A few more butterflies and a help needed on a spider
Sep 11, 2018 13:19:24 #
These shots were taken in GSMNP at the Deep Creek campground near Bryson City, NC. The swallowtails were easy to identify but the spider looks like a wolf spider but is much larger and lives in a hole in that tree. I did not measure the spider for obvious reasons. The hole it is guarding is 5" tall and 3" wide. I lit the spider with a flashlight and it did create a spot on the head by the eyes, probably a reflection from one of the eyes. Please use the download to see the details.
Yellow Swallowtail
(Download)
Pine Vine Swallowtail
(Download)
Spider ?
(Download)
Spider lt a bit differently to show fangs.
(Download)
Sep 11, 2018 13:36:04 #
No, thank you. I am not downloading that spider, but the butterflies are lovely!
Sep 11, 2018 13:44:44 #
The spider is a female nursery web spider (Dolomedes tenebrosus). Very big and it can run pretty quickly in short bursts. But they will really just run away from you. They are good mothers. This large female will make an egg sac and carry it under her body while holding it with her fangs. When her babies are hatching, she will place it up high somewhere in a 'nursery' of spider webs. There she will guard it. She might be doing that now, so her nursery might be in the tree hole.
Sep 11, 2018 13:49:44 #
Sep 11, 2018 14:14:05 #
TheShoe
Loc: Lacey, WA
It looks more like a Carolina Wolf Spider, the largest spider indigenous to N.C., to me. If I search for nursery web spider, the images are nothing like this spider.
Mark Sturtevant wrote:
The spider is a female nursery web spider (Dolomedes tenebrosus). Very big and it can run pretty quickly in short bursts. But they will really just run away from you. They are good mothers. This large female will make an egg sac and carry it under her body while holding it with her fangs. When her babies are hatching, she will place it up high somewhere in a 'nursery' of spider webs. There she will guard it. She might be doing that now, so her nursery might be in the tree hole.
Sep 11, 2018 14:36:49 #
Sep 11, 2018 14:55:08 #
Thanks for the input, both of the web pages dedicated to those spider species have pictures that look somewhat like the spider I photographed.
Sep 11, 2018 16:21:42 #
Sep 11, 2018 16:36:39 #
Sep 11, 2018 17:34:41 #
TheShoe wrote:
It looks more like a Carolina Wolf Spider, the largest spider indigenous to N.C., to me. If I search for nursery web spider, the images are nothing like this spider.
I think you are right. The shape of the cephalothorax is also consistent. Still... thumbs down?
Sep 11, 2018 17:42:17 #
James Van Ells wrote:
These shots were taken in GSMNP at the Deep Creek campground near Bryson City, NC. The swallowtails were easy to identify but the spider looks like a wolf spider but is much larger and lives in a hole in that tree. I did not measure the spider for obvious reasons. The hole it is guarding is 5" tall and 3" wide. I lit the spider with a flashlight and it did create a spot on the head by the eyes, probably a reflection from one of the eyes. Please use the download to see the details.
Fine close ups in all the images.
Sep 11, 2018 20:47:33 #
Sep 12, 2018 09:29:57 #
Sep 12, 2018 10:30:58 #
Great shots. Thanks for sharing. I especially like #2.
James Van Ells wrote:
These shots were taken in GSMNP at the Deep Creek campground near Bryson City, NC. The swallowtails were easy to identify but the spider looks like a wolf spider but is much larger and lives in a hole in that tree. I did not measure the spider for obvious reasons. The hole it is guarding is 5" tall and 3" wide. I lit the spider with a flashlight and it did create a spot on the head by the eyes, probably a reflection from one of the eyes. Please use the download to see the details.
Sep 12, 2018 17:04:00 #
In the last pic the spider is looking directly at you and seems to be ready for an escape if necessary. Great pic.
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.