ANTELOPE ISLAND, Utah, July 14, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — The spiders are back at Antelope Island State Park in droves, or clusters, clutters and colonies, as spider collective nouns go.
Lead by the dominant species, the orb weaver, the spider numbers have been down in recent years with the receded waters of the Great Salt Lake. But this year’s record winter snowfall has the lake up five feet higher than last year, officials explain, waters lapping at the edges of Antelope Island again for the orb weaver’s shoreline feeding on brine flies.
And so the many varieties of the orb weaver are all over the island again. By the millions. “More than that,” said Trish Ackley, the state park’s naturalist.
“It’s like Halloween in the summer,” she told Gephardt Daily, referring to their prolific web-weaving. Ackley recommends a walking stick for clearing webs along trails and paths.
The orb weaver is the largest on the island, in terms of both numbers and size, she said, with its abdomen up to an inch wide. The non-aggressive arachnid’s bite is harmless, she stressed, if it ever does bite.
And they’re back just in time for the Antelope Island Spider Festival July 29.
The orb weaver inspired the festival, begun 11 years ago. The single afternoon event is the second largest draw at the island, attracting thousands of visitors, Ackley said, second only to the annual bison round-up.
The fest features guided tours, spider presentations and crafts, a photo contest, even spider poetry to be displayed at the park and online. Events are free after paying the usual $15 admission fee for the park.
