Photo Adventures with Curiosity and Learning

On my way to my spider observatory, I pass several young (i.e. < 1 year old) banana trees. About 10 days ago, one small tree started to make bananas. This was my first experience with watching how a banana tree makes bananas. It appears that there is a flower that starts a small cluster, then the core grows a bit and another flower appears that becomes another cluster of bananas. I wonder how the banana tree knows when to stop extending the banana stalk, making flowers and more bananas? Now look at the crop

Found an early morning Neoscona that has not collapsed her web yet and gone to sleep

Then a big surprise - this looked like a twig. It is some flavor of Miagrammopes and I'm trying to learn how she captures prey.

Lots of different positions. You can see her palps and the hint of legs. There is only a single strand of silk that she uses to capture her dinner

Here the palps are clearer. They look like little disks because of the angle of the photo - but later you'll see they are real palps

Though not great focus - you can see some of her legs

Here two back legs

Behind the pale colored palps, you can see two tiny eyes in her cephalothroax. Look closely on the side above her palps. The little white hairs are called trichobothria along her femurs, and detect air vibration.

The trichobothria are easily seen there along th top .

Here is the best view of the trichobothria. Look along her top and you can see tiny curved white somethings - my initial name for the trichobothria..

Better seen here. Also her front legs are more prominant

Looking from below - her two eyes are easy to identify. It appears that the blob between her palps is breakfast

Another look from below. Not great focus but ...

And a young Nephila

Another view

C. Frank Starmer

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