Subject: Giant Lichen Orbweaver Eating Breakfast
Geographic location of the bug: High Springs, Fl.
Date: 07/22/2018
Time: 11:24 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: I couldn’t resist sending this photo of a giant (and giant it was) lichen orbweaver eating TWO beetles at once. This is the first time my husband or I have ever seen one of these. At night we watched it crawl up into a ball of moss in its web and skillfully snuggle in to it to hide.
How you want your letter signed: Elizabeth (a.k.a . Butterfly Girl)
Dear Elizabeth,
Your images of a Giant Lichen Orbweaver with prey are an excellent addition to our Food Chain tag. According to Bugs in the News: “Some specimens of this species have been reported with abdomens measuring an inch or more in length, rivaling the size of the yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia). High rainfall levels have set the stage for large numbers of flying insects, like crickets and grasshoppers, to emerge during the summer and early fall months. They will then feed these spiders in such bounty that they will likely become quite large.” As large Orweavers tend to go, we suspect the Golden Silk Spider might be the largest you might encounter in Florida.
Thank you, Daniel. We have many large golden silk spiders on our property, as well. We are quickly being overrun by spiders but not really bothered by it.