spider in web with stabillamenta
Tue, Feb 3, 2009 at 5:51 PM
i found this spider in a forest.i think its a saint andrews cross spider.Can you help me identify it?
curious
singapore
St. Andrew's Cross Spider
Dear Curious,
The St. Andrew’s Cross Spider, Argiope versicolor, is found in Singapore according to Joseph K H Koh’s Guide to Common Singapore Spiders, and the web in your image is perfectly consistent with that of the species, so we are confident your identification is correct. Our memories of our own Catholic education did not provide a reason for the X stabilimentum and the life and death of St. Andrew, and we are quite curious since we are currently working on a book chapter on Entomology and Etymology, and your letter gives us a wonderful excuse to try to do a bit of research. We located the following on Wikipedia: “Andrew is said to have been martyred by crucifixion at Patras (Patrae) in Achaea . Though early texts, such as the Acts of Andrew known to Gregory of Tours ,[3]describe Andrew bound, not nailed, to a Latin cross of the kind on which Christ was crucified, a tradition grew up that Andrew had been crucified on a cross of the form called Crux decussata (X-shaped cross) and commonly known as ” Saint Andrew’s Cross “; this was performed at his own request, as he deemed himself unworthy to be crucified on the same type of cross on which Christ was crucified. [4]“The familiar iconography of his martyrdom, showing the apostle bound to an X-shaped cross, does not seem to have been standardized before the later Middle Ages,” Judith Calvert concluded after re-examining the materials studied by Louis Réau. [5]“
nephilla spider eating cicada
Tue, Feb 3, 2009 at 5:56 PM
I took this picture of a nephilla spider eating a cicada at a nature reserve.The spider was at least 10 cm from mouth to the tip of its abdomen.
curious
singapore
Golden Web Spider
Dear Curious,
Normally we would be reluctant to try to identify which species of Golden Silk Spider you have photographed, but we suspect it is Nephila pilipes, The Golden Web Spider, which is a common species in Singapore. There is a website of Common Singapore Spiders based on a guide book by Joseph K H Koh that depicts this spider. Golden Silk Spiders in the genus Nephila have extremely strong silk in their webs and are known to catch small birds. Your photo clearly shows the golden color of the silk.
Turquoise and Black Beetle
Wed, Feb 4, 2009 at 2:43 AM
Saw this one laying on the beach in Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica. I think it was dying because it wasn’t moving much and wasn’t scared of us. It was about 2 inches long. So beautiful..
Tori
Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
Cicada from Costa Rica
Hi Tori,
Your mystery insect is a Cicada, not a Beetle. Cicadas are often responsible for the loud buzzing sounds you hear emanating from the treetops. We don’t know the species here, but perhaps one of our readers can supply that information. Meanwhile, we are going to ask Paco the Gardener from El Salvador to tell us the lore surrounding the Cicada in Central America and eventually post what he relates.
Update:
Hi Daniel:
This gorgeous cicada is in the genus Zammara, probably Z. smaragdina. There are one or two other possibilities in the genus, but Z. smaragdina looks the closest. I will be visiting Costa Rica myself in a few weeks and I will be looking for this beauty! Regards.
Karl
Link: http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/Honduras/Hemiptera/Zammara%20smaragdina.htm
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¶ Posted 04 February 2009 § Cicadas ‡ ° Red-headed, Red-legged, Red + Blue winged, Yellow striped bug
Mon, Feb 2, 2009 at 10:49 AM
Dear Bugman
I must begin with an apology that the bug whose identification I request is decapitated in the attached photograph but assure you that this is not a bug mug shot to be assigned to the ‘unnecessary carnage’ division. Its savage death occurred through no fault of my own and since squashing my last ant at the tender age of four, I harbour no entomophobic tendencies whatsoever. The unfortunate demise of this particular bug was marked by its collision with the front grid of a giant purple overland truck travelling at high speed across the border between Namibia and South Africa in the sweltering heat of summer. You will be pleased to know that a minute’s respectful silence was observed in memory of the roadkill bug; and I will be pleased to know its name.
Desperately Seeking sp.
The South African- Namibian border
probably Gaudy Grasshopper
Dear Desperately Seeking Species,
We suspect this is one of the Toxic Milkweed Grasshoppers in the family Pyrgomorphidae. The family is also known as the Gaudy Grasshoppers. Those warning colors are a dead giveaway. We are thoroughly amazed at the number of submissions from Namibia we have received in recent weeks. When time permits, we may try to do a more thorough species identification.
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