Secrets of nature around us that we do not notice

Report and Pictures by Eugene Moodubelle

Bellevision Media Network

Moodubelle, 05 January 2009: There are millions of secrets of nature that human beings are not aware of. When one ventures out of his home, especially in the morning during this season, he can see hundreds of dew laden cobwebs shining in the morning sun rays. These cobwebs on the grass indicate fair weather.

I had been observing these cobwebs since long and wanted to know their secrets. These cobwebs were found either in isolated areas or in groups like a spider colony. These spiders are known as Funnel web weavers and belong to the spider family of Agelenidae. They are small to medium sized spiders often found in grassy fields, low shrubs or living in leaf litter under the trees. They spin sheet webs of non-sticky silk with a characteristic funnel extending off to one side on the grass or cluster of dry leaves. The funnel is where the spider hides while waiting for the prey. These sheet webs are nearly invisible unless covered with dewdrops on a cool morning, and the spider can move very quickly over the surface. These spiders are commonly known as "grass spiders," after their habit of building their combination sheet-and-funnel webs in grass and low shrubs.

Though the silky white patches of the cobwebs woven by the grass spiders can be found everywhere in the morning, it is quite difficult to observe the spiders as such. My attempt to locate the creators of such fine silky webs has not been successful. However, on keen observation of one of the pictures that i had taken, i could notice a grass spider underneath the silky web.

Though these cobwebs are a sight to observe and mediate over the wonders of nature early in the morning, gradually they disappear as the day advances. It is practically difficult to locate the spiders who might be hiding somewhere to reappear in the night and weave their magic silky web and lay trap to the unsuspecting insect victims.

As i moved with my camera in search of other secrets of nature, i came across the wood mushrooms and the round shaped mushrooms growing on the soft soil of a hole in the ground. Sometime back I had come across some tiny purple grass flowers growing on patches of mud on rocky terrain which were very beautiful to look at. Likewise there are plenty of secrets and mysteries of nature which are around us but fail to either observe them or try to understand the mysteries behind them.