Early and mature banana spiders (June and August 2005)
The brush bordering the Cooper River
is filled with Nephila clavipes
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A dancing banana spider
A gift from Susan and Steve. Steve
phoned one morning to announce that there was a beautiful banana spider
(Nephila clavipes) living in front of their office. So with
camera in hand, I caught a few episodes of web building and some video
of weaving and dancing.
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Starting a new spider season. This morning (April 21, 2005)
I found this
small (0.5 cm diameter) Neoscona arabesca in our garden, weaving her
web. Here you can see the silk being extruded from her spinneret.
Notice that she has much less hair than
Neoscona hentzi
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June 28, 2005:
Leucauge dromedaria A silver orb weaver. At Trevor
and Rachel's home, I found many interesting orb weavers and their
webs were almost horizontal.
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This young lady was living in the bushes around my father's home in Twin
Lakes. I have identified her as Agelenidae labyrinthica, and she builds
a 3d web that leads into a funnel region where she hides.
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Spiders, snails and lizards in southern France (June 2004)
Our visit to Cazedarns, France exposed us to French wildlife - spiders,
snails and lizards. Here are some interesting photos of an egg sac
and many baby spiders cluster for warmth in the early morning.
In addition, photos of a baby Araneus something, snails and
a few lizards.
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Florida Spiders (Mecynogea lemniscata) at Walden Lake, Plant City
Along the jogging path are many places where
curious eyes can locate spider webs. (May 2004)
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Masha, a spiny or jewel spider
(Gasteracantha cancriformis) She is only about 1 cm long, but her
colors and the 6 horns draw your attention to her weaving and her hunting.
(Summer 2003)
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Natasha, the golden silk spider
(Nephila clavipes) Natasha was my first spider
experience (Sept 2002) - and she demonstrated to me her weaving, her hunting and
her personality. Enjoy photos and videos. She even appeared on the
Discovery Channel
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Irina, my sister and her boy friend, Slava
(Nephila clavipes or banana spider). My
first encounter with males and their behavior (Summer 2003).
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Vadim and Natalia, love at first bite
(Nephila clavipes or banana spider or golden silk spider). Here, I was able to watch the dance between
a male, approaching he girlfriend while she is eating a tasty treat. Were
she not eating, then probably he was be dinner. (Summer 2003)
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Laura, Lumi and Anda: baby banana spiders Nephila clavipes
Here is their story:
I found her on May 23, 2004, with a very small web embedded in a large
bush in our garden. I hope she hangs around and we can watch her grow.
When you disturb her web - she oscillates very rapidly, from side to side
at about a 20 - 30 Hz rate. Fascinating!
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Sasha, another cousin, barn spider
(Neoscona hentzi or N. crucifera) Interesting
behavior: sleeps by day, hunts by night and very shy - a nocturnal
orb weaver. Nice night photos and video (Fall, 2003)
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Svetlana, my writing cousin
( Argiope aurantia or writing spider from Sandy's home.)
I remember many writing spiders when I was a kid growing up, but this is the
first one I've seen in a long time. Maybe next spring I'll find more.
(Fall, 2003)
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Salt water fish in a fresh water spring
Driving from Charleston to Plant City Florida, we can take the fast road,
I95, or the scenic road (19 and 33). I like 19 - because it goes through
Ocala National Forest where Silver Glen Spring provides great photo ops
for underwater creatures.
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Larissa, the orchard orb weaver(Leucauge venusta ). This young lady was living in a small bush but was oriented in a way that
it was difficult to photograph. (Fall, 2003)
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Snorkeling around Marathon in the Florida Keys
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Underwater photographs (A red lipped blenny - the snorkeling at
the Coral Princess Hotel in Cozumel is probably the best in the world)
(Sept 2003)
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Snorkeling at La Boquita, Palma Real,
Manzanillo, Mexico
Here, I found reasonably clear water near the Palma Real where I could explore
both the local underwater life (a very interesting octopus) and also how
to better make adjustments for distorted color balance associated with
underwater photos.
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Exploring Suchitlan with Igor and Oxana
Here is a green grasshopper.
Both Igor and I enjoy watching insects including spiders, and found each
other via Google and my spider web pages. For Labor Day week, we decided
to explore Manzanillo, Colima and Guanajuato. We were not disappointed.
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Igor, the friendly grasshopper
(Romalea guttata). A pleasant fellow, who cannot
fly, so that he can only sit and endure my photo sessions.
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Crabs and a Manatee near Weeki Wachee, Florida
We took Jay's john boat out into the shallows of the Gulf of Mexico near
Weeki Wachee - and found crabs galore. (May 2004)
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Butterflies, fish, snakes, turtles
(A collections of odds and ends - from the US and Mexico.) (March 2003)
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Visit Herman, a green lizard from our garden -
later identified via Google as a
Green Anole Anolis carolinensis. We frequenly see him when eating dinner in our garden
and I have been able to catch this little guy changing colors.
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Fireworks from MUSC - learning about long timed exposures from the
top of the MUSC campus
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Birth and development of a new colony of Nephila clavipes
Here is the story from Gene and his wife about their discovery and photo
essay of the early stages of life for Nephila clavipes, our
banana spider. (March 2004)
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Wildlife around Walden Lake Exploring wildlife around Walden Lake
in Plant City - near my mother-in-law's home. Early morning and late
evening are great times to simply wander around.
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