HOLLY SPRINGS – Organizers at the Strawberry Plains Audubon Center said with Halloween just around the corner, they’re gearing up for their annual Nighttime Spider Hunt. The hunt will take place this Saturday, Oct. 16, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Audubon Center and tickets are $5 for individuals and $10 per family.
The hike will be led by Professors and Arachnologists Gail Stratton and Pat Miller.
Katie Boyle, the Outreach and Education Director, at the Audubon Center said the Nighttime Spider Hunt provides the perfect setting to find even the most elusive spiders.
“The flashlights serve as spotlights on the trail for spiders and other wildlife,” Boyle said. “This fun and safe adventure takes place around Strawberry Plains Audubon’s Visitor Center and along our wooded trails. Fears vanish and everyone gets in the spirit.”
Boyle said fall is a great time to see a variety of large wolf spiders.
“We’re likely to see…the climbing Gladicosa pulchra,” she said, “as well as the large and beautiful Argiope spider, also known as the Garden spider.”
Boyle said it’s likely visitors will see many other species of orb spiders that mature at this time, including the marbled orb.
“Often, with a group of people looking for spiders, we can see as many as 10-20 species in a night,” Boyle said. “When you see a spider, Pat and Gail and others will help identify it and tell everyone more about it. Ghost Spiders and Jumping Spiders are some of our favorite finds. Last year, we also saw grasshoppers, frogs, assassin bugs, stink bugs and caterpillars.”
Boyle said families, students and groups are encouraged to attend the hunt.
The Strawberry Plains Audubon Center is a 2600-acre nature sanctuary nestled between Memphis and Oxford. Formerly a cotton plantation, the land was donated, along with two antebellum homes, to the National Audubon Society in 1998.
Organizers said Strawberry Plains is in the heart of the North Mississippi Hill Country and is a wonderful representation of the natural and historic heritage of the region.
The Center, located in the Coldwater River Watershed, focuses on environmental education and habitat conservation. The native grasslands, bottomland forests and gardens demonstrate how people and wildlife can cohabitate. With over 14 miles of trails, over 200 species of birds and many representations of our past, organizers said Strawberry Plains is truly a place where nature and history meet.
For more information about the Spider Hunt or to make reservations, contact Katie Boyle at the Strawberry Plains Audubon Center at 662-252-1155.
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