Have a great Friday everyone!! :D
Long-horned Orb-weaver Spider (Macracantha arcuata, Araneidae)
by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr.
Pu'er, Yunnan, China
See more Chinese spiders and arachnids on my Flickr site HERE…..
Found this pretty girl outside my work in Lincoln, NE.
AS: it’s an orb weaver, may be a barn or cat faced spider but can’t get more specific since this is the underside of the spider :)
Jürgen Otto can’t stop discovering new spider species. In 2005, the mite expert stumbled upon the stunning Maratus volans - a brightly colored “peacock spider” – near Sydney, Australia. It danced and postured, waving its tiny legs and unfurling a beautiful flap from its back.
Then came other peacock spiders, including species known as Sparklemuffin, Skeletorus, and Elephans. Now Otto has described a new species - the peekaboo spider, Jortus remus. The remus part of its scientific name means “oar” - a nod to the odd fan shaped structures at the end of two of the males’ legs. When males wave these appendages, females stop and take notice … and then it’s mating time.
You can watch the full videos of these beautiful species here and here.
And read more about them at National Geographic.
Salticidae > Simaethula sp by mj_stevo on Flickr.
Check out the colors on this little one!
OH COME ON
Peekaboo!
This little spider is living inside a lerp made by a psyllid (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) of the genus Lasiopsylla. If you look closely you can see the ‘weave’ of the lerp; that is the woven strands of plant-based exudate used by the psyllid (not the spider) to build a house in which to live.
Sometimes when you build a house you need to be able to defend it. Perhaps the spider found its was into the lerp and consumed the inhabitat/s. Alternatively, the spider found a lerp that had been already vacated by parasites - like wasps - who’d already consumed the psyllids. The wasps leave distinctive exit holes in the lerps which act as convenient entries for others.
A ready made house perhaps with plenty of takeaway nearby.
One of the Many Little House-Sitting Things!
TOP TEN BEST ANIMAL MIMICRY
1. Leaf-tailed gecko
2. Rockfish
3. Trying to figure out what it’s supposed to be mimicking? You’ll find out everything you need to know from its name: the bird-dropping spider.
4. Buff-tip moth
5. Hawk moth caterpillar. Yes, that’s a caterpillar, not a snake.
6. Orchid mantis
7. Bargibanti’s pygmy seahorse
8. Indian leaf butterfly
9. Boulenger’s giant tree frog
10. Thought it was an ant, didn’t you? Well, you’re wrong. It’s an ant-mimicking spider.
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