I don’t usually cheer for Velveeta, but… » « At some point, we’ve got to stop singing and do something about these bozos

Early morning spidering

We haven’t had a luck with looking for spiders late in the day, so we went out this morning, and spotted lots of orb weavers hanging in their dew-spotted webs. We’re going to have to do that more often.

Sighted my first Argiope aurantia of the summer!

She was demolishing some tidbit with those fearsome jaws.

I don’t usually cheer for Velveeta, but… » « At some point, we’ve got to stop singing and do something about these bozos

Comments

  1. Sean Boyd says

    The sexual dimorphism in A. aurantia is quite striking. Looking at a pic of a male, there is no way I’d imagine them as members of the same species. I may have to drag my sorry butt out of bed early some morning to see if I can spot any.

  2. cartomancer says

    I saw a Jim Sterling video with a spider theme this morning, and thought of you, PZ,

  4. gijoel says

    @2 That has to be one of the dumbest ideas in video games. Seriously, why make a giant spider sexy?????

  5. Mrdead Inmypocket says

    I travel by train if I’m going long distance. preferably. In 2019 I found myself going from the Atlantic to Pacific coast. One night at a stop my family finds me walking around a platform staring up at the eaves of the canopy, mumbling to myself. The structure is unassuming, galvanized beams with a corrugated tin roof. Nothing to draw ones attention, but it has mine. Since I’m old and something that they think is uninteresting has drawn my attention, my family worries that I’m losing it. The lights at the station, which I assume come on at dusk every night, have attracted some residents that built their own very intricate structures. Even though I can make out the webbing, my vision being what it is all I can make out are very plump, colorful, fast moving blobs busily wrapping up their nightly bounty.

    If you go out looking in the evening or at night it’s a different game, you have to know where to look and what to look for. Various species will reflect different colors green, orange, reds, bluegreen etc.

  6. bcwebb says

    Any lawn in the dewy morn is a dense network of small orb webs. Perhaps you should carry a mister/perfume bottom with water at other times of the day to find webs?

  7. jack16 says

    If you can find a good pair of seven-fifty binoculars that will focus close. (Lucky you!)
    jack16