Life cycle of a spider

Life cycle of a spider

1. The egg sac - Different spiders make different kinds of unique egg sacs. The female spider lays the eggs on a silken sheet. She will then cover them with layers of silk to protect them.
2. The female Black and Yellow Garden Spider makes a pear shaped egg sac in the fall of the year near her web.     
3. Spiderling -  The baby spiders or spiderlings hatch within the egg sac and molt at least once before emerging. When the weather is warm, a hole or tear is a made in a egg sac and spiderling disperse by crawling away for each other.  
4. The Wolf Spider mother assists with the hatching of the spiderlings. She tears the egg sac open and the babies quickly crawl onto her back. They will ride on it for about a week or two before they drop off and go on there own way.
5. Molting - Spiders have an outside skeleton called an exoskeleton. In order to grow larger, the spider must molt its exoskeleton. The final molt brings sexual maturity and molting stops.  
6. Molting is a dangerous process for the spider. It is defenceless during this time and can become prey to various predators.
7. Maturity - At maturity, the female Garden Spider is larger than the male. The female spider has a large abdomen in order to store eggs. The smaller abdomen, and often brighter colours than a female.
8. All other spiders species show this size differences.   
9. Courtship/Mating  - The male spider spins a small web, then he will wander in search of a female.
10. The male spider may pluck the spider web to signal his presence or do a courtship dance to attract the females interest.