Here's one that's not afraid to get its feet wet! In fact this one can completely submerge itself, with its body encased in a bubble of air, and even grab a meal under there, such as an aquatic insect nymph........ or a small fish! When frightened it can run across the surface of the water with astonishing speed!
A FATAL ENCOUNTER
One morning as I was leaving the house to go to work, this scene awaited me when I stepped out onto the porch, so I grabbed the camera! In this picture you'll see both a winner...... and the loser!
As large as it is beautiful! The Golden Silk spider spins a really HUGE web of yellow silk, and I wouldn't be surprised if the web doesn't catch small birds! In this picture the small spider here is the male, and here's a web-fact: Did you know that with any of the circular "orb" webs, the webbing that extends out from the center, much like the spokes on a wheel, are of regular web material, but the webbing that goes AROUND the web (in a circular pattern) is sticky like glue? This is how the web catches prey, and the spider is designed to avoid these when running across the web, so it doesn't become ensnared in its own trap. Pretty cool!
Unlike an orb-weaver as shown above, this species goes along the ground in search of crickets, grasshoppers, etc, much in the same way as a mammal stocks its prey, and rushing to pounce upon its next meal in a lightning-fast moment! Also the orb-weavers hang their egg-sac nearby the web, while most of these carry their eggs with them until after they hatch.
Also here you can see the eyes, and did you know that spiders have eight eyes? Each set of eyes has a different function, such as stereo motion, distance, light conditions, and perhaps color?? Most of their senses though are TOUCH, courtesy of the tiny hairs that cover their legs and bodies, while the orb-weavers are designed to detect motion in the web (such as if an insect flies into it!), then going in to investigate! Once the victim is found, the orb-weavers immediately start to produce a really huge amount of web, and using the back feet they immediately wrap it up, much like wrapping spaghetti around a fork before finally biting it, thus paralyzing it, and storing it until needed!
|
|
| |
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||