While spider eggs are always covered in silk, each species makes a characteristic silken sac. Embark on an egg search and get a glimpse of the diversity of our spider neighbors!
Many orbweavers attach their fluffy egg sacs to vegetation.
Goldenrod crab spider mothers guard their white, smooth egg sacs nestled in vegetation.
Wolf spiders carry their spherical egg sacs on their spinnerets (silk-producing organs). After the spiderlings hatch, they cling to mother’s abdomen hairs and their siblings to get a piggy-back ride.
Yellow garden spiders make papery pouch-like sacs that are suspended by tough silken threads.
Pirate spiders suspend their tear-drop shaped egg sacs covered in coarse, curly silk.
Some long-jawed orbweavers hang a rounded bag of egg sac from a horizontal line of silk.
A nursery web spider mother carries her egg sac in her mouth before creating a nursery web to hang her spherical egg sac. The mother spider defends the spiderlings over a week until they go through their first post-hatch molt.
Explore more spider egg sacs in Tracks & Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates by Charley Eiseman and Noah Charney.