Arachnids/Spiders

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Spring Spiderlings

May 30, 2011 Arachnids/Spiders

I saw what looked like a clump of mud sticking to the wall outside my kitchen window. It looked, at first, like the remnant of a Cliff Swallow nest . . . the muddy scars I saw frequently in the Bay Area — the artifacts of their once viable mud mortar homes. But some part [...]

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Must … Re … Build

September 30, 2010 Arachnids/Spiders

When you consider that a wave of a hand, a cloud burst, a wing swooping through the maze of silk can destroy hours of labor, it’s inspirational watching pure pragmatism rule the day …

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Silks

June 1, 2010 Arachnids/Spiders

A noiseless, patient spider,
I mark’d, where on a little promontory it stood isolated;
Mark’d how, to explore the vacant, vast surrounding,
It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament out of itself;

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A Jumper

April 26, 2010 Arachnids/Spiders

This Red-Backed Jumping Spider was in “I’m outta here” mode before my lens even moved in.

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The Silky Wonders of Wunderlich

August 16, 2009 Arachnids/Spiders

Picking up from my previous post — about the rare and elusive Linyphia Vaudvillea … here are a few additional spider (Araneae) observations from our walk at Wunderlich Park in Woodside. I’ve perused countless field guides and websites on California spiders but am still unable to identify the aforementioned species. Other spiders and webs are [...]

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Puttin’ on the Ritz . . . Spider Style

August 13, 2009 Arachnids/Spiders

I didn’t actually see the Vaudevillian face as I shot the spider image (below). Hugh and I were wandering through Wunderlich Park in Woodside (California), impressed by the miles of spider silk, strung like hammocks over the forest. Some were laid in sheets, some were funnel webs. (I’ll write a bit more on the landscape [...]

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The Short Story of the California Red-Backed Jumping Spider

May 11, 2009 Arachnids/Spiders

Phidippus johnsoni – Red-Backed Jumping Spider Edited to add (7/11/11): Thanks to a couple of knowledgeable and generous commenters (below) the positive ID on this jumping spider is “Ms.” ——————— I found this little Mr. (or Ms.) on the kitchen ceiling a few days ago. Before I could grab my telephoto to see precisely what [...]

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