I think I helped propagate the population of a huge spider...

I think I helped propagate the population of a huge spider...

As I was watering and examining my flowers, I happened upon this sight:

I saw the cloudy web before I saw the denizen and tried to flick it away. That created a cloud of dandelion-type floating "items", which I realized were dozens if not hundreds of baby spiders.

Just like in Charlotte's Web. The fully-formed young scatter and hope for the best. Very few survive, which is why some species lay up to 3,000 eggs, at times in multiple sacs. You can see the cocoon here, shedding its contents.

The next day mama spider was gone; the sac seemed empty as did the web.  From what I could learn, this seems to be a dark fishing spider. Reportedly, they make good pets! Well, I think I helped perpetuate their survival, however inadvertently.