In the Low Country, each spring announces the birth of many new creatures
including spiders. Among the easiest to
find are the banana spider
(Nehpila clavipes) and the
barn spider (Araneus cavaticus).
They build their webs in and between bushes and trees. Banana spiders build
webs with the strongest silk in the world (stonger than kevlar) and their webs
are present all the time. Barn spiders, though, build their webs in the early
evening and destroy them in the early morning and return to their hiding place
(usually in a curled leaf).
First, some fun - I have been exploring how to transform an image into a digital sketch. Here is an interesting result. About Lizards I did a google search on lizard pouch and found a reference to green anole lizard. I then did a search for green anole lizard and found this very interesting discussion about the Green Anole Anolis carolinensis lizard. There is even a photo showing the pouch - which is really called a dewlap. What is the purpose of the dewlap? May 12, 2005 This lizard (Herman) changes colors Here is he? - hiding in the vines and then looking around a bit Look at this little guy - and his big red pouch called a dewlap Look at this little guy - how he has changed color to approximate that of the rust-red tin roof. Here he is climbing - and showing off his dewlap - does he make sounds with this pouch, like a frog? On the left - the dewlap is hidden (i.e. not extended) while on the right the pouch is fully extended pouch. Here is a partially and fully extended dewlap (pouch) And retracting my dewlap May 11, 2005 And this little guy, resting on a brick and changing color the approximate that of the brick Changing colors - The interval between photos is about 30 seconds
May 15, 2005: another kind of lizard Climbing Sunning and hunting May 22, 2005 In our garden As usual, after midafternoon, lizards began to appear. First some almost black ones that I think are female Green Anoles. And of course, our friendly male green anole And his dewlap and a bit of acrobatics on our fence
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C. Frank Starmer