# Gah! What is this? (It's full of spiders?)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-what-is-this-its-full-of-spiders/756614>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 5, 2016, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-what-is-this-its-full-of-spiders/756614 "2016-06-05T22:01:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SimonMoon5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@SimonMoon5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SimonMoon5)\
**Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-what-is-this-its-full-of-spiders/756614/1 "2016-06-05T22:01:49Z")

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Okay, so outside my apartment, I noticed a relatively new mud addition to the wall outside my door. And I saw a hornet/wasp/something-similar fly in and then fly out. I thought, “Uh oh, this is some sort of hornet/wasp nest” and I wanted it gone.

So, I sprayed it full of bug spray and smashed it open and this is what I saw:

[![](https://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g469/SimonMoon5/Picture%20286.jpg) ](https://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g469/SimonMoon5/Picture%20286.jpg)

It’s full of spiders? Is it some sort of hornet’s larder? Do they do that? What’s going on here?

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**Author:** ![pidgeon92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/50afbb/32.png) [@pidgeon92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pidgeon92)\
**Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-what-is-this-its-full-of-spiders/756614/2 "2016-06-05T22:10:21Z")

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I don’t know, but I’m not sure I’m going to be able to sleep tonight. :eek:

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**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\
**Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-what-is-this-its-full-of-spiders/756614/3 "2016-06-05T22:45:50Z")

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[Mud Dauber](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mud_dauber) wasps prey on spiders.  
The really cool (or creepy) thing is - they are _ALIVE_.  
The wasp paralyzes them, and then lays her eggs on them, so the young can have a nice meal of fresh spider.

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**Author:** ![ChickenLegs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@ChickenLegs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChickenLegs)\
**Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-what-is-this-its-full-of-spiders/756614/4 "2016-06-05T22:47:33Z")

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Mud dauber food.

> **[Organpipe Mud Dauber Wasps, Trypoxylon politum](http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek020401.html)**
>
> Nature: The Organpipe Mud Dauber Wasp, Trypoxylon politum, makes long tubular nests from mud and provisions them with paralyzed spiders.

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**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\
**Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-what-is-this-its-full-of-spiders/756614/5 "2016-06-05T23:00:48Z")

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You think Peter Parker takes a normal dump?

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**Author:** ![SimonMoon5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@SimonMoon5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SimonMoon5)\
**Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-what-is-this-its-full-of-spiders/756614/6 "2016-06-05T23:39:20Z")

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Okay, thanks everybody.

That’s quite horrifying of course, but thanks.