BECAUSE YOU ASKED
Q: There seems to be a new spider in town, or at least in my yard. I have found three webs in the last week that look like the webs of funnel spiders. Because funnel spiders are found in Australia, what kind of spider is this amber-colored critter? Also, are there more spiders because of our mild winters?
A: The Sydney funnel-web spider, which is found only in Australia, is a type of tarantula. What we call funnel web spiders here are in the family Agelenidae and have several different species in that family. They are usually greyish or a greyish brown, very common in urban environments, and are not harmful to humans.
If the spiders you are referring to are amber-colored, they are probably not funnel spiders, but may be “hanging out” near a funnel spider’s web. If you do not actually see the spider on a funnel web, it is probably a completely different species. There is a deep rust-colored spider, Dysdera crocata, that is not a funnel spider. They live anywhere moist, such as gardens and basements, and are not harmful to humans, but are deadly to roly-poly bugs, which they eat.
In answer to your second question: It is possible the spider population is increasing because of milder winters. However, early fall is the time of year when spiders, in general, are mature and male spiders are very active, looking for females. This is the time of year when, no matter what the winters have been like, people notice more spiders around their yards and houses.
For more information on spiders, visit www.dmns.org, click on the science link at the top, and go to the spider survey page.
Source: Paula Cushing, curator at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science
A followup
We received this note from a reader:
Q: In the Sept. 1 column, it was listed that there are 14 glaciers in Colorado. I am not sure that there are any glaciers in Colorado. I believe that what are referred to as glaciers are actually snowfields. Glaciers move downhill under their own weight while snowfields are just that – a collection of snow that grows and melts seasonally. Are there, by true definition, any actual glaciers in Colorado?
A: Your definition is correct, but it is known that the glaciers mentioned were large enough to have moved under their own weight at one time and there is an indication that they have moved in the not too distant past. Another indication that they are glaciers is that they have been named as such and listed by the USGS as glaciers, meaning that at one time they did move. Most snowfields are unnamed.
Source: United States Geological Survey
Compiled by Bonnie Gilbert
HAVE A QUESTION?
Have you ever wondered how to register your child for school? What a political caucus is and how to get information about one? How many “fourteeners” Colorado has? If you’d like information about something in the state outside Denver, send questions to because youasked@denverpost.com or mail to: Because You Asked, Denver Post, 1560 Broadway, Denver, CO 80202. Include your name, city of residence and phone number.
REGIONAL NOTES
JEFFERSON COUNTY
Xcel work to restrict traffic
In advance of a road improvement project, Xcel Energy will replace a natural-gas vault at the curve of West Chatfield Avenue and South Platte Canyon Road. The work is scheduled for Sept. 15-20 and Chatfield will be restricted to one-way traffic in the area. Significant delays are expected.
A detour is planned from South Platte Canyon north to West Ken Caryl Avenue, and then west to South Pierce Street.
