Meet My Little Friend….

All, Humor & Fun, Variety & Odd News, Wildlife

Meet My Little Friend….

October 23, 2012

I have been watching this spider live and grow right outside one of our windows under our 24/7 outdoor light. I first saw this Black and Yellow Garden Spider back in August (maybe a little before that??) and have since peek to check on it from time to time. Make sure she’s in the center of her web. It really has been fascinating. She’s close to twice as large now compared to back in August. I have not seen her pounce nor do anything cool like that with her meal. But she did relocate her home – and lost a leg.

When I first saw her, her web was on the window pane, so it was easy to view her and take photos. The web looked the same back then as it does now. If you notice, right down the “center” of the web, she has spun what I think is some type of reinforcement. She is always positioned over the center of the web. I have not yet seen her anywhere else.

She then gave up the window and spun a new web from the wall out to a large bell-like wind chimes. Not sure why she did that since the bell does swing in the breeze. With some of the winds we do get, I’m sure the bell goes all over. But so far it seems to be working for her. It is not my decision to make.

But there was something I noticed about a month ago… One of her right front legs is missing. How that happened and didn’t kill her I cannot even begin to imagine. Seriously, what would she have gotten into a fight with that was strong enough to tear off a leg?

Here are some photos I have taken of Spider-Woman here. The first photo was taken on August 2nd. Note she has eight legs. Following is a photo taken today. The way her web is now built and where she perches all day long is very difficult to get a good photo. I have to hold the camera out in front of me, then point it back towards the spider, and hope it is in focus.

Large spider_black with white and yellow strips_seen in New Mexico 03 — Date photo taken: August 2, 2012

Large black yellow garden spider 2012 10 22 01 — Date photo taken: October 22, 2012

Did you count her legs???

TAGS:

black and gold garden spider, Mitt Romney, photo, photography, presidential candidacy, romney, spider

16 responses to “Meet My Little Friend….”

wendyh2000

October 23, 2012 at 12:40 am

This is so neat! Most people would have destroyed the web or killed the spider. However you want to call it, it hurts the spider! I think that it is wonderful that you are “taking care” of her and looking in on her every once in a while.

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1. Michelle
  
  October 23, 2012 at 1:17 am
  
  Thanks! She’s not poisonous, and helps catch insects. Now, if she was a Black Widow, she’d long be dead. We have too many dogs to risk a Black Widow hanging out.
  
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thevanbrown

October 23, 2012 at 6:10 am

I’ve watched one of these during this same time period. She built a huge web under the deck by a spigot. The other day, I noticed she was gone. Looks just like the one in the photo. Maybe it’s her.

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1. Michelle
  
  October 23, 2012 at 7:28 am
  
  LOL.. never know. Or your spider is on the way over here to have a Tupperware Party and check out the new “Fly Containers”…
  
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IzaakMak

October 23, 2012 at 6:15 am

Gorgeous photos Michelle. Spiders creep me out to no end though, and I don’t EVEN want to imagine what took off that missing leg!

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1. Michelle
  
  October 23, 2012 at 7:37 am
  
  Sorry, I remember when I posted a pic of her a few months ago asking if anyone knew what kind of spider she was, and that creeped you out then, too. That missing leg is baffling. There are very few insects bigger than she is, or even comparable. I honestly have no clue. I noticed her leg missing about a month ago.
  
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ldsrr91

October 23, 2012 at 6:24 am

Here we go! “How do you know the sex of the spider is female?” You refer to her as she. It could be a guy spider y’know.

In that case it would be …. “Look a spider! EEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeowie!”

And then someone would most likely kill it, that is what happens to most guy spiders.

DS

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1. Michelle
  
  October 23, 2012 at 7:33 am
  
  I had posted a picture of her a few month back to find out information – what kind of spider, etc. I found out the name, Black and Yellow Garden Spider, and someone commented that her vivid colors means it’s a female. If I’m wrong and it is a male, then he can stay as long as he likes. Catching bugs is a good thing. I keep forgetting to tell our handyman to leave her be, but he’s so in his own world, I doubt he would ever notice she’s there.
  
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  1. ldsrr91
    
    October 23, 2012 at 9:06 am
    
    Say helllllllo to my little fren … shades of Al Pacino (Scarface).
    
    Hey thanks, I did not know that (colors and all) and I now understand.
    
    DS
    
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    1. Michelle
      
      October 23, 2012 at 6:38 pm
      
      I was curious after I replied back so I looked online what the difference was. Color is often the difference. But with this spider, it is the size. The male spider is about the size of this spider’s head, so definitely can tell the difference. This one is a girl. 😀
      
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Mary Louise Eklund

October 23, 2012 at 7:44 am

We used to have them all over on the farm. Consider them good omens as they eat mosquitoes and other pests. We called them writing spiders because there’s usually a heavy white design in the center of their web. I’ve seen them fight with praying mantis, maybe that’s how she lost her leg. The old mountain lore says not to bother them but if you do they’ll write your name in the center of the web and that’s a curse on you until winter.

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1. Michelle
  
  October 23, 2012 at 7:51 am
  
  Hmmm… that’s interesting. Thanks for the folklore! Yeah, the heavy silk work down the center of the web is interesting. This web is getting a bit tattered so wondering if she’ll spin a new one soon. I hadn’t thought about a praying mantis – it could very well have been one that took her leg.
  
  LOL.. knowing my luck, if I bothered her, I’d probably walk outside the next day and see that she’s spun what looks like the face of jesus in the middle. Then I’ll have every nutcase over her wanting to witness the “miracle.”
  
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PiedType

October 23, 2012 at 1:35 pm

Glad to know that “mess” in the middle of the web is typical of this spider. I read somewhere that a spider whose previously neat web starts getting messy has developed a spider version of dementia.

Spiders and their different web styles are intriguing, as long as they keep their distance from me. I have mixed feelings about the ones who are so insistent about “decorating” my front porch (the interior lights obviously draw a lot of insects at night, even though the porch light is off).

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1. Michelle
  
  October 23, 2012 at 7:14 pm
  
  Webs can be very interesting, for sure. This one is rather tucked away back in a corner under a light, so she’s out of the way. Any insect that comes inside gets an immediate eviction. Actually probably a death sentence.
  
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rose

October 23, 2012 at 4:31 pm

Really nice photos. I still don’t like spiders. But that one is pretty as far as spiders go. Kind of Halloween themed 🙂

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1. Michelle
  
  October 23, 2012 at 7:15 pm
  
  It is, isn’t it. I hadn’t thought about that. I don’t mind them so long as they’re outside and not on me. When I see people letting tarantulas crawl all over them, I get the shivers. LOL.. like I just now did just by thinking of that.
  
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