This morning we had just a tiny bit of hope for some rain. In fact, Jim saw FOUR drops on the sidewalk! But alas, that is all we got.
Clouds were pretty cool at least!
Yippee ki-yah. I think this cowgirl has its “steer” all wrapped up. The Garden Spider girl has really been getting a lot of good meals. I was lucky to have witness 35 seconds of fast work.
She already had this prey wrapped before she got the grasshopper. Hard to tell what it was exactly, but I leaned to a wasp of some sort. It is a mystery to me what she does with the prey when she is done. I have looked underneath the web and saw nothing.
Struggle as it might, the Differential Grasshopper could not break free! The spider does not always win, but in this case, she had plenty to eat this morning.
A hollowed Robber Fly.
Mating Red-shouldered Bug (Jadera haematoloma)! A lovely bug that dines on a wide variety of foods. Larvae and adults favor seeds and fruits. However, it will also feed on plant sap including plum, soapberry, grapes and others. Additionally sometimes it will even feed on dead insects.
Have you been watching the Sir David Attenborough’s The Green Planet on PBS? If not, I highly recommend it. You can stream episode 1 from KERA until August 3rd. The photography is really spectacular! The last episode (5) will be airing on August 6th.
Keep looking!
The more you know, the more you see and the more you see, the more you know.
12 Comments
The kicking grasshopper was funny!
This lady spider looks ready to lay eggs. She is big.
Dear True confessions, I see that you tipped the scales of nature. I do not know if that was a good thing or bad. 😉 Guess it depends on who’s side you were on. 😉 But as I see it, several things could be in play after feeding the spider. One, maybe now you will be passing on a lazy gene to the lazy spider’s offspring. Additionally, maybe the plants that are now not be eaten by the grasshoppers, forget how to defend themselves and pass on that lazy gene as well. And what if taking the grasshoppers with the poor evasion skills (you did catch the slow ones I presume), you have helped create a super race of grasshoppers. Just thinking…Ha ha ha ha! But now you have more plants so it was a win for you! Ha ha ha!
The kicking grasshopper was funny!
This lady spider looks ready to lay eggs. She is big.
The male continues to hang around her so maybe soon. I don’t really know the timing of egg laying.
Looks like the girl waits until the fall. So she has more grasshoppers to eat. 😎
Spectacular videos of the spider and prey!
If she didnt work quickly the critter would get away. Ive never seen an egg case until late summer.
Cool videos! True confessions – when we have a garden spider in our yard, I catch grasshoppers to toss into her web. They move amazingly fast.
Dear True confessions, I see that you tipped the scales of nature. I do not know if that was a good thing or bad. 😉 Guess it depends on who’s side you were on. 😉 But as I see it, several things could be in play after feeding the spider. One, maybe now you will be passing on a lazy gene to the lazy spider’s offspring. Additionally, maybe the plants that are now not be eaten by the grasshoppers, forget how to defend themselves and pass on that lazy gene as well. And what if taking the grasshoppers with the poor evasion skills (you did catch the slow ones I presume), you have helped create a super race of grasshoppers. Just thinking…Ha ha ha ha! But now you have more plants so it was a win for you! Ha ha ha!
I have learned my lesson. In the future, grasshoppers will be safe from my interventions. 🙂
Suzanne i did the same thing. Fed our big beautiful spider. She was by front door so saw her often. Mary chastises me too😆
😂
I managed to finish episode 1 of Green Planet last night just in time… A week left for episode 2 now! Thanks for the heads up!!
Yep, really amazing photography and wonderful info. David Attenborough is a treasure!