Goodbye, Hairy Guest

My husband and I came downstairs the other day to find that the spider had completed an egg sac.  This is something she attempted about two weeks ago, but for whatever reason she failed to do correctly.  Here's a picture of her half-built egg sac and what seems to be her eggs (the yellow liquid) on the bottom of the glass.

In some ways I was disappointed that her attempt had failed.  Finally, I thought, this made the decision of what to do with her more clear.  My husband could absolutely not keep the spider if she was about to lay another hundred replicas of herself.  She had to be taken away--far, far away.  But alas, she never completed the sac and we deduced that the yellow liquid must have been her eggs...

Yet, as I mentioned, just days ago we found she had built another sac.  This time, she completed it.  And there was no yellow liquid to be seen.  I was once again feeling comforted that her future had become more clear.

My husband, on the other hand, was not as comforted.  Over the past two weeks since her failed attempt to build a sac, my husband spent various hours building a beautiful home for her.  He found a large glass container and outfitted it with dirt, rocks, sticks, and even a bathing pool.  Why a pool you ask?  Because he had also spent a similar amount of time on the computer researching just what this spider would enjoy in her habitat. And, as he researched, he found that she was most likely a fishing spider, still under the larger category of nursery web spider.  A spider who would enjoy a nice pool.

I can't say I wasn't a little jealous--I wish he spent that much time worrying that our home was as beautiful or well-equipped for our creature comforts.  But, that's besides the point.  The point is, she was, as far as anyone could tell, comfortable in her new terrarium.  Comfortable enough, it seems, to make a second attempt at building an egg sac, and comfortable enough to succeed in that attempt.

The egg sac is amazing.  It is so beautifully round and the colors are almost speckled.  Despite my disgust at the thought of one hundred more spiders growing inside it, I am in awe at the sight of it.  Some interesting facts: the spider will not eat until the eggs have hatched (she's too busy guarding her kin), and it will take upwards of two weeks until the baby spiders come out.  And in that time, my husband was tasked with finding a new home for the soon-to-be family.

Shock.  Pain.  Acceptance.  Stages of grief... even now applicable.  My poor husband couldn't bear to see his precious pet go.

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But he is a good husband.  A sacrificing husband.  An understanding husband.  And ultimately, he loosened his grip and let go...  We took a walk to the campus lake and he let her free, by the water, a suitable habitat for such a creature.  She was a long-standing presence in our home, and so it seemed fitting to spend a moment on a farewell.  She didn't scamper quickly away as I expected.  My husband had placed her on a rock, and there she stayed.  Even as we walked away, she sat.  Still.  Perhaps wondering what to do next?  She probably had lived her whole life in our basement.  I hope the big wide world of nature wasn't too much for her.

Goodbye, our large hairy guest.  I wish you well in your new life.... far from mine.

*I made my husband pose for these pictures....just in case you wanted to know. :-P