Monday, July 18, 2011

Macro Monday



The other day while in the woods, I saw a spider unlike any I had ever noticed before. I took some pictures. (I know that is shocking!) I then walked about ten feet and found another of the same kind!




Spider photos follow!




























These female Spined Mucrathena Spiders (Micratthena gracilis) were easy to identify because nothing else looks anything like them.

Only the females have the black and white spines. I saw the male on the web of the first spider, but he was so small and non-descript, I couldn't get the camera to focus on him.

Even the females were less than half an inch long.
The spines are supposed to both act as camouflage and
make them look unappetizing.

The web was perfectly round. Click to enlarge to actually see the web.


I'm linking to Macro Monday at Lisa's Chaos.
Stop by and see what macros you can see today!
-Susan




7 comments:

  1. the sparkly bokeh of the first photo is really striking! i like how you give warnings of spider photos... ha!

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  2. Thanks! I know not everyone loves spiders (or snakes) as much as I do!

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  3. I can't say I'm in LOVE with spiders, but they are interesting creatures! This gal is definitely strange looking. Thanks for sharing! =)

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  4. Such fascinating spiders and what an amazing web you captured!!

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  5. Okay, that is the craziest looking spider I have ever seen. The web is incredible. And the bokeh you captured in the first shot is just delicious!

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  6. I probably shouldn't have scrolled down. Great macro.

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  7. I love his awesomely bumpy, spiking, butt! lol

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