View allAll Photos Tagged FunnelWebSpider
A shot from a recent macro safari this is a Labyrinth spider Agelena labyrinthica in its funnel wed on a gorse bush in the dunes at Drigg. These are common in the vegetation of the dunes at Drigg.
I saw a web shining in the sun and figured, that must be a webworm colony. But now that we started the Web Wednesdays group, I decided to go shoot it. When I got close, a big funnel web spider came running out to see if I was edible. Thanks Ash and Conall for the idea of the new group leading me to find my first funnel web spider.
Bugguide doesn't have much on Funnel Weavers so the best I can ID is Agelenidae family.
This funnel web spider was waiting for prey and anxiously working its chelicerae. This was the day before a big change in the weather and a lot of wind and cold. I came back to the same spot the next day and the web and spider were gone. I lke the grittiness of this photo - that is courtesy of my flash batteries dying. I needed to push the ISO to still maintain sharpness with the wind and the spider's movements. HA 27 everyone!
There's been very little wildlife to photograph this winter: extreme cold has kept most species lying low, except during the few days of midwinter thaw last week. So... searching my files for older shots made in winter, I've come up with a set of seasonally appropriate critter shots, some of which caught me by surprise. This spider, for example.
I'm not 100% certain, but I think it's a grass spider or funnel web spider; we have a lot of those on the northern prairie. The odd part is that I didn't expect to see one crossing the river on the ice in January! But there it was.
The day had started cold, -20°C, but then quickly warmed to -5. Still, how does a spider function at -5? And why would it crawl out of the protective leaf litter and set off on an expedition in midwinter? Whatever the answer, I was pleased that it stopped and posed nicely for me before continuing on its bizarre and probably ill-fated journey. I used the tripod and 105mm macro + 1.4x teleconverter for this, and did not manipulate the background, which was a thin layer of plain white snow on river ice.
Uploaded to Flickr ten years ago, now removed and replaced with this newly processed version: larger, with better contrast, but retaining the high key look of the original.
Photographed on the frozen Frenchman River in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2012 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
In all her glory, a one on one with the awe-inspiring and legendary Atrax robustus, the Sydney funnel-web spider.
The body position seen here in this female is not aggression but defense. And when operating at such heightened levels, she has her defenses fully primed and ready to go...that is indeed venom seeping from those incredible fangs.
Body length 45 mm
Link to non-defensive pose:
www.flickr.com/photos/112623317@N03/49800593842/in/album-...
UPDATE January 2025: Exciting development in the world of arachnology, and on my doorstep as it were. Six years ago almost to the day, I came across my first Sydney funnel web. This is the time of year that males will be wandering in search of the females and I'd learned of several very large specimens having been found within a 25km radius of where I live. Scientific examination (gene sequences, in combination with fine morphological detail) has shown that Atrax in this area are indeed a new species and have been named Atrax christenseni. The new species is named in honour of Kane Christensen for his dedication to documenting aspects of funnel web behaviour and collecting specimens for study. So, I have to amend my records of sightings. (Males of this new species can be separated from the Sydney funnel web and the Southern Sydney funnel web by the extra-long palpal tibia and embolus).
Sadly, our eight-legged icon is in decline. Loss of habitat and illegal trafficking being cited as probable main causes. For this reason, collection sites were not included in research papers.
© All rights reserved.
A Funnel Web Spider retreats to its lair. This one was near my home. Thanks again for inviting me to this group three years ago. This has been an amazing Arachtober and I've really enjoyed the amazing talent and variety of spiders this year.
Arachtober 31c
Funnel Web Spider - Agelenopsis
Bush Near My Home
Lafayette, CO
One of the largest spiders in Sweden, the giant house spider (Eratigena atrica) like this female is also really common.
Technically its bite can pierce human skin, but they aren't much for biting and if they do (you basically need to be squishing them for it to happen) *and* it decides to spend venom on you which they often don't, the resulting reaction is comparable to that of a regular mosquito sting, ie negligible
This is a large, common funnel web spider in Taiwan, the size of the palm of your hand. I've found it hard to identify it from information online, but I think it is either Macrothele holsti or M. gigas.
ID update:
Grass Spider (Funnel Weaver) - Barronopsis texana (female, body length 6.5 mm)
Location: Durham NC (USA)
Found on a pile of branches destined for yard waste.
Series hoping to document the ID, if I've got it correct! Happy Arachtober 3rd!
Also posted, and identified at:
bugguide.net/node/view/2408336
References
- BugGuide bugguide.net/node/view/750295
- Rose, Spiders of North America (Princeton Univ. Press, 2022), pp. 72-3
Encontrei essa belíssima e pequena aranha (20mm) repousando sobre uma folha praticamente imóvel e resolvi aplicar a técnica de empilhamento de foco (focus stacking). Foram feitas 25 fotografias mas por causa de alguns movimentos feitos pela aranha fui obrigado à descartar 4 cliques, felizmente o resultado não ficou comprometido.
October 12, 2019
A funnel spider has ridden out the storm, deep within her dark home. Through the damp gloom I can only see one of her long legs and will keep watching the opening to see if one day (or night) she comes back out, poking through her "flooded" entrance, to survey the damages. Will she rebuild or move on?
(An Arachtober spider submission #12 - 2019)
Brewster, Massachusetts
Cape Cod - USA
Photo by brucetopher
© Bruce Christopher 2018
All Rights Reserved
...always learning - critiques welcome.
Tools: Canon 7D & iPhone 6s.
No use without permission.
Please email for usage info.
A frontal shot of the spider and the funnel web its guarding. You can see how its nestled nicely under the upper leaf - a pretty secure home.
Arachtober 31b
Funnel Web Spider - Agelenopsis
Coal Creek Trail
Lafayette, CO
A real spider today. It was very hard to get this spider without a lot of grasses in front of the lens.
A funnelweb spider sits in ambush next to bioluminescent fungi. Dorrigo National Park, New South Wales, Australia.
September 18, 2024
The funnel web spiders (agelenopsis aperta) have taken up residency in the yard. On this particular dewy morning, the lawn was speckled with their little "welcome mats."
(An Arachtober Spider: Day 2 - 2024)
Brewster, Massachusetts
Cape Cod - USA
Photo by brucetopher
© Bruce Christopher 2024
All Rights Reserved
...always learning - critiques welcome.
Tools: Canon 7D & iPhone 14.
No use without permission.
Please email for usage info.
October 8, 2019
A large funnel web spider (Agelenidae) has made a comfy home in the hydrangeas. It's a perfect stealthy lair to catch unsuspecting little flies as they look for Autumn sweets on a dwindling numbers of attractive petals.
(An Arachtober spider submission #9 - 2019)
Brewster, Massachusetts
Cape Cod - USA
Photo by brucetopher
© Bruce Christopher 2018
All Rights Reserved
...always learning - critiques welcome.
Tools: Canon 7D & iPhone 6s.
No use without permission.
Please email for usage info.
Funnel-web spider
Likely an American Grass spider
Family: Agelenidae
Wellsville, New York
Another eight-legged fellow for the month-long spider celebration at Arachtober. Check it out!
My thanks to all of you Flickr viewers for making this my first photo to ever top 1500 views within a week of being posted. People seem to enjoy being spooked late in the month of October. Can't imagine why...
American grass spiders belong to the genus Agelenopsis. From reading Wikipedia on this subject, I've learned that these spiders make webs which are not sticky -- but rely on their own quickness to dart out, grab, bite and kill whatever prey might blunder into their webs.
We are not scary species.We as a group always wonder why you humans are scared of me??In fact we too are as curious as you checking out the world.
Raynox 150+250
Onboard Flash
Homemade Diffuser
FujiFilm S6500FD
This spider has a nice inviting bejeweled parlor just waiting for an unsuspecting guest.
Funnel-web spider. There are more than 1146 species. They have a special spatial perception that allows them to orient themselves and navigate even in complete darkness. wikipedia
Funnel-web spider (Family Agelenidae)
I'm not sure if the spider carved out the leaf or if it was just opportunistic and some other insect chewed the leaf first. Either way it makes a great lair for this spider. Happy Arachtober everyone!
This was a major find early this fall - a whole field of these spiders in the woods near the creek. Based on the eye arrrangement - it seems to be Agelenopsis. Many of them had funnel webs - this one just happened to be out of the web and exploring its leaf.
Arachtober 28b
Funnel Web Spider
Field of Spiders Near Coal Creek
Lafayette, CO
found this funnel web builder on the side steps in the yard. It was so still and unwary of me that I could get in close with the OM 90mm
Not to be confused with the poisonous funnel-web spiders of Australia, this European species is harmless to man.
Less so to the hapless hoverfly that it has captured by racing from the entrance to its lair to invite to lunch.
Corfu, 14 June 2022.
A entamé une sorte de Mapouka enfiévré devant la loge de la femelle, laquelle l'a cordialement invité à retenter ultérieurement la démarche. Bon bref, il a failli se faire bouffer. Suite à quoi il a regagné un des angles de la toile pour digérer sa contrariété dans l'immobilité, ce qui m'a permis de le photographier.
Wont you come on in :|
The Funnel Web Spider.
Dont touch them, not that anybody would :)
Remembering Elvis
Remembering Willie Mays
In Search of Summer Sizzlers in the Woods of Virginia.
IMG_8748
852
Seen in my porch front leg to back leg 3 inches and a 1 inch body.
The spider species Tegenaria domestica, commonly known as the barn funnel weaver in North America and the domestic house spider in Europe, is a member of the funnel-web family Agelenidae
Funnel-web Spider using focus-stacking. Source images obtained using hand-held 80D while shifting focus in manual with shutter on continuous drive.
I had no idea common spiders could get this large. This one was easily about 4 inches across from leg tip to leg tip. Over 100mm - I'm not kidding - I wish I would have taken a more distant shot so you could see the scale. Many of them are this size around here - they are well fed with plenty of habitat and prey. Or is it some kind of Nursery Web Spider?