Tagged With: Arachnids

Green Lynx Spider

Green Lynx Spider

Green Lynx Spider

In the Green Swamp, green lynx spiders (Peucetia viridans) live on pitcher plants, enjoying the insects that don’t quite make it into the death trap. Bwah-ha-ha!

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Jumping Spider

Jumping Spider

Jumping Spider

I know many of my followers are less than thrilled with my spider photos. Nevertheless, at the risk of chasing off either of them (my followers, that is), I’m going to post another. I went for a short walk early this afternoon. There is a section of the road behind my building that has a well along the sidewalk, above a stream. Growing on that wall are Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), wild grape (Vitis species), porcelain berry (Ampelopsis glandulosa), and of course, the ever present poison ivy, (Toxicodendron radicans). I stopped to take a few pictures of bumble bees on the Virginia creeper flowers and then noticed this little jumping spider on the underside a leaf. Kind of cute, I think.

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Grass Spider (Agelenopsis species)

Grass Spider (Agelenopsis species)

Grass Spider (Agelenopsis species)

The funnel weavers are out in force again. They appear about this time each year. Actually, they are a little earlier than usual this year, probably because of the uncommonly mild weather and the relatively large amount of rain we’ve had. They are really cool spiders, building horizontal, non-sticky webs. When an insect lands on the web, the spider rushes out and bites it and the takes it back into her funnel, an tube-like web structure. This is, I believe, a grass spider (Agelenopsis species), one of the funnel weavers in the family Agelenidae. These spiders are really shy and not at all aggressive. And they eat insects. What’s not to like?

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Leucauge venusta (Orchard Orbweaver)

Leucauge venusta (Orchard Orbweaver)

Leucauge venusta (Orchard Orbweaver)

I had a meeting in one of the other buildings on campus this afternoon. I took my camera with me, as I often do, and went into the woods between the buildings on my way back. Below the pond there is a stream and to the side of that, an old settling pond that’s almost completely silted up. The water isn’t more than six inches deep although I wouldn’t be surprised if the soft mud is another foot deep below that. I walked along the side of that and took a few pictures of a red cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis ) before spotting this little spider, and orchard orbweaver (Leucauge venusta). I managed to get down onto the ground without getting too wet and got a few pictures, although a tripod would have been a big help. These are pretty little things and of course they eat things that I don’t particularly like. So they’re my friends.

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Nephila clavipes (Golden Silk Orbweaver)

Nephila clavipes (Golden Silk Orbweaver)

Nephila clavipes (Golden Silk Orbweaver)

I know that for many people, the phrase, “one of my favorite spiders” is not even a thing. Nevertheless, this is one of my favorite spiders. The Golden Silk Orbweaver (Nephila clavipes) is quite large. Nothing like a tarantula and only hairy at the leg joints, but still pretty good sized. The body of females grow up to almost 2 inches. This on is about an inch and a half. The male, seen at the top of the picture, is considerably smaller. North Carolina is about as far north as this spider is found but it is fairly common in the marshy woods here. Because of their size, they are fairly easy to spot. That’s just as well because you probably won’t be happy when you walk into the web as you go through the woods.

The silk from this spider is a golden color. Scientists have analyzed the dragline silk of this spider’s web and attempted to reproduce its proteins artificially for use in high-strength fabrics.

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Cobweb Spider

Cobweb Spider

Cobweb Spider

It’s spider time in Maryland. There are spiders around all year long, of course. It’s said that you are never more than six feet from a spider*. Nevertheless, they are much more noticeable in the heat of late summer. We have quite a few living in the garden and yard and I have no problem with that. They eat things I like less than spiders. This one is just outside our living room window on a fairly impressive web. Getting into a good position to photograph it was a bit tricky, as I didn’t want to disturb it or ruin its web. I know I have a few followers who aren’t crazy about my spider photos (or other creepy-crawly things) but I think they are beautiful, in their own way. This is, I believe, a cobweb spider in the genus Parasteatoda.

* There are probably exceptions to this, for instance if you are floating in the ocean (without a boat), you may be more than six feet from a spider.

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Spider Web

Spider Web

Spider Web

The afternoon sun was lighting up three or four prominent spider webs today. Spider webs can be tricky to photograph. In particular, you can pretty much forget about auto-focus, unless there is something substantial caught in the web (or if the spider is there, which is sometimes enough). Another thing is that you want them to show up against whatever background is available. If the web is lit by the sun, as this one is, then you want a relatively dark background. This is an old web, not obviously inhabited any more. One of the others I photographed had a spider on it, although she scurried for cover when I got close. I did get one picture of an orchard spider (Leucauge venusta) on her web, though.

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Funnel Weaver

Funnel Weaver Spider

Funnel Weaver Spider

It’s funnel weaver time in the yard. They build webs in the grass and in the garden where the plants aren’t too tall. When it’s humid and the dew settles on the grass, they are particularly easy to find because of the beads of water on the webs. I believe that this is a grass spider (genus Agelenopsis). They generally disappear into the funnel at the side of there web when I get too close but with a bit of patience they can be seen. While I’m not a fan of having spiders crawling on me or having spider webs in my face, I like them for what they eat, so I left them be, for the most part.

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Black-and-Yellow Argiope (Argiope aurantia)

Black-and-Yellow Argiope (Argiope aurantia)

Black-and-Yellow Argiope (Argiope aurantia)

Beside the hose faucet on the front of our house is a largish spider web. It’s been there for quite some time and I took a picture of this lady a few weeks ago. She was much smaller then and I might have thought it was a different spider, except Cathy’s been watching her, every time she uses the hose. Needless to say, she comes in from the other side and does her best to keep her distance. The spider, a black-and-yellow argiope (Argiope aurantia), is a good inch or more in length, not counting her legs. She’s a beauty, don’t you think?

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Spider—Lattice Orbweaver

Spider

Spider

I met Cathy outside my building briefly today because we had come together and she needed to go out briefly so needed the keys to the car. I brought my camera with me and took a few pictures while I was out. There are porcelain berries (Ampelopis brevipedunculata) out and I took a few pictures of those. Then I noticed a really spectacular web glinting in the sun. This spider was sitting near the middle of that web and I was able to get quite close for some pretty nice pictures. I didn’t have my tripod with me but it was pretty bright out. I’ve asked for some help in identifying it and if I hear about that I’ll post its name here.

Update: I have confirmed that this is a lattice orbweaver (Araneus thaddeus).

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Orchard Spider (Leucauge venusta)

Orchard Spider (Leucauge venusta)

Orchard Spider (Leucauge venusta)

We’re moving from the flowers-of-spring period into the insects-of-summer. Along with the insects come those creatures that prey on them, most notably the spiders and related creatures. Of course, birds, bats, and even other insects prey on insects, but I have a special fascination with spiders. They are not, I am led to believe, universally admired. I suppose I understand that. Nevertheless, I think they are quite beautiful, at least some of them are. This is Leucauge venusta, the orchard orbweaver, and a common resident in our area. It’s so delicate and looks like it could be made of glass. It’s been said that you are never more then six feet from a spider. Even if that’s not literally true, it’s probably mostly true. Sleep well.

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Spider Web

Spider Web

Spider Web

I stopped and walked into Rock Creek Park on the way home today. It’s a nice, wooded area and generally away from traffic, so I like being there. It’s definitely high summer now and the underbrush is about at it’s deepest but I’m happy to leave the bike path and walk the short distance through the brush to the creek itself. I passed a few spider webs, which isn’t unusual this time of year, but it wasn’t until I got to this one that I stopped. This one had the sun shining on it and that made it a lot easier to photograph. This was made by a spined Micrathena (Micrathena gracilis), one of the orb weavers (family Araneidae).

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Micrathena gracilis (Spiny Micrathena)

Micrathena gracilis (Spiny Micrathena)

Micrathena gracilis (Spiny Micrathena)

A few days ago I had a picture of a spider web, taken in Rock Creek Park (see Thursday, July 18, 2019). I mentioned that it belonged to a spined Micrathena (Micrathena gracilis) but the spider wasn’t in the picture. Today we had a little time before church so we walked in the Stadtman Preserve for a little and I saw another spined Micrathena and got this picture of her. It frankly isn’t a great picture but you can see where it gets its “spined” appellation. Sorry I have nothing better for today. Maybe tomorrow.

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Gasteracantha cancriformis (Spinybacked Orbweaver)

Gasteracantha cancriformis (Spinybacked Orbweaver)

Gasteracantha cancriformis (Spinybacked Orbweaver)

Cathy and I drove to the east end of Ocean Isle this morning and walked on the beach, looking for shells and coral and I took a few pictures. The other day we had noticed a boardwalk going into the scrub off of one of the back streets and we decided to see where it led. from the corner of e 4 sup th /sup and winston-salem streets we followed a combination of boardwalks (over wet areas) and sandy trails that go as far as Charlotte Street (although we didn’t actually go all the way to the end). We saw three species of spider. There were lots of these spinybacked orbweavers (Gasteracantha cancriformis). We also saw a golden-silk orbweaver (Nephila clavipes) and a black-and-yellow argiope (Argiope aurantia). I also got a pretty nice photo of a slant-faced grasshopper (Subfamily Gomphocerinae). It was hot but there were occasional breezes and it was mostly shady, so we enjoyed it pretty well.

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