Creepy-crawlies in the air... dragonflies, wasps, hover flies, bumblebees, gnats, butterflies,                                         midges, house flies, moths, lacewings, dance flies, mosquitoes,

Creepy-crawlies on vegetation... ladybirds, froghoppers, crab spiders, aphids, leaf beetles,                                                shield bugs, crickets, barklice, grasshoppers, stick insects,

Creepy-crawlies on the ground... woodlice, earthworms, millipedes, tiger beetles, scorpions,                                                earwigs, carrion beetles, wolf spiders, slugs, centipedes,

Creepy-Crawly Poetry -

Zebra Spiders

These arachnids are coloured with black and white stripes and markings (particularly on the top of their abdomens) which is where they get their name. They belong to the family known as Jumping Spiders of which there are about 5,000 species. Jumping spiders do not spin webs - instead they are active predators; hunting their prey with stealth. Unlike many spiders they have excellent eyesight which helps them to locate and stalk their target. When they find a suitable victim these spiders literally jump on top of their prey! Zebra spiders are daytime hunters and can usually be spotted on sunny days in spring and summer.

      Don't Cross a Zebra Spider

Streaks of white on a body that's black,

a set of stripes across it's back.

Simple camoflage in a two-tone style,

patterned spider that's full of guile.

A little bit white but mostly black,

ready to pounce on it's victim's back.

A killer's instinct within it's soul,

survive and multiply is the only goal.

In places it's white but mainly it's black,

when a fight is looming it won't turn back.

That's the nature of the predatory spider,

marked like a zebra but hunts like a tiger.

                           Zebra Spider

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Duncan Hoult asserts himself as the sole author of all poems on this website