Eight-legged mama
Normally, I don’t have much luck photographing spiders, but at this time of the year, when cooler temps are moving in, I have gotten a few nice shots, especially of wolf spiders, the terrible hunters of the forest floor.
We saw this beauty in the mown area atop the dam. It’s sudden movement is what allowed me to see it at all, but then it paused at the edge of the taller grass and let me take this portrait.
That is an egg sack the spider has affixed to her spinnerets. This is common among wolf spiders, and I understand it doesn’t slow down their hunting at all. Unlike web spinners, these spiders catch prey by being swift or by ambushing. Carrying a sack of eggs while doing so is apparently not a problem.
When the eggs hatch, the tiny spiders will crawl up to their mother’s abdomen where they will remain for a time.
It be Talk Like a Pirate Day!
Missouri calendar:
- Tree, rough-winged and barn swallows stage in large flocks.
September 19th, 2009 at 7:53 am
Wolf spiders totally freak me out! Their speed is what really freaks me out. I have one that likes to camp out on my sidewalk under the garage light at night, and sometimes get them in my front entry. Ugh!
I’ve often told people that you know a spider is big when it jumps off the wall and hits the floor, and you hear the feet ticking across the floor as it runs across the linoleum. True story!
September 19th, 2009 at 9:09 am
Great shot, pablo. Love seeing that egg sac.
September 19th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Arg! (That’s my pirate talk.)
September 19th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Beautiful picture… I haven’t seen one with the eggs like that.