The BugLady is literally surrounded by Cross Orbweavers (Araneus diadematus). Egg cases were attached to the house and porch last fall, and masses of spiderlings emerged in early summer; she often has to break through a web to get out the door. In her research, the BugLady has seen this group labeled as orbweavers, orb-weavers, and orb weavers, even within the scientific community; she’ll use “orbweavers” because it annoys Spellcheck).
OK – it’s September, but the bug season isn’t over yet. Outside of wetlands, if there’s anything better than a walk on the prairie, surrounded by Big Bluestem grass, with big Common Green Darners and Black Saddlebags dragonflies overhead, the BugLady hasn’t found it yet. Here is another batch of summer images, mostly from prairies.
The BugLady is spending as much time as she can in the field (and the rest of it editing pictures) because, you know, the Summer Solstice has passed, and a little wave of warblers moved through her yard the other day, and winter is coming. Many of these beauties have already starred in their own BOTW. In a nutshell – there’s a whole lot of romance in the air.
This is the second of an occasional series begun last week with house spiders, and (belatedly) titled “Speed-dating the Spiders.” In this weeks Bug of the Week, the BugLady is looking at Ghost Spiders, nocturnal spiders that have a pale appearance. There are 500 different species globally, but only 37 in North America.
“House spider” is, of course, a name that’s applied to lots of different species in lots of different countries. Today, The BugLady takes a look at the Parasteatoda tepidariorum, or the Common House Spider. Because they hang around human habitation, they are the most encountered spider by people in North America.
Ever since the BugLady started her “Bugs in the News” sub-series, alert BugFans have been sending links to articles they’ve come across. Thanks, BugFans! Alas, to view a few of these, you have to wade through some ad content.
This holiday rerun from 2011 was inspired by an amazing flight of spiders that the BugLady witnessed at Horicon Marsh in Central Wisconsin.
The goldenrods in the BugLady’s field are exuberant, with new, brilliant yellow flowers opening daily. Goldenrod blooms late, produces a bonanza of pollen (there’s not much nectar there), and is the embodiment of the insect enthusiast’s credo—“Looking for insects? Check the flowers.”
What do Jumping Spiders and cats have in common? Apart from being adorably fuzzy, they are also both enraptured by laser pointers! The reason being Jumping Spiders’ powerful and rather unique eyes which can even see the moon. Not bad for something whose eyes are less than a millimeter large.
If the first rule of looking for insects is “check the flowers,” then wild geraniums(Geranium maculatum) are the flower to watch right now. Insects perceive UV light differently than we do, and the transparent veins that lead them across the petals to the payload at the center of the flower (they’re called “nectar guides”) are far more conspicuous to them.