Subject: Orange big spider
Geographic location of the bug: Rio Bonito, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date: 01/06/2018
Time: 06:50 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Dear WTB,
I found the attached orange spider in the rainforests of Rio Bonito, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. More precisely, in (-22.660427,-42.592756):
https://www.google.com/maps/
It was big, with the body length of about 4cm. I’m attaching 3 pictures.
Thanks!
How you want your letter signed: Luis A. Florit
Dear Luis,
This is one beautiful Orbweaver in the family Araneidae, a group of harmless Spiders that build orb webs in which to snare prey. Interestingly, we were able to identify your individual as Eriophora fuliginea thanks to the ventral view of this image on FlickR. There is a matching dorsal view on Gallery Kunzweb and another ventral view on The Natural World. This really is quite a beautiful spider.
Dear Daniel,
Indeed, it was quite beautiful, I spent a long time shooting it because the light was bad. By the orange color I thought it wasn’t harmless, so I didn’t approach.
Thanks a lot for the identification! Your site and the whole idea is amazing.
Cheers!
L.
