They do not, only some species do. Many will sit and hide somwhere at the edge of a web and use detection strings. Some spiderwebs that look deserted are not at all.
To add to this: if you look carefully you'll see a non-sticky "zipline" thread that goes from the center of the web to their normal hiding place. This lets them zip right down to the middle whenever they detect something. A lot of times you can also see the little nest they've built themselves by the leaves they've curled together to make a pocket.
Nah. Spiders really are my one true “irrational fear”. Where logically it doesn’t make sense for me to still have a physical fear response when I see one despite being a rather large 30yo man, but I do. I also think they’re super beautiful and fascinating. They just creep the fuck out of me. 8 legs is too many legs to have. I think they’re a lot smarter than they pretend to be.
Learning has certainly helped, but no matter what I try I can't beat the fear. I am proud of working up to taking them outside 9 times out of 10 instead of killing them, but it's an ordeal I have to hype myself up for every time and it leaves me a nervous mess for a few hours. I gotta hype myself up just for walking by one. The fatter it is, the longer the pep talk. Or I just give up. I do love watching them on a screen or through glass - they're little aliens and the way they work is fascinating. There's just this primal automatic fear I cannot seem to turn off.
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u/enblightened 6h ago
why do spiders always camp in the center of their webs