sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

This is another Orb Weaver from my son's collection that he gifted to me. This one is preserved "wet" in denatured alcohol whereas the previous Orb Weaver post last week was preserved dry in the freezer. There are several identifying features of an Orb Weaver with one being the arrangement of its eight eyes. Another is the abdomen and its pattern and its large round web.

Of course, the best way to identify them is to observe them as they build their nightly web which is the most enjoyable way by far.

Orb Weavers are quite beneficial and pose no threat to us humans. Actually, their eyesight is quite poor and they rely on the vibrations of the web to find their prey. Like all spiders, orb weavers are carnivores (which is why they are so beneficial), feeding primarily on insects and other small organisms that get trapped in their sticky webs. They are most abundant in summer, in garden areas, and around the home where pest insects are likely to be attracted to.

Orb weavers spin large, circular webs that can be as wide as six feet or more, often between buildings and shrubs. We have been blessed with one that put up her nightly web between to column of the porch and the wall of the house where I would enjoy seeing her as I drank my evening cup of coffee. Most folks may not even be aware of the spiders’ presence unless they walk outside after dark and see the web in a lighted area such as our porch light or walk into the web in the dark which for most folks is an exciting moment and a great cardio exercise.

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JimmyTB

Beautiful face, well photographed. I have seen them constructing their webs and you are correct, it's a sight to behold. The one I shot last week I never saw her web. I checked at midnight, and in the wee hours of the morning and never saw it. She seems to be gone now so maybe she was at the end of her life and didn't build it for the last few days.

Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

👍 Very good, as always!
I have a big fat one in the garden that I've been photographing. She is quite a "chonk".

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Thanks, JimmyTB. My son gifted this to me last summer and it appears to be holding up well. My daughter-in-law freaks out when there is a spider around their house so he collected a few of them for me when he removed them.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Thanks, Mark. Not everyone is blessed by their presence and unfortunately many have a fear or dislike of them. Others know that the insect pests would be far more troublesome if it were not for spiders and the other carnivore insects. After all, it is a bug-eat-bug world.

Quixdraw Loc: x

Excellent shot!

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Thanks, Quixdraw. I appreciate your viewing and feedback.

ecobin Loc: Paoli, PA

Nice!

Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

All spiders are beautiful, even in closeup. Cool shot Sippy

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

The eye placement, and the differences in the eyes of each spider, is another amazing thing to revel at in these close-ups!

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Thanks, CHG_CANON. The eye arrangement as well as the number of eyes is an important factor in identifying the species. Of course, this requires an up-close and personal view for many species are too small to easily identify.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Thanks, Curmudgeon. Beauty can be defined in many ways aside from attractive aesthetics. For example, there is beauty in the way that they weave their webs and beauty in the way that they are specialized to serve a specific nitch in life.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Thanks, Elliott. I appreciate your stopping by.

raymondh Loc: Walker, MI

I find the different eye configurations amongst the different models very interesting.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Thanks, Raymondh. You are spot-on. A Brown Recluse for example can be identified by having six eyes where many other spiders have eight.