Winter squash is an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene. It is also a very good source of thiamin, vitamin B6, potassium, magnesium, and manganese, and a good source of iron.
Spiders are, for the most part, such generalist feeders that they kill many useful insects as well as many pest species, however because pest species are by their nature more numerous than beneficial species they are still effective. They are of great value to the environment.
The spidersâ superior gossamer likely evolved in tandem with C. darwiniâs migration to Madagascarâs rivers, and is twice as elastic as silk from other web-weaving spiders. That elasticity is key to the silkâs toughness, and its molecular underpinnings remain to be studied. The researchers also plan to study how C. darwini build their webs, likely by casting threads that drift over water and catch branches on distant shores, providing a central structural element.