Kozmic Dreams Photography of Orb-Weavers

My Digital Photography of

Orb-Weavers

The following orb-weaving spiders were photographed in the Metro-Detroit area, unless otherwise noted. I have identified them by their scientific names, if known. If you know the name of any unidentified spiders, please e-mail me at kozmic3@yahoo.com. Photographs are sorted so that most recent photos are at the top of the page. Other types of spiders can be seen on my Jumping Spiders and Miscellaneous Spiders Pages.

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Orchard Spider, Leucauge venusta

This spider was first photographed on July 1, 2007 in its web.

Unfortunately, two days later, I was gardening and had forgotten about it (the web was very difficult to see and this was a rather small spider, only about 1/2 inch long from head to tip of abdomen). I must have somehow brushed into the web and destroyed it by accident, because I saw the spider running along the front steps, not in its web anymore. So I scooped it up, figuring I ought to at least photograph it. Then I let it go, but never did find it again. I hope it survived because it certainly is quite rare---I've never seen one of these in my whole life.

Cat-faced Spider, Araneus gemmoides Part 2

This is the same orb-weaver that I photographed on 11-2-06. However, about a week after its first photo session, it laid an egg sac over 1/2 inch in diameter. I figured the sac should go outside so the spiders can remain dormant throughout the winter, but I couldn't bear to kill this lovely spider in the cold, so I've been trying to keep it inside. I think she may be out of silk though because she hasn't spun a web and she's only drinking water. You can see that her abdomen is all wrinkled up (those darn stretch marks!) and looks very strange underneath (see close-up photo). I took these photos on an unusual 60-degree F day on November 26, 2006. I managed to keep her alive until May 26, 2007, although it was a strange life for her. She never wanted to spin a web again after she laid her eggs. She had a few web fragments left over and I could get her to eat crickets by tangling them up in these threads. For the first few months, she did quite well eating in this manner. Towards the end of her life, she was refusing to eat and the crickets had to be presented to her already dead. I left her egg sac in an open container outside all winter long, but never saw any spiders emerge this spring.

Cat-faced Spider, Araneus gemmoides Part 1

My dad found this spider on November 1, 2006 and was kind enough to bring it over to my house so I could photograph it on 11-2-06. It is nearly an inch long not including legs. It looks similar to the cross spider I found near the Saugatuck Dunes, but is lighter in color and has slightly different markings.

Unidentified Orb-Weaver

This spider was found on my canoe trip on the Huron River on 8-29-06. It spun its web underneath a bridge, so I couldn't get a top view.

Unidentified Orb-Weaver

I was working on repairing my central air conditioner outside on June 13, 2006 and this orb-weaver had spun a web inside and had to be removed. The first pictures show its underside and web before it was displaced onto a flower. It wasn't until after I examined the photos under greater magnification that I realized the spider was carrying a bunch of black eggs! I thought that was its head when I was taking the pictures (I don't see too well).

Unidentified Orb-Weaver

I photographed this spider at about 10:30 p.m. on 9-18-05. I haven't yet identified it, but it seemed to be catching a lot of insects in its web in the front of my house. Here it is enjoying a nighttime meal. That very night, it rained. The spider's web was destroyed and the spider wasn't seen again until 10-01-05, when I rediscovered it on the window, sheltered by the front porch. This time, I photographed its exposed underside. The following day, it turned around and I took a few shots with my close-up lens.

Banded Argiope, Argiope trifasciata

One of Brian's co-workers found this spider in mid-September 2005 and brought it in to work. He gave it to me to photograph. I identified it as a Banded Argiope, a type of orb-weaving spider of the family Aranaea. Below are photos of it on my kitchen countertop.

I kept the spider for a while in a terrarium because I wanted to get some better close-up shots in the sunlight. It spun a web and I fed it lots of crickets. The following pictures show its much larger abdomen. The last unusual looking shot is of the spider in its web inside the terrarium.

Cross Spider, Araneus diadematus

I photographed this beautiful cross spider in the Saugatuck Dunes on 7-24-04. It is so named for the white "crosses" on its back. Unfortunately, I didn't have a close-up lens at that time to capture more detail.

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