Since moving to Florida, I’ve had the opportunity to see some pretty enormous spiders. Golden-silk Orbweavers and Black and Yellow Argiopes are pretty large, and they’re spectacular-looking as well. Of course, not all our spiders are huge. But whenever I have the chance to get close enough to them for photographs, I’m always struck by […]
Tag: spider
New to nature No 107: Typhochlaena costae
There is a story, perhaps apocryphal, that Harvard professor and mycologist Roland Thaxter once gave a public lecture on the Laboulbeniales, an enigmatic group of fungi that grow on the integument of insects. A woman in the audience is said to have asked: “Professor Thaxter, this is all interesting, but of what value is it […]
Male Spiders Self-Sacrifice, Lose Genitals
If you think you have relationship problems, consider the male dark fishing spider, whose partner mutilates his genitalia and then eats him after mating. The male willingly sacrifices himself to ensure the health of his offspring,according to a study published recently in Biology Letters. The practice is called monogyny, and it’s relatively common among arachnids, […]
Butterflies, Bugs and other Insects
Weather dominates the lives of all living things and changing weather patterns have an effect on the life cycles of most species on the planet. We talk about the weather all the time and European weather, if not global weather are going through changes. In south-west Spain we are feeling and experiencing unsettled and abnormal […]
Canyon Wrens!
It’s been a bit of a bullshit week for a few different reasons, so I’m in the mood for something cute. I mean, I am generally always in the mood for something cute, but right now especially. So I’ll share these ridiculously adorable canyon wrens with you. They fledged a couple days later (5 of […]
Twig-Mimic Caterpillar
I was walking on the path that circles Pakim Pond in the Brendan T. Byrne State Forest in New Jersey last week. I walked into a gossamer thread that I thought was a spider web. I turned out to be a caterpillar’s silken support line. I looked down and saw a “twig” sticking out of […]
Canon’s Best Macro Lens for Nature Photography: Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L
It may surprise you that I believe Canon’s 180mm macro lens to be the best macro lens for nature photography. After all, a few years ago, Canon released a new macro lens, the EF 100mm f/2.8L. It’s smaller, lighter, cheaper, auto-focuses faster, has a wider maximum aperture, and it even sports a new hybrid form […]
Spiney Orb Weaver Spider
Spiney Orb Weaver Spider (Gasteracantha canciformis). Found here in Florida most often around citrus trees….both in groves and suburban yards. Known locally as the “crab spider”due to their crablike carapace, they belong to the family of orb weavers, Arneidae, and are quite harmless. The Spiney Orb Weaver spins a large and strong web (like the […]
