Photo Adventures with Curiosity and Learning

Tetragnatha

Tetragnatha - note two rows of 4 eyes - in contrast to jumping spiders that have two prominent anterior median eyes, two anterior lateral eyes above the median eyes, two posterior lateral eyes and two small small eyes behind the anterior lateral eyes

Lyssomanes viridis dark eye because his left (this is a male) eye is looking at the camera lens. Behind the left eye is a dark region that I think is the retina associated with the left eye

Another Tetragnatha

A midge with some sort of mite toward the posterior aspect of her abdomen

Tetragnatha captures a small insect

Blue winged something

Blue winged something

My home lab setup - a small peanut jar from Edelweiss Airlines used as a specimen container - with the male Lyssomanes viridis on top and a collection of grape, sweet bay magnolia and live oak leaves

A video of the his behavior - here cleaning his fangs - while scanning the surroundings with his Anterior Median Eyes - watch the multi tasking -as his retinas move

At first I though the fangs (attached to his hug jaws) were embolus injectors for injecting sperm into the female - but realized these were his fangs for injecting toxin into his prey

More multi tasking cleaning front legs and fangs - while scanning with his anterior median eyes for possible prey

Still image of fang cleaning - note the location of the retina in his left eye

More fang cleaning and note the location of the retina in his right eye

A closer view

A video of retinal movement

A better video of internal retinal movement

A sequence of images showing variability in anterior median eye lens color (dark = visible retina, green = internal retina pointed away from the camera

Looking from below

Both lenses dark

Close view of right lens and right internal retina. Also seen is one of the tiny eyes above and between the lateral anterior and posterior eyes

One eye looking at me

Meet the male Lyssomanes viridis

His is on top of my collection tube

C. Frank Starmer

-