Spider Photos
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We had been away for a while, and when we came back to our old country house, I saw this “spot” of about 1 cm² outside on the kitchen window. I thought a young bird had crashed and made this, but later noticed that the spot had changed shape. Taking a better look revealed that the spot was actually many small spider babies. Sometimes close in a bunch, later more spread, then close again. I let them live there until one day the spot was gone, and now I have hundreds of small spiders around my house, I guess :-)
"No More Honey" | Flower Crab Spider & European Honeybee | Misumena Vatia | Apis Mellifera | Switzerland
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ABOUT THIS PHOTO:
My garden may look like a peaceful green paradise to humans, but for the little creatures living in it it's a place where death may lurk behind every corner.
From time to time when I'm working in the garden or I'm just reading a book I hear a very distinct, loud buzzing that stands out as somewhat unusual among the many noises and sounds I hear during the day. By now I know what that sound is: it's the panicky, frantic buzzing of a European honeybee (Apis mellifera) that has fallen prey to a very distinguished predator: the flower crab spider (Misumena vatia).
The arachnid usually hides in flowers, patiently waiting for an unsuspecting insect; due to its ability to adapt its color to that of the flowers it hunts in it is almost invisible - and all the more deadly to its prey. This photo here is actually somewhat unusual because this crab spider didn't hunt in a flower but in the leaves of the vines that make up the roof of my veranda.
Once it had caught the bee it let itself fall into the empty space below, safely secured by two threads, to enjoy its meal undisturbed (and probably also in order not to become prey itself, namely of another predator like a lizard that might have been attracted by the victim's frantic buzzing ;-)
This scene may seem cruel to us (and I'm aware that - sadly - many people don't like spiders to begin with), but this is simply nature's way (and that bee didn't suffer long; compared to what we humans do to animals, the spider's way of killing its prey actually seems rather "humane" - even if that word sounds absurd in this context).
ABOUT THE SPECIES (from Wikipedia):
Misumena vatia is a species of crab spider with a holarctic distribution. It is called the goldenrod crab spider or flower (crab) spider, as it is commonly found hunting in goldenrot sprays and milkweed plants. They are called crab spiders because of their unique ability to walk sideways as well as forwards and backwards.
Females can grow up to 10 mm (0.39 in) while males are quite small, reaching 5 mm (0.20 in) at most. Misumena vatia may be yellow or white. This ultimately depends on the flower on which they are hunting. Younger females especially, which may hunt on a variety of flowers such as daisies and sunflowers, have a strong tendency to adapt to the color of the surrounding flower. However, the color-changing process is not instant and can require up to 25 days to complete.
They have a complex visual system, with eight eyes, that they rely on for prey capture and for their color-changing abilities. Sometimes, if Misumena vatia consume colored prey, the spider itself will take on that color.Misumena vatia feed on common insects, often consuming prey much larger than themselves. They use venom to immobilize their prey, though they are harmless to humans. They face threats due to parasites and larger insects.
For Misumena vatia, survival depends on the choice of hunting site. The spiders closely monitor multiple sites to see if others nearby are frequented by greater numbers of potential prey. Females are stationary and choose a flower to settle on while males cover great distances searching for mates. Females do not emit pheromones, rather, they leave "draglines" of silk behind them as they move, which males follow. Females live longer than males, on average. After mating, females guard their nests until the young have hatched, after which they die.
I don't want this text to get even longer, so I'll skip the info about the Eurpean honeybee (Apis Mellifera), but I encourage everyone to look it up or watch the documentary 'More Than Honey' from 2012; bees may seem a very familiar and common sight to us, but they are among the most important and fascinating creatures on the planet.
As I mentioned before, if people like these photos and are interested in other flora and fauna from my private jungle, I'll upload an insect or spider every once in a while between lizards, so let me know in the comments if you're interested in seeing more of these or if I should stick to just reptiles ;-)
As always, thank you so much for your interest and feedback, stay safe - and have a great week everyone!
Lacerta
Spider in Web. Taken using the reverse lens macro technique.
#canon700D #spider #reverselensmacro #budgetmacro #macro
The spider species Argiope aurantia is commonly known as the yellow garden spider, black and yellow garden spider, golden garden spider,writing spider, corn spider, or McKinley spider. It is common to the contiguous United States, Hawaii, southern Canada, Mexico, and Central America. It has distinctive yellow and black markings on the abdomen and a mostly white cephalothorax. Its scientific Latin name translates to "gilded silver-face" (the genus name Argiope meaning "silver-face", while the specific epithet aurantia means "gilded"). Males range from 5–9 mm (0.20–0.35 in); females range from 19–28 mm (0.75–1.10 in). These spiders may bite if disturbed or harassed, but the venom is seemingly harmless to humans.
Spider Pavilion. The Los Angeles Natural History Museum. California.
I dreamt I met you once more
In a field of Spider Lilies
- Hanahaki
There's intriguing, beautiful and aether things currently out at various events. The collar is from Contraptions who have given it an interesting edge - don't let your fingers wander while exploring shoulders, you may never see them again :->
Experimental image, not sure if it pulled it all together but I will let you be the judge.
🚕Taxi to The Engine Room: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Syndicate/198/95/25
🚕Taxi to the NEO-Japan Event: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/GABRIEL3/138/128/500
🚕Taxi to the Salem Event: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Prism%20Events/128/114/24
🚕Taxi to the Harajuku Event: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Intimacy/102/64/2514
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Sponsors and Credits:
KMH - Hair F175 (with the usual colour hud with style options)
At the Engine Room Event until Oct 20th 2021
[ContraptioN] Vox Diaboli Neck Corset *???* (with eye back detail and colour hud)
At the Salem Event
Details on Mr. Wainwright's Flickr
Nefekalum - Guise (Mask/Eyes) Materials enabled
At the NEO-Japan event till Oct 17th 2021
cinphul - // mystique (with colour hud - Mod)
At the NEO-Japan event till Oct 17th 2021
ANC - Garden- "sakari" spider lily
At the NEO-Japan event till Oct 17th 2021
Ladybird. // Spike Lipstain (hud for Lelutka heads)
At the Harajuku event till Oct 10th 2021
*:..Silvery K..:* Kimono Mesh(gasha-dokuro)
At the Mainstore
gin Fhang's Flickr
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Enamelled-back Spider (Araneidae Plebs bradleyi) female
Quite a web this Lady has built. Unfortunately I couldn't get to take a shot from her top side as there is a Leaf Curling Spider in her web blocking access.
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A spider has chosen to build its home under the cover of Hydrangea flowers as it waits patiently for lunch to arrive.
Canon PowerShot SX430 IS
f/5
1/100
12.5 mm
ISO 100
Dedicated to RHC (ILYWAMHASAM)
The talents seem to be the cross spiders. I saw one of them in the centre of a web. They create beautiful and very stable webs. Taken with Zeiss Makro Planar 2/50 ZE.
font: Metropolis
John Clare
The shepherds calender
The redbreast with his nimble eye
Dare scarcely stop to catch the flye
That tangled in the spiders snare
Mourns in vain for freedom there
European garden spider (Araneus diadematus) on its web, seen from underside.
Krzyżak ogrodowy (Araneus diadematus) na swojej pajęczynie, widziany od spodu.
It's not quite as good as my other jumping spider shot, but I dig the reflection. Shortly after this, the spider disappeared. My husband was not pleased.