to keep and which to discard and makes herself a shield of sorts in the middle of her web. She spends the day hiding behind this shield of "stuff".
The web with it's collection of junk is very ugly and I've been meaning to remove it all with a broom but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Today I heard a buzzing right outside the window, so I got up to check.
In the web I find a large black mud-dauber. At first glance he appears to be stuck......so I check to see if the spider is going to come after him.
No way...the spider has left her shield and is now at least 3 feet away clinging to the eve near the roof, no where near her web.
At first I thought, well considering the size of the Mud-dauber, she probably thought it best to stay away from him long enough for him to tire out fighting the web, then get him when he's weak so she doesn't sustain any injuries. As I continued to observe, I found out the real reason she bolted from the web.
The Mud-dauber wasn't stuck at all....he was stalking her. I watched him systematically search her web. He looked everywhere and returned to her shield numerous times looking for her. He investigated every nook and cranny in the eve next to the house looking for her hiding spot, but he never did go out to the edge of the roof where she was in open view, but motionless. I never realized that Mud-daubers could walk on spider webs without getting stuck. But this makes sense, since they hunt spiders and other insects to feed their young in the mud tubes they construct.
After about 15 minutes of this, he left, in search of easier prey. About an hour later she decided it was ok to return to her shield in the web.
I find it amazing on both of the insect's parts, that they are so small, yet so smart at problem solving. I think we still don't have a clue how intelligent the animal world really is.
I'm not a big fan of spiders, but after seeing all that, this one gets to stay under the eve.
If insects are this intelligent, how smart our cats must be!
This story isn't about animal intellect, but insect intellect. Insects are small, with miniscule brains, so after reading this story, imagine how smart animals must really be.........
My office in my home has a window right by my desk. For the last 2 months, there has been an ugly spider outside the window with a large chaotic web that snags leaves and other junk when the wind blows. The spider methodically picks and chooses which debris to keep and which to discard and makes herself a shield of sorts in the middle of her web. She spends the day hiding behind this shield of "stuff".
The web with it's collection of junk is very ugly and I've been meaning to remove it all with a broom but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Today I heard a buzzing right outside the window, so I got up to check.
In the web I find a large black mud-dauber. At first glance he appears to be stuck......so I check to see if the spider is going to come after him.
No way...the spider has left her shield and is now at least 3 feet away clinging to the eve near the roof, no where near her web.
At first I thought, well considering the size of the Mud-dauber, she probably thought it best to stay away from him long enough for him to tire out fighting the web, then get him when he's weak so she doesn't sustain any injuries. As I continued to observe, I found out the real reason she bolted from the web.
The Mud-dauber wasn't stuck at all....he was stalking her. I watched him systematically search her web. He looked everywhere and returned to her shield numerous times looking for her. He investigated every nook and cranny in the eve next to the house looking for her hiding spot, but he never did go out to the edge of the roof where she was in open view, but motionless. I never realized that Mud-daubers could walk on spider webs without getting stuck. But this makes sense, since they hunt spiders and other insects to feed their young in the mud tubes they construct.
After about 15 minutes of this, he left, in search of easier prey. About an hour later she decided it was ok to return to her shield in the web.
I find it amazing on both of the insect's parts, that they are so small, yet so smart at problem solving. I think we still don't have a clue how intelligent the animal world really is.
I'm not a big fan of spiders, but after seeing all that, this one gets to stay under the eve.
If insects are this intelligent, how smart our cats must be!