Orb Weaver's pantry is full
Jul 17, 2013 16:16:49 #
Goldie, the Orb Weaver in my garden, has been hanging out in a light drizzle-rain for 2 days. Haven't seen her catch anything in her web since this weather started. The rain stopped Tuesday morning & by early afternoon, her "pantry" had these offerings. She must have been really hungry because she consumed them both - not even a hint of left-overs in the web this morning.
Goldie - the Orb Weaver who lives in my garden
Goldie & her pantry after the rain stopped
Looks like a small grasshopper
A Dragonfly is in her pantry too
Water beads can be seen on the web
Jul 17, 2013 16:56:41 #
These are wonderful shots. Enjoyed them all since the quality is so good. BTW do you have a first name? I'm not about to call you GeezerGal.
Jul 17, 2013 18:05:30 #
Joe F.N. wrote:
These are wonderful shots. Enjoyed them all since the quality is so good. BTW do you have a first name? I'm not about to call you GeezerGal.
Thank you, Joe. I greatly appreciate your comments, especially since these were all taken with the Canon SX50 - a camera that some might not rate a high value to since it is basically a P&S. No PP whatsoever on this set - just what you see is what the camera produced. The SX50 far outperforms my T3i & 70-300mm lens in many cases.
My friends call me Sue, my husband calls me "old woman" but I'll answer to most anything as long as you remember to smile when you say it. :lol:
Jul 17, 2013 18:07:30 #
Thank you Sue. I feel better now. That camera seems to be working for you. In #1 especially.
Jul 17, 2013 18:15:52 #
Stunning photos! I'm so envious that you have this beautiful gal in your backyard. A little difficult to see a lovely dragonfly victim, but that's life :) And aside from loving dragonflies too, I'm darned impressed she snared something that large!
Jul 17, 2013 18:18:05 #
Joe F.N. wrote:
Thank you Sue. I feel better now. That camera seems to be working for you. In #1 especially.
:thumbup: Yes, it works very well as a walk-around or to carry to places where large equipment bags & tripods would not be practical. It has the zoom reach of a very long lens that I will likely never own & with the addition of a Canon 430ex speedlight, I find that it does fairly well in low light. I'm glad that you found these photos acceptable. I have seen the quality of your work. It gives us a goal to strive for. Thank again for your critique.
Jul 17, 2013 18:25:03 #
Linda From Maine wrote:
Stunning photos! I'm so envious that you have this beautiful gal in your backyard. A little difficult to see a lovely dragonfly victim, but that's life :) And aside from loving dragonflies too, I'm darned impressed she snared something that large!
Thank you, Linda. Yes, she has a fairly large web strung across several feet of the garden & evidently it is quite strong. I was more surprised that the grasshopper wasn't able to kick it's way free .... it was only perhaps a little over an inch long but those things have strong legs. She had him wound up tight, tho. The Dragonfly was a bit of a shock. I checked carefully to make sure that it wasn't still alive but it was too late. Yes, that is nature & the circle of life. Thank you for your critique. I appreciate & value your opinion.
Jul 18, 2013 07:17:21 #
Jul 18, 2013 07:45:47 #
ncshutterbug wrote:
Great catch for both of you!:)
Thank you for looking, ncshutterbug.
Jul 18, 2013 08:32:57 #
GeezerGal wrote:
Goldie, the Orb Weaver in my garden, has been hanging out in a light drizzle-rain for 2 days. Haven't seen her catch anything in her web since this weather started. The rain stopped Tuesday morning & by early afternoon, her "pantry" had these offerings. She must have been really hungry because she consumed them both - not even a hint of left-overs in the web this morning.
Super series and great story within them. Nice to see that you post straight out the camera, excellent work. Enjoyed them all.
Jul 18, 2013 08:53:14 #
Indrajeet Singh wrote:
Super series and great story within them. Nice to see that you post straight out the camera, excellent work. Enjoyed them all.
Thank you, Indrajeet. I appreciate you looking & I value your comments.
Jul 18, 2013 12:53:59 #
Sue, in that you apparently know something about orb weavers, let me ask you about what I believe to be an orb weaver who inhabits my front porch. I am putting up three pix - one of the web, one front shot (sort of) of its body and one rear shot. Pictures not very good perhaps other than the web, but I wonder why my guy looks so different than yours? BTW, I have some great shots of the spider building the web. I was tempted to take a video in that it works rather rapidly in building the web. Thanks
Jul 18, 2013 12:58:37 #
Oh and BTW Sue, I have actually become attached (no pun intended) to this spider and the other day, I was not paying attention where I was going and I knocked down to of the support radials of the web. I was so disgusted with myself in that I thought I had ruined the web. This little guy got to work immediately, and had everything efficiently repaired in short order. They are amazing little creatures!
Jul 18, 2013 13:31:23 #
Jul 18, 2013 13:32:01 #
pedalmasher wrote:
Sue, in that you apparently know something about o... (show quote)
Hi pedalmasher. Thank you for looking at my photos & for your comments. I am no expert but GOOGLE is my friend & knows much more than I ever will. Evidently, here in the DFW area, we have a lot of my kind of spider - the Black & Yellow Orb Weaver
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/beneficials/beneficial-24_spider_blackandyellow_argiope.htm
There in Florida, you have what is commonly called a Spinybacked Orb Weaver or Crab Spider. http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/beneficial/g_cancriformis.htm Also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiny_orb-weaver
You probably also have the yellow & black - just not in your backyard. There are many species of orb weavers, which just basically includes any spider that weavers a web in a pattern of concentric circles with spokes out from the middle. Yours is very pretty. I had never seen one like it before. I'm glad that you watch over it. He will eat many flies/moths & other pests from his area.
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.