Beautiful Orb Weaver

I was out trimming and tidying yesterday and saw a beautiful orb weaver resting against one of the sage stems. She was there again this evening, so I was able to get a couple of pictures of her on the web as well. One of the things I find fascinating is that, though she is beautiful and brightly colored, she also blends in quite well; if I hadn't been kneeling at just that angle, she'd have just looked like another seed pod and leaf combination.

I have a question about her on bugguide; I'm guessing a Neoscona. Maybe an arabesca? But that's where I *really* stop knowing what to look for. Anyway, she is beautiful.

Argiope argentata

It's been a while! I think these are Argiope argentata.

And the animal living at the highest altitude?

A spider, of course!

Specifically, the Himalayan Jumping Spider.

Watch The Himalayan Jumping Spider on PBS. See more from Nature.

Creepy-Crawlie Embroidery (link)

The Mary Sue had an article on Catherine Roselle's beautifully creepy embroidery--complete with spiders and (shudder) centipedes. It's amazing. 

Also check here to see her blog and more pics (I've linked to the Insectomanie gallery). The blog is in French, but the pictures will work in any language..

The Bio-Inspired Octopod Robot (which just happens to look a lot like a spider)

Truly the stuff dreams are made of! Or nightmares. Fond as I am of spiders, I'm not sure which: I think it's that single camera eye.

Newly Discovered Giant Tarantula in Sri Lanka

A new tarantula, the Poecilotheria rajaei., has been found and named, 

The Poecilotheria part is because of the genus, Poecilotheria, or tiger spiders. The "rajaei" part is in honor of a local policeman who helped them in their hunt. (I wonder if he feels honored).

It's big, as in 8 inches (including the legs, which I think one should). How did it stay undiscovered for so long? It's also kind of pretty.

Oh, and lacking old growth forest to live in, it's deciding houses, or at least "old buildings," might make adequate substitutes.

Watch it crawl here.

Both posts on Wired

Brazilian sky-spiders

Turns out they probably weren't raining from the sky. They were probably a large colony of spiders who were just living in the sky. So somewhere in Brazil, there is a great, big colony of social spiders, maybe Parawixia bistriata, roofing the neighborhood.