Sunday, December 19, 2010

Back Yard Spider Update

Been a while since I wrote about the back yard spiders. This is partly because cold weather and rain have kept me from going out into the yard with my light and camera in search of spiders (This is one of many reasons I am not a Proper Naturalist. Proper Naturalists would go out anyway, even if they had to grow a third arm in order to hold the umbrella above the camera while angling the light).

Also, it is because the cold weather and the rain have discouraged the spiders, too. The big Neoscona have all vanished. Dead? Fled elsewhere? Cowering under things? Probably the first.

I haven't seen Little Brown and company in ages. I don't know if they moved out of the tree one night when I wasn't watching, or if they're still there and I've lost track of them (They always were hard to spot), or if they were eaten by one or the other of the house sparrows and finches that come by all the time.

Fence Spider vanished three days ago, which makes me sad. I was fond of Fence Spider. I wonder if anyone else will move into the spot?

And the house spider I was watching has vanished. Her egg sacs were still there for a couple of days, then they fell further down, and then vanished. Again, I don't know if that means they were eaten or if they've fallen behind the worm bin and will still hatch. She, I think, must be dead because otherwise, they'd still be fastened to the fence and she'd still be spending most of her time curled around one or the other.

Still present, Dark Legs has still been respinning her web each night. I think I spotted Light Legs recently as well, so the two may be enjoying marital bliss.

There are still plenty of other zygiella x-notatas out there, as well. Maybe the fence gives some extra warmth?

Oh, and we're not short of brown widows, either. The day we're short of brown widows, I'll think the world is ending.

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