Bugs and Butterflies

[DougF]

Most excellent photos Cedars, ;)

 

I bet it took you a while to get those. :eek_big:

 

The last time I tried to get one it took me twenty min. just to get a look at him, then I hit the web too hard and he was gone never to be seen again. :eek2: :doh: :hihi:

[Ganoderma]

got a higher resolution photo of the eyes? nice looking spider! i too have a hard time photographing burrowing/funnel webs in the wild.....so time consuming. but honestly i usually take it out and photograph in a man made setup as i am mostly interested in ID and not as much as natural habitat (although they are the best shots!)

[Cedars]

Most excellent photos Cedars, ;)

 

I bet it took you a while to get those. :eek_big:

 

The last time I tried to get one it took me twenty min. just to get a look at him, then I hit the web too hard and he was gone never to be seen again. :eek2: :doh: :hihi:

 

I would say 20 minutes at a minimum messing around with this guy. The web position made it extra difficult. If I crouched I was too low and if I stood upright I was too high. There was alot of strain on my leg muscles.

 

I frightened this one deep into his tunnel once by repositioning my feet and snapping a twig on the ground. Weird thing was it seemed either the camera noise itself or the flashing attracted him/her. And then the cricket/grasshopper moved a bit and brought it back to the front and allowed me more shots.

 

There were alot of these webs in the cottonwoods, but once I began with this guy I just kept on. I might have done better finding another web facing the morning sun or waiting until later in the day.

[Cedars]

got a higher resolution photo of the eyes? nice looking spider! i too have a hard time photographing burrowing/funnel webs in the wild.....so time consuming. but honestly i usually take it out and photograph in a man made setup as i am mostly interested in ID and not as much as natural habitat (although they are the best shots!)

 

I looked thru my shots again and experimented a bit zooming in on some of the better ones. I cant get a good clear shot of the eyes, they begin to loose their clarity too much.

 

I am interested in your man made setup. I have wanted something like that several trips, for all kinds of bugs including the butterflies. What do you use? How mobile is it?

 

The attached photo is of a spiderweb. The spider came out at dark and was big, about the size of a quarter. The web is between two trees and around 16 inches across. I saw the web while unloading the canoe and took care not to disturb it. The spider was gorgous, but the best pic I have of it is still blurry. I had planned to search for it in the morn, it was hiding somewhere in the bark of one of the trees it was attached to, but morning came and the web was gone. I dont know if a bat got it, a migrating warbler, or what. It never appeared again.

 

Edit: Looking at bugguide, I would say this spider is the closest match to what I saw, but I do not remember the abdomen being yellow. I remember it as white with pattern, so it might be the second link.

 

Link one:

Species Araneus marmoreus - Marbled Orb Weaver -

 

Link two:

Species Neoscona oaxacensis -

[Cedars]

I was reading a book and saw some movement out of the corner of my eye. There was a very healthy Harvestman spider (Daddy Long Legs) who had caught a bug. The thing about this I found interesting (and had never seen before) was this prey was buried in the sand and the harvestman had found it. I watched as the Harvestman spider stretched up as high as it could trying to pull the bug out of the sand. He couldnt pull it out so he ate it there to the ground. He repositioned himself several times, I assume to get all of the insect that he could.

 

So now I wonder about the behaviors I have seen in the past where they bob up and down touching themselves to the ground being a hunting activity and not some type of territorial movement as I thought in the past.

 

More on the Harvestman:

Order Opiliones - Harvestmen - BugGuide.Net

[C1ay]

I was reading a book and saw some movement out of the corner of my eye. There was a very healthy Harvestman spider (Daddy Long Legs) who had caught a bug.

 

Small nitpick. The common Harvestman is actually of the order named Opiliones and not a true spider even though it is an arachnid. All true spiders have two body parts, the cephalothorax and the opisthosoma. Harvestmen do not have this division. Spiders have fangs, harvestmen do not. Harvestmen do not produce silk either. See the FAQ on Opiliones for more info. FWIW, there is also a spider family, Pholcidae, that are sometimes called daddy long legs spiders but they are not Harvestmen.

[Cedars]

Small nitpick. The common Harvestman is actually of the order named Opiliones and not a true spider even though it is an arachnid. All true spiders have two body parts, the cephalothorax and the opisthosoma. Harvestmen do not have this division. Spiders have fangs, harvestmen do not. Harvestmen do not produce silk either. See the FAQ on Opiliones for more info. FWIW, there is also a spider family, Pholcidae, that are sometimes called daddy long legs spiders but they are not Harvestmen.

 

Your points are correct. The FAQ link you posted is very informative.

[Cedars]

I received word today that a Dainty Sulphur butterfly (Nathalis iole) was approved for the Minnesota Butterfly list for the county I photographed it in. This was a photo I took on my canoe trip. These bad boys were very difficult to shoot and the person who approves MN sighting complimented my patience in this endeavor. I have seen these guys several times this summer and was unable to capture the moment. This day there were many of these guys flitting by on the bank of the river. I think I spent about an hour in this spot to get these photos.

 

Species Detail | Butterflies and Moths of North America

 

I also captured a shot of a Common Buckeye on the Wisconsin side of the river that was approved for that county. I have posted a pic of this butterfly before and its listed in my images if you want to view it.

[Ganoderma]

nice job, must be proud!

 

i use plastic 5 gallon paint buckets. i cut maybe 1/3-1/4 around and down to about 4"from the bottom. i also leave a couple inches at the top so i can put the lid on for dark shots. in the past i have glued various things around the inside (ie bark) just to give a background other than white. then i decorate it in the field so that it at least sort of represents its real habitat.

[Cedars]

nice job, must be proud!

 

i use plastic 5 gallon paint buckets. i cut maybe 1/3-1/4 around and down to about 4"from the bottom. i also leave a couple inches at the top so i can put the lid on for dark shots. in the past i have glued various things around the inside (ie bark) just to give a background other than white. then i decorate it in the field so that it at least sort of represents its real habitat.

 

I have enjoyed participating in the butterfly reports. You dont have to submit the information with an image, a simple sighting report works as well. I choose to use the photo because I am not an expert and this confirms it beyond a doubt. I have mis-ID the Dun Skipper for two different submissions. Some of the Skippers are very difficult to ID.

 

Next year, for those types I am absolutely sure of, I will submit a basic statement of sighting.

 

The bucket idea is a good one. I am thinking that by cutting out a piece on the side and glueing it over with a bit of screen, one could prompt the bug to that side giving you more opportunity to get a good shot of the top side. Maybe a center piece of glass or something clear to give a belly shot when needed. Or a slide out so you could alternate the cut out between screen and glass. Plexiglass maybe that one could heat and curve for a tighter fit....

 

You have given me something to ponder. Thanks!!

[Turtle]

this garden spider is guarding my tomatoes. :)

 

YouTube - spider http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzuOFY9FtnI

[Buffy]

this garden spider is guarding my tomatoes. :)

Is a spider a bug? Or is "bug" both Insectae and Arachnae?

 

Hates all of them anyway,

Buffy

[Cedars]

this garden spider is guarding my tomatoes. :)

 

 

Looks like a very well fed spider. Have you tried tossing some flys into the web and filming that?

 

Do the spider legs have little hairs on them? Yeah, I am asking you to look :hyper:

[Turtle]

Is a spider a bug? Or is "bug" both Insectae and Arachnae?

 

Hates all of them anyway,

Buffy

 

i presumed a spider was a bug, but when you pressed me i had to research further. :) :D by this source, yes, a spider is a bug.

Noun 1. bug - general term for any insect or similar creeping or crawling invertebrate.

bug - definition of bug by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

 

my impression of bugs varies by circumstance.

 

Looks like a very well fed spider. Have you tried tossing some flys into the web and filming that?

 

Do the spider legs have little hairs on them? Yeah, I am asking you to look. :edevil:

 

i went to check. no hairs i could see (yet); i broke a main web anchor trying to get close. however, in the interviening time from my posting the video, the spider had caught & wrapped 2 yellow-jackets and either a third or a honey bee. again, i disturbed the spider & web trying to get a close shot. i'll check again tomorrow. tricky getting everything to go right eh!?? the good part is i got a new camera as a birthday gift & i can get back to business. :hyper: :)

[Cedars]

i went to check. no hairs i could see (yet); i broke a main web anchor trying to get close. :) however, in the interviening time from my posting the video, the spider had caught & wrapped 2 yellow-jackets and either a third or a honey bee. again, i disturbed the spider & web trying to get a close shot. i'll check again tomorrow. tricky getting everything to go right eh!?? the good part is i got a new camera as a birthday gift & i can get back to business. :hyper: :)

 

So how many birthdays a year do you have??

 

A spider wrapping up yellow jackets... Thats pretty impressive. I have seen other spiders cut the web to release those guys rather than take a chance of getting stung.

 

I asked about the leg hairs because one of the posts I read in bug guide said that was one way (probably not foolproof) of determining whether its a type of orb weaver (hairy) or house spider (not hairy).

 

I bet Gandomera will have a clue or two on this aspect.

 

Hairy leg sample pic:

Female Orb Weaver, Sunnyvale, CA - Araneus diadematus - BugGuide.Net

[Ganoderma]

i have used a thin clear plastic to cover the hole with very fast species....i tried screen but it distorts the photo too much (so does the plastic).

 

 

bugs are not insects or arachnids. they are the order Hemiptera. things like tree hoppers, assassin bugs, aphids, plant lice, scales and stuff. seems mostly sucking type stuff.

 

but in an everyday conversation i have heard people call centipedes, insects, arachnids, crustaceans, even snails bugs. i just went to a "bug" museum and have some bag pics of pinned stuff...some cool ones.

 

here are some live ones.

 

[Turtle]

So how many birthdays a year do you have??

everytime i wake up not dead is my birthday. counting naps, somewhere around 666 per year. :eek: :thumbs_up

 

A spider wrapping up yellow jackets... Thats pretty impressive. I have seen other spiders cut the web to release those guys rather than take a chance of getting stung.

 

I asked about the leg hairs because one of the posts I read in bug guide said that was one way (probably not foolproof) of determining whether its a type of orb weaver (hairy) or house spider (not hairy).

 

Hairy leg sample pic:

Female Orb Weaver, Sunnyvale, CA - Araneus diadematus - BugGuide.Net

 

i think your ID is spot on for Orb Weaver. while just photographing the old girls hairy legs while she hides under a leaf waiting for breakfast (could this be a French spider? :)), another yellow jacket hit the web, struggled a while, then broke free. here's the photograph of the hairy gams.