Monthly Program: The Amazing World of Spiders

Wednesday, October 19

6:30 p.m. Social;  7:00 p.m. Program

Spiders get a bad rap.  From Little Miss Muffet to Indiana Jones, they’ve sent us scurrying.  Admittedly carnivorous, typically venomous, there’s no evidence of them consuming us, with the possible exceptions of Bilbo Baggins and Harry Potter.  They do, however, eat an average of 2,000 insects a year, provide silk for hummingbird nests, and become a tasty meal for the California Thrasher.  Nothing is more delicately beautiful than a dew-covered web.  Charlotte saved Wilber’s life.  What’s not to love?

October is the perfect time to set the record straight, and BVAS proudly presents Dr.Lenny Vincent, Southern California’s expert on all things eight-legged.  With a Ph.D. in Entomology from UC Berkeley, he is a professor of biology at Fullerton College.  Extensively published, Dr. Vincent is a leader in both national and international entomological societies.

Join us as he weaves his own web of fascinating facts and stunning images, sprinkled with both the practical and the humorous.  Predation and defense; courtship, reproduction, and birth; silk and web construction—all are topics to be explored.  Experience the most unusual to the most common, from spiders around the world to those in our own back yards.

Of the 45,000 species of spiders identified worldwide, 450 live in San Diego County.  Learn why these amazing creatures are so beneficial to our gardens and our environment.  Come meet your neighbors.