View allAll Photos Tagged lynx_spider
Here is one more shot of the still-waiting-to-be-a-mama Green Lynx Spider (Peucetia, Oxyopidae) on a tall cactus plant in the garden. She made her egg sac on October 5 or 6 and I suspect it will be another couple of weeks until the spiderlings hatch. What a great spooky Halloween mask she has on her abdomen! And it's interesting that her abdomen has nicely filled in - see this photo showing her just after making her egg sac. She is now hard to reach at about eight feet high in this spiny Prickly Pear (Opuntia, Cactaceae) cactus plant. I got this photo by extending my tripod all the way up and standing on a box. Not very steady, but it worked. Yeah, the white balance seems off in this photo, but that's just the way it looked this morning before the sun got to it. We live on the north-facing slope of the mountains, and we mostly loose the sun behind the hills in winter. That's not so good for insects and spiders, but it's excellent for mushrooms! Arachtober 29. (San Marcos Pass, 29 October 2017)
(prey is a microgastrine braconid wasp)
Lynx spiders are the members of the family Oxyopidae. They all are hunting spiders that spend their lives on plants, flowers and shrubs. They approach their prey slowly then pounce, hence the common name Lynx spiders.
Oxyopidae in general rely on keen eyesight in stalking, chasing, or ambushing prey, and also in avoiding enemies. Six of their eight eyes are arranged in a hexagon-like pattern, a characteristic that identifies them as members of the family Oxyopidae. The other two eyes are smaller and generally situated in front and below the other six.
The Oxyopidae also have spiny legs, and in many species those legs, augmented by the spines, seem to be used as a sort of catching-basket in trapping flying insects.
This is a family of spider which is well represented locally in Yunnan with a fair degree of diversity. I have knowingly observed four genera - Oxyopes, Peucetia, Hamadruas and Hamataliwa. Identification to species is a little more challenging due to a scarcity of reference material.
They are very conducive to being photographed as they tend to posture defiantly in the open seemingly without fear in many cases. If they do take fright, they are capable of moving at lightning speeds, usually to the opposite side of the leaf they are on. However, a gentle wave of the hand in their general direction will return them to the original position. Usually they are reluctant to depart from their favorite haunts but will fling themselves into space if they feel particularly threatened.
You can see all of my lynx spider images on Flickr HERE.
Pu'er, Yunnan, China
see comments for additional view…..
I only had a brief opportunity and the light was not favorable at the only angle from which I could shoot. Just do it.
Always wanted a close shot of a Lynx spider, usually they don't let you get close enough.
Focus stacked using Zerene.
The image is a single exposure, taken hand-held at 3X lifesize magnification with the 5DII/MP-E 65/MT-24EX. Thanks for viewing.
Thanks to T. Hedlund at BugGuide.net for confirming my ID: bugguide.net/node/view/2166621
New county tick and seventh MBP record.
Rock Creek Stream Valley Park, S. of Twinbrook Parkway x Veirs Mill Road, Rockville, Montg. Co., Maryland; Kensington quad
Habitat: Foliage | Location Found: UiTM Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia | Lenght: 7mm | Gender: Female | Macro shot using Nikon D90 + Micro-NIKKOR 55mm lens + extension tube...more detail about this lynx spider en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynx_spider