You may be asking why we chose to dedicate an entire exhibit toward spiders. Was it for Halloween? No, though we did like the timing of it. We chose to highlight spiders inside our pavilion because they play an important role in gardens, and in our ecosystem as a whole.

Spiders are considered to be both predator and prey, and both roles are important. As a predator, spiders help control the populations of other insects and animals by eating them. Not only do they help with pesky garden pests but they also eat insects that spread diseases to humans, like roaches and mosquitoes.  Places that have experienced extreme flooding (like Pakistan in 2010 and Australia in 2021) actually saw a decrease in expected malaria cases because the spiders that typically lived closer to the ground climbed to the tallest parts of trees to escape the floods. This meant that they were able to entrap more malaria-carrying mosquitoes in their webs before they could infect more people. 

It’s believed that spiders are able to eat up to 2,000 insects a year, but did you know spiders are also eaten by a variety of animals. Birds, lizards, toads, fish and even monkeys all eat spiders as a part of their diet. 

Spiders are an essential part of a healthy garden, and a healthy planet. Come learn more about spiders and how important they are at our Spider Pavilion, open until November 30. Get your tickets here!