My friend appears to be doing well.
He lives inside the clear shade of the bathroom nightlight. I think I named him Ralphie. But that's because I name all my bugs "Ralphie." I guess he's a guy, but I'm not sure. Goes with the name.
I'm not sure how long ago it was when I first realized I always was accompanied when I used the bathroom. I first noticed small, dark "droppings" on the countertop next to the wall. They had to be bugs -- dead bugs -- or bug poop. They would appear, even after I swept them up, directly below an outlet where the LED nightlight is plugged in. It's one of those with the sensor that switches on at dusk.
Ralphie has hit on something good. His cool-bulb nightlight guarantees bugs will come around at night. And there are no shortage of bugs, apparently. We live in the country and even the new, hurricane-proof windows have gaps around the screens.
At first I didn't think anything was alive inside the shade. But there were, as I learned later, carcasses in there, some hung up in Raphie's little web. I was not pleased with the bits of black inside the light, so I unplugged it and looked inside.
Nothing moved.
I was going to dump it -- clean it out with a wet wipe. But, I thought, what if there were a live spider in there? I honestly can cohabitate with a small spider -- as long as they stick to their territory. I have learned this attitude from Beth, who convinced me some time ago to let a rather large garden spider run loose in the bathroom. So if he were alive, I'd just let him harvest what stray flying insects should wind up in the web.
So, to be sure, I poked the butt-end of a toothbrush in there. Immediately there was a furious amount of activity inside the shade. Ralphie virtually vibrated back and forth, his little body whipping to and fro, up and down, sideways. He was obviously agitated -- but he did not run away. No. Not Ralphie. He froze. All movement stopped. I poked again and the agitation began again. He is so small you can hardly distinguish him from all the little black carcasses. But he was the only spot moving.
And still he stayed.
Someone -- or something this dedicated to protecting their franchise should not be removed. Ralphie showed a real determination to stay where he was at any cost. And so Ralphie the nightlight spider remains on the wall, behind his little clear-plastic enclosure, not far from my ear when I look in the mirror.
When I remember that he's there, I look over and see him (and clean up his mess). But I'm happy that he gets to live on and enjoy his decision to be the spider in the nightlight.
Update: 6/15/17 I'm sad to report that Ralphie is with me no longer. Hopefully, he moved on to more fertile grounds. Realistically, he had a long and prosperous life. Now I often glance at the empty nightlight and think fondly of my friend.
