Photo Adventures with Curiosity and Learning

Larry (ShutterbugL from Flickr) and I (from Flickr) arranged to visit my spider observatory this morning about 7am. My plan was to locate Miagrammopes and set up a video camera, turn it on and then take my still camera and look. Well I could not find any Miagrammopes and suddenly it started pouring rain. We visited my favorite hawker center, had coffee and by 9, the rain stopped. When we returned, I found the Miagrammopes set up the video camera - and then looked for other interesting spider / insects.

Some water drops after the rain

Another drop

Two ants doing something

A Miagrammopes riding her single web strand that is attached to the grass stalk

Here she is, in her spider configuration, attaching the single web strand to the stalk of grass

Looking closely, you can see her eyes and the separation between her cephalothroax and abdomen

Here she is in her camouflage twig configuration

A good view of the single silk strand - which she rides until an insect collides with it

Another view of her patiently waiting. Note the silk ball about 1/3rd to the left of her front legs

Here she is increasing the tension of her strand by pulling in silk and making a silk ball. Her silk is call cribellar silk and consists of individual unorganized strands.

Here you can see a small tangle of silk held by her 2nd pair of front legs

No spider venture is complete without photos of my first encounter, Nephila

From the side

Here you can see her exoskeleton to the lower left - a remnant of a recent molt

Leucauge who weave horizontal webs

Interesting curved hairs near near the junction between her abdomen and cephalothorax

C. Frank Starmer

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