Photo Adventures with Curiosity and Learning

Where there are Nephila then there must be Argyrodes and I was not disappointed. Walking back from McDonald's, you walk over a small bridge and above it was a large Nephila web. I came back 3 hours later and the bottom portion was destroyed - but she was still there. This is my first encounter with Nephila antipodiana. Matjaz identified it for me - by the distinctive thoracic tubercles, not seen in N. pilipes. You can see the projections of the thoracic tubercles here

And a near by Argyrodes flavescens doing her harvesting

I planted one leg of my tripod and she left her web to hide under a blade of grass

Here eyes

Hiding some more and pointed in the other direction

Some sort of interesting hopper

Here is another smaller N. antipodiana with a web close to the ground

C. Frank Starmer

-