Social Spiders

      Spiders are creatures that we don’t typically get too close to. They are characterized by eight legs, fangs for injecting venom, and up to four pair of eyes! Spiders use hydraulic pressure to control their legs, and this is why the legs of a dead spider curl up. They have two or more pairs of spinnerets for spinning silk for various uses. Most spiders are severely lacking in the social skills area. They typically live alone, are very aggressive, and would just as soon eat another spider as look at it.

     Out of the over 40,000 species of spiders, there are a handful that defy the typical “non-social” stereotype. These “social spiders” live together in communities of up to 50,000 spiders. They work together to build communal webs that can be very large in size. These social spiders are known to catch and consume all sizes of insects and even small birds.

    I was able to see a group of social spiders in action, during a trip to the Amazon. We were motoring slowly down the Blanco River in the Tamshiyacu Tahuayo Reserve in Peru. Up ahead I saw something that looked like a cloud, hanging over the trees at the edge of the river. As we got closer, I could see that it was an enormous spider web! The web was as large as the side of a two story house! I was told that this was a spider web built by social spiders. We did not get close enough to see the size of the spiders, and nobody was asking to get any closer!


     Just as God designed the social spiders to depend on each other for survival, he designed people to also depend on each other. In I Corinthians 12 Paul tells us that we are part of the “body of Christ” and explains how it takes all the parts of the body functioning together to make us whole. We are not designed to live alone; we are created to work together in the body of Christ. A social spider taken out of its community web would not last long. Likewise, a person, taken out of their Christian community environment, may have difficulties. We need the encouragement and support of the Christian community. If you are struggling in your Christian walk, check and make sure that you are still in an active Christian community! Keep yourself surrounded by strong Christian friends and you will thrive just as the social spiders I saw in the Amazon!