Tagged With: Spiders

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.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , | Comments Off on Jumping Spider

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.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Nephila clavipes (Golden Silk Orbweaver)