Spider Room

Originally published at https://www.splicetoday.com.

A spider hung on the ceiling above my kitchen sink. It was probably there for days, but I only noticed it last Thursday. A similar spider used to hang in the upper corner of my bathroom. It might’ve been the same spider. They certainly look alike: long, thin legs protruding out of a tiny brown body that’s a little bit longer than most daddy long-legs I’ve seen. I took a picture and sent it to my friend, a biologist who specializes in spiders. He said it was a Pholcus phalangioides, better known as a long-bodied cellar spider.

Cellar spiders like to dwell in spaces where there’s not a lot of light and the temperature is around 50 degrees, like basements, caves, and under stones. When one gets inside a house, it makes webs in the corners of ceilings. They don’t bother anyone; they’re good for pest control since they eat small insects and other spiders. I decided this new spider settler can stay for a while.

The spider was gone the next morning. In its place were a tiny spider-leftovers from last night’s dinner, no doubt-and fragments of its web. I started missing the spider until I saw it in the opposite corner of my studio apartment ceiling, minding its own business. Normally I don’t care about insects until they get into my apartment, and then they must die. It’s my small part in contributing to the proud American…