A Spider With A Pompadour
By Brenda Colwell | A Collection of Wanderings
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Spring brings all kinds of friends to the Sonoran Desert when it arrives. That includes an insect population, large enough to feed the nesting birds and spiders like the Funnel Weaver. This one built a funnel-shaped marvel that spread across a verbena bush in my yard like a silk blanket. I was rather drawn in.
I stopped at that bush to peer into the void, hoping to catch a glimpse of the builder. He must have been tucked deep inside the darkness of the tunnel.
I lifted my camera to photograph the web architecture, and suddenly, its resident scurried toward me, legs poised, ready to pounce. It was the Funnel Weaver! His legs were ringed in alternating bands of tan and dark brown, creating a pattern so busy and precise that he was almost confusing to look at, but I couldn’t look away. He darted forward so quickly that I think he mistook me for a fly.
I instinctively snapped a single photo before he was gone. His appearance was fast and turbulent, shaking the web before he stopped short of his well-designed entrance.
As soon as I registered his presence, he disappeared back into his silky funnel, likely relieved that I was not some giant bird trying to eat him. I was equally relieved to discover that I am too big to be taken by a Funnel Weaver. A spider-sized adrenaline rush raced through my body and I laughed out loud. I waited several minutes hoping he would re-emerge, but he never did.
I returned to visit on several occasions with the same hope and he never mistook me for dinner again. I guess he was on to me, or maybe that bird got him after all.
My favorite part? The perfect pompadour.
Scottsdale, Arizona 04/10/26
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