Micro-Landscapes of the AnthropoceneMain MenuMarginal WorldsPlant WorldsAnimal WorldsAmy Huang, Natasha Stavreski and Rose RzepaWatery WorldsInsect WorldsBird-Atmosphere WorldsContributed by Gemma and MerahExtinctionsMarginal WorldsSam, Zach and AlexE-ConceptsAn emergent vocabulary of eco-concepts for the late AnthropoceneSigi Jöttkandt4115726eb75e75e43252a5cbfc72a780d0304d7d
'The orb web is a highly adapted structure that can be fine-tuned on a daily basis to local conditions. Come to think of it, we would expect no less from a complex behaviour.'
Vollratz, Fritz, Mike Downes and Sven Krackow. "Design Variability in Web Geometry of an Orb-Weaving Spider." Physiology and Behaviour 62, no. 4 (1997): 735-743.
Eight hairy legs that respond to the breeze emerge from your abdomen. The web in front of you imitates a drop in the pond, or an emitted sonar wave seeking out prey. You’ve accounted for a fly pathing into your web by making sure beams of light do not reveal your adhesive, translucent threads. You’ve never seen a fly, but it’s in your instinct. Imagine a fly struggling to escape with its wings plastered against your sticky web, and like magic, one will appear. You sit in the shadows, just as you have the last two days, admiring the perfect structure of your web. Its perfection would rival the most learned and skilled artisans. The only difference is that they acquired mastery through time and sweat, while the calls of your ancestral wisdom told you what to do. You don’t know when the fly will come. You don't know how to imagine. You continue waiting.
