Spiders
Location: Masai Mara, Kenya
December 22, 2010 5:01 am
Hi Bugman,
As you mentioned you don’t get many entries from East Africa, here are a few close-ups of the spiders I live with.
Picture 1: A ”Flattie” or ”Wall Spider” from the Family Selenopidae. Selenops spp.
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Keep an eye out for more. I’ve got tonnes!
Signature: Zarek
Flattie from Kenya
Hi again Zarek,
We in no way want to discourage you from sending additional images to post to What’s That Bug?, but this particular email contains images of details of the heads of three different spider species, which means we need to divide it into three different posts, each with a truncated version of your email comments. We are well aware that the eye pattern configuration is a critical identification key to many spiders, but we feel that our readership would benefit much more if this posting contained a shot of the entire spider for comparison as well as a “headshot” detail image. Our readership would also appreciate a bit more narrative on the individuals, including the circumstances surrounding the sighting and any unusual observations you may have made. Flatties are awesome spiders that get their common name because they have such a low profile and they and squeeze between tight crevices. Flatties are nocturnal hunting spiders that do not build a web to snare their prey. BugGuide has images of some North American species.
Hi Daniel,
I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about the difficulty you would have categorizing each image separately. Didn’t mean to create extra work for you!
This particular flattie was one of the first spiders that got me properly interested in spiders. He would sit on the floor next to me while I was sitting on the toilet (too much information??) and just seemed to be watching me. He had obviously lost a few legs (as is evident in the photo) and so couldn’t move quite as quickly as others of his kind usually can.
As you say, they are usually nocturnal, but I usually saw this guy out in broad daylight.
Since then, I’ve come across many other flatties around my tent, but never had a good opportunity to get another good picture of one with all its legs still attached.
¶ Posted 22 December 2010 § Flatties ‡ ° Spider in the Rain
Location: South Pasadena, CA
December 21, 2010 1:03 am
Here’s the lynx spider sheltering her egg sac from the rain.
Signature: Barbara
Green Lynx shelters Egg Sac
Dear Barbara,
Thanks for continuing to send us documentation the female Green Lynx Spider living in your garden. We have stated previously that the strong maternal behavior exhibited by this species is rivaled by few other species of spiders, though the Nursery Web Spiders are named because of their protective instincts. Since our Mt Washington offices are but a few miles from South Pasadena, we know that this protective Green Lynx has already kept at least five inches of precipitation from drenching her eggs during this Pineapple Express storm that is predicted to be the worst in a decade by the time the rains subside on Thursday.
Update: December 30, 2010
Hi Daniel. I’m sad to report that the Green Lynx Spider did not survive. Too much rain and nothing to eat I suppose. The egg sac looks collapsed as well. I haven’t taken pictures, because it’s just too sad, but I have left it on the roses, hoping the baby spiders will emerge in some kind of Charlotte’s Web happy ending.
Hi Barbara,
Green Lynx Spiders only live a single season, so this death is not unusual. We hope you see some young spiderlings in the spring.
City Spider?
Location: Philadelphia, PA
December 20, 2010 10:29 am
Hey! Found this spider in my backyard in Philly. Amazing web. It was about 2 inches long. Huge for the city! What is it?
Signature: Thanks! Terri
Golden Orbweaver
Hi Terri,
This gorgeous spider is a Golden Orbweaver, Argiope aurantia, and we are amazed that you had a sighting this late in the season in Pennsylvania.
Large,Fat Round Orange Spider – Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Location: Kingston, Ontario, Canada
December 17, 2010 12:19 am
This spider was holed up in the lid of my hose caddy for several days after I took the photos. It had been cool for days at this point (Nov 3, 2010), close to the freezing point and rather late to be putting this stuff away for the winter. When I checked about a week later, it was gone, probably lost to birds, as the lid had blown open in a storm. I guess it’s some sort of orb spider. I’m sending a second set of photos of another kind of spider elsewhere in the lid of the same hose caddy.
Signature: Lulu
Orbweaver
Dear Lulu,
This is an Orbweaver Spider, probably in the genus Araneus. Your other photo is of an egg sac and we cannot see a spider.
What kind of spider?
Location: Canberra, ACT, Australia
December 17, 2010 9:34 pm
Hi,
I almost walked into this one in my backyard (Canberra, Australia), it had weaved a net across a path in the garden. It was about 3-4cm from top to bottom including the legs. Is it dangerous? Rare? Any information would be interesting! I found it just the other day (2010-12-17 which is summer in Australia)
Signature: Lars
Garden Orb Web Spider
Hi Lars,
Your spider is Eriophora transmarina, and it is commonly called a Garden Orbweaver, a name shared with several other species around the world. You can read about this common spider on the Brisbane Insect website.
Garden Orb Web Spider
Thanks Daniel, I appreciate your quick reply!
Knowing what these bugs around us are makes the world a bit more interesting.
Cheers,
Lars
Wolf Spiders ”R” Us
Wolf Spiderling
Wolf Spiders ”R” Us
Location: East Moline, IL
December 15, 2010 11:58 am
As an amateur arachnologist, I have been keeping native wolf spiders for the last two years. I found four female wolf spiders in my back yard this year, and three of them produced egg sacs. Unfortunately, only one egg sac was viable and now I have a nice selection of Hogna helluo spiderlings. I thought you might like to see one of my little darlings, as I haven’t found anyone who keeps Wolf Spiders with the obsession of myself. Once these are raised to near adulthood, I will release them back into the wild. Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures, I’m hoping Santa will bring me a better camera this year.
Signature: Ron DePaepe
Wolf Spiderling
Dear Ron,
You are our new hero. Thank you so much for providing our readership with the opportunity to read about your endeavor to assist nature to sustain a robust population of native Wolf Spiders in your vicinity. We also hope that Santa brings you a better camera.
Wolf Spiderling
I Found the Lynx Spider
Location: South Pasadena, CA
December 12, 2010 10:37 am
I was very happy to spot this lynx spider mother. I’ll keep on eye on her and try to get some baby spider pictures.
Signature: Barbara
Green Lynx with Egg Sac
Dear Barbara,
We are happy that you have located your female Green Lynx Spider and that she has produced an Egg Sac. She will defend it against any potential predator, and the seemingly fearless mother does not even seem intimidated by a human thousands of times her size approaching her precious clutch. Luckily, Green Lynx Spiders are not harmful to humans.
Evil looking Spider
Location: Sub tropical wet forest, Patillas, Puerto Rico
December 6, 2010 2:54 pm
Hello,
Thanx for helping with ID on this unusual spider…
Signature: 3t
Spiny Orbweaver: Micrathena militaris
Dear 3t,
We found a Alberto Lopez’s Photostream of wildlife from Puerto Rico, and he identified this Spiny Orbweaver as Micrathena militaris. We found other references to that name, but no photos on scientific websites to confirm the identification.
Hi Daniel:
I checked the Levi (1985) paper that I referenced with the previous Micrathena identification (Colombia) and M. militaris looks good. The species is native to Cuba, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. Regards. Karl
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