Argiope argentata

An Argiope Argentata posing beautifully at Bolsa Chica. Look at that lovely silver tracing.

Wolf Spider

 

I went to Bolsa Chica Thursday and saw the sand move. After a bit of hunting and watching, I finally got a good look at the spider. It moved in quick, scuttling bursts, freezing in between.

 

Bugguide folks ID'd at as a wolf spider, a Lycosidae, of some kind. That explains why it seemed so comfortable on the flat surface rather than heading up to build a web.

It also means that the one I caught in the house the other day and couldn't identify was also a wolf spider (though probably a different species). I didn't get a picture of that one as the only jar available at the time was a faceted jam jar, no good for photos, and the spider, true to form, disappeared instantly the moment I opened the jar outside.

Silver Argiope at Bolsa Chica

These were all over the prickly pears. Stunning, aren't they? And very alien-looking.

Fortunately for me, there were some in the Bolsa Chica Wetlands building, so I had a quick ID. Also, they are natives to the area, which is always fun (Technically, Brown Widows aren't, but we sure have enough of them around).

Now, I need to learn more about them--like, what do they eat? How long do they live? Where are they when they are not on prickly pear cactus in Bolsa Chica? And so on and so forth.


It's amazingly hard to find lifestyle information on individual spiders. The Widows get a lot of press, but the nice, harmless, bug-eaters that hang around, not so much.

Argentata and very well-wrapped prey.