Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: orbweaver

6 more pictures and several notes above! :D Back in the middle of July, I was delighted to find a very special spider in a web right next to our porch outside our house. I really love Black & Yellow Orb-Weavers and, as they are so hard for me to find, I was ecstatic that this one decided to make her web so close by! I had a naming contest and with the three winning names, I christened her Portia Odessa Goldbottom. Through the rest of July and all of August, Portia got bigger and bigger, and slowly, her body size increased and she started to look quite round when September rolled around. However, two days ago I was dismayed to discover that Portia was gone. :( :( She was probably full of eggs and it was time to make her egg sac as her last task before she died. :( :( I knew she would be dying soon, but I am sad because I'd planned to take more pictures of her. However, I did take a few pictures a few days ago, and looking at them again today, I feel a lot better because they are nice enough to show for her last pictures. Thinking about a proper memorial image, I decided to take a picture of the most distinctive part of her web, a web decoration, called a stabilimentum, that is only made by some orbweavers. Before I took the picture, I sprayed water all over the remaining strands of her web, and initially, I didn't even see the zig-zag webbing. Sprayed with droplets of water, it suddenly appeared and I took some pictures. The reasoning for these odd web strands is not clearly understood, but two theories include making the web more visable so that birds won't fly into it. The other theory is based on the fact that webs reflect ultraviolet light, which attract certain insects, and it is thought that the concentrations of webbing attracts insects more strongly. If you'd like to know more about these interesting web decorations, Wiki has a great page here: Web Decorations Robert Breault (born 1963) is an American operatic tenor. Born in Michigan, he holds a B.M. degree (magna cum laude) from St. Norbert College (1985) from which he received a distinguished alumni award in 1997. In addition, he holds a M.M. (1987), and a D.M.A. (1991) from the University of Michigan where he studied voice with soprano Lorna Haywood. His early training also included two years of study at the San Francisco Merola Opera Program, and an internship with Michigan Opera Theatre. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah where he teaches voice and serves as Director of Opera at the University of Utah School of Music. Wikipedia: Robert Brault Explored on September 10, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.

4 more pictures above in notes! Every single time Steve and I have paused to look at Portia, we have commented on how beautiful she is, and how extremely cool she looks. In this picture, Portia was about 3" in length from leg-to-leg tip. Not as large as I supposed she would get (5"), but still quite large and totally awesome! About Orb Weaving Spiders (From Wiki): The typical orb-weaver spiders (family Araneidae) are the most common group of builders of spiral wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields and forests. Their common name is taken from the round shape of this typical web, and the taxon was formerly also referred to as the Orbiculariae. Orb-weavers have eight similar eyes, hairy or spiny legs, and no stridulating organs. The Araneidae family is cosmopolitan, including many well-known large or brightly colored garden spiders. The 3,006 species in 168 genera worldwide make Araneidae the third-largest family of spiders known (behind Salticidae and Linyphiidae). The orb-weavers include over 10,000 species and make up about 25% of spider diversity. If you would like to know more about this beautiful species, Wiki has a great page here: Wikipedia: Argiope Aurantia

Isn't she beautiful? Such a lovely little face! From Wiki: The spider species Argiope aurantia is commonly known as the black and yellow garden spider, writing spider, or corn spider. It is common to the contiguous United States, Hawaii, southern Canada, Mexico, and Central America. They have distinctive yellow and black markings on their abdomens and a mostly white cephalothorax. The etymology of its name means "gilded silver-face". Males range from 5–9 mm (0.20–0.35 in) females from 19–28 mm (0.75–1.1 in). Like other members of Argiope they are considered harmless to humans.

I took a picture of our darling girl with a snack this morning, and I'm very happy to say that it appears that she'll be hanging around! It's been several days now and Portia has been catching lots of insects and her web is in a good place where it's not too windy but there's plenty of food sources coming by. I'm so happy, it will be such fun to watch her grow!! She's about 1" in size right now and I believe she'll grow to be 2" at least by the time she's full grown! In fact, if she's the same kind that I've seen in a web once years ago, she could have a diameter of 5" when full grown!! OH I HOPE SO!!! AWESOME!!!! (Just so we're CLEAR: it would NOT be awesome to have this spider crawling on me!!! But as long as she's in her web...AWESOME!!! :D :D :D)

3 pictures in notes above! :) I went outside this morning to water my garden and as I trotted down the few stairs from our porch, I glanced at the walls to see if there were any critters to investigate. I was looking at the wall where our Rhodedendron bush grows and suddenly I saw a shape that grabbed my attention...could it be?!! NO WAY!!! *Janet bounces up and down in excitement* A GOLDEN ORBWEAVER SPIDER!!!! AT THE HOUSE!!! YES!!!!!!! I am crazy about these spiders and yet I have had very little luck finding them on our property. I did find one two summers ago when I was using my point and shoot camera, but I have always wanted to take a picture with my new camera. Last year I looked and looked with no luck. This year, I've been searching but didn't find any either. But it appears that I have a new friend who's found ME!!! HOORAY!!! I'm hoping this spider will stay here for a while, and in case it does, I think it should have a NAME!! This is where YOU come in!! SPIDER NAMING CONTEST!!! (She's a girl!) Last September when I found my baby Cat-Faced Orbweaver spider on our porch, I had a naming contest! It was a lot of fun to choose Roscoe Frank McCrawlerson from everyone's names, and I thought I have another naming contest for this spider! (I found out that she is a female after asking at Bugguide.com!) If you have a nice name, put it in a comment, and after a few days I'll pick the winner! You can choose a name with one name or if you like, you can come up with a first, a middle, and a last name! However, it's possible that I might take just a part of that name for the winning name--let's find out! LET THE BEST NAME(S) WIN!!! William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 (baptised) – 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His extant works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, the authorship of some of which is uncertain. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Wikipedia: William Shakespeare Explored on July 22, 2012. Highest placement, page 2 (#44).

I am so excited about this picture! I absolutely LOVE these spiders (even though they scare me to death) but I had never seen one on our property before. I've been searching for them in our meadow all summer without luck. Yesterday, while my husband and I were picking blackberries, I looked around for any telltale webs, and to my surprise, LOOK AT WHO I FOUND! HOORAY!!!! This image was taken on my property in August, 2011.

WE HAVE WINNERS FOR THE SPIDER NAME CONTEST!!! Thank you all for your comments, favorites and to all of you who tossed a name (or more) into the hat! You guys really know how to make my day!! 19 people submitted entries: jofolo: Othello • Stephanie Calhoun: Odessa • JimbobEdsel: Hubert G. Glowerby • koaxial: Shelob • Nick Stewart: The Bard • Old Owl: Boris • Christina Port: The Golden Spinner • Levina de Ruijter: Daddy Long Legs • Dave Hilditch: Boris • tiabunna: Sir Walter • philanker2012: George Clooney • Angela Healey: George, Fred, Sarah • James E410: Incy Wincy • Trevor Grant: Fabulous Pharaoh • Cathlon: Octivia Goldbottom • Shuttering Yukon: Oh Gross (She is bad and evil and I am going to wish her into the corn field!) • Fran Wylie: Porsche, Camero • Pam J: Miss Rainbow Ballerina Silk Stockings of Briens-Manor • Deborah Lynn: Juliet The names I picked were "Porche", from Fran Wylie (which I changed the spelling to Portia), Odessa from Stephanie Calhoun, and Goldbottom from Cathlon! I also want to give a special honorable mention to Pam J for her extravagant and awesome "Miss Rainbow Ballerina Silk Stockings of Briens-Manor", and of course, a huge round of applause to all of you for the super names--it was REALLY HARD TO PICK and I loved them all!!!