Just outside the lion den at Lincoln Park’s Zoo was this scary creature. Nature’s addition to the zoo’s Fall Festival of creepy things! Copyright 2018 Pamela Breitberg
Good-morning stretch before naptime. Copyright 2018 Pamela Breitberg
spider
Tangled design…
Autumn stages…
Something to celebrate…
Enjoying my resumption of photography, capturing flowers and the tiny things found with them. No details today, other than to share these were captured in Chicago’s Lincoln Park.
Jerusalem Artichoke, copyright 2016, Pamela Breitberg
Monarch Butterfly, copyright 2016 Pamela Breitberg
Spider on Jerusalem Artichoke, copyright 2016, Pamela Breitberg
Multiple purposes…
I enjoy the Japanese Anemone for their late fall, tall, delicate white blooms. This spider takes advantage of the sturdy stems for a different reason. Side lighting from morning sun helped to make the web visible for these images.
Spider at work on Japanese Anemone. Copyright 2015 Pamela Breitberg
Spiderweb between two Japanese Anemone. Copyright 2015 Pamela Breitberg
Self-imposed challenge…
Directing focus on the unnoticed is an amusing challenge. A macro setting on my camera was used to create these images; however, this theme could be accomplished using any lens. The eye and an open mind are critical tools in addition to a camera. Patience helps as well, because it takes a moment or longer to focus on the drops instead of the usual plant subjects.
I was weeding and cutting spent perennial blooms when I spotted these raindrops caught by several spider webs. After-rain is my preferred time to weed; as any ardent gardener knows that the weeds are easy to remove root-and-all when the ground is soft and moist. No spiders rested on their webs, though one Daddy Long Leg was observed quickly retreating when spotting my camera. Chore time was double that morning, these glorious late summer days merit deviating attentions.
Rain dops on Spiderweb on Pachysandra, copyright 2014, Pamela Breitberg
Spiderweb and Rain on Lily of Valley, copyright 2014 Pamela Breitberg
Nature’s cobwebs…
Animal or plant debris…
I’m unsure if the stringy fuzz on the Lead Plant and the Lily are spider webs or Cottonwood tree seeds or both. Either way I felt an impulse to dust the garden. I did manage to control the impulse!
Lead Plant, a native prairie plant, with ?, copyright 2014, Pamela Breitberg
Lily with ants and ?, copyright 2014 Pamela Breitberg
Nature’s artists…
Morning dew on two spiders and web copyright 2013 Pamela Breitberg
Many persons are grossed out thinking about spiders; they don’t even have to see one to feel tingly. These predators may be venomous commanding serious fear. Knowing that they protect many favorite plants from their predators is reason for gardeners to tolerate their presence outdoors, from a distance. Morning on the prairie reveals multiple spiders’ webs dripping with morning dew; the spiders’ traps that in the dark of night were hidden traps.
Spider web in morning prairie (on left) copyright 2013 Pamela Breitberg
These tiny creatures survive by creating amazing works of art, often a new piece every day. The diversity in this species is mirrored in the diverse web patterns found in the prairie. These architectural feats were not learned over multiple workshop sessions like many of us have endured. Many times our large brain attempts to crochet or knit fail to produce anything with a detailed pattern eliciting praise from observers. Spiders are masters at their craft and deserve respect for this talent.
I invite you to spend a few moments looking past the beautiful webs and find the two spiders in one image. Then notice the large lump attached to one grass stem, the carefully bound prey held in reserve for later dining. The spider web images are more complete with these inclusions.
Spider web with bound prey (far left) copyright 2013 Pamela Breitberg
Bond prey for spider copyright 2013 Pamela Breitberg
Watching from a distance…
Black Widow copyright 2012 Pamela Breitberg
My best guess, based on research of spiders found in Illinois, is that this spider busy making an irregular web with thick silk thread in this grass is venomous Southern Black Widow(Latrodectus mactans). Sometimes it GOOD to have to stay on a path in the prairie and use the long lens.
Black Widow 2 copyright 2012 Pamela Breitberg