Blog Archives

Jumping Spider with Prey

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica

This little salticid has captured a small fly of some sort.

White scales on the chelicerae almost look like a mustache.

Frontal view

Posted in Featured Photos | Leave a comment

Male Wandering Spider

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

This wandering spider in the family Ctenidae was spotted at the base of a large tree.

The large palps leave no doubt that this is a male.

Palps indicate a male

The eye arrangement was my first clue to the family. They also have a deep groove along the mid-line of the carapace, called a fovea, just barely visible in these photos.

I wasn’t able to identify this one any further than family. It’s quite a large spider though. The body measured 25mm (~1″) and with legs it was around 80mm (~3″).

Some species of Ctenidae have a nasty reputation. Suspecting at the time that this was a Ctenid, I kept a respectful distance. read more

Posted in Featured Photos | 1 Comment

Gold-spotted Orb Weaver

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

18mm | January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

This large orb weaver was hanging out in the understory. I believe this might be Eriophora nephiloides. Most online photos for the species show a brighter yellower abdomen. It appears to be quite variable. Here’s a photo of one similar to mine (along with what’s pictured at wikipedia).

Posted in Featured Photos | 1 Comment

Colorful Jumping Spider

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

4mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

It’s hard to resist jumping spiders. This little one sort of has the colors of the Costa Rican flag!

Better view of abdomen

Posted in Featured Photos | 2 Comments

Amplypygids – Tailless Whip Scorpions

Posted on May 14, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

20mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

These fearsome looking arachnids have an order to themselves, Amblypygi. Though commonly called tailless whip scorpions or whip spiders, they are neither. Intimidating though they may look, they aren’t dangerous and possess no venom. They are quite timid in fact, and I had to take care not to scare them away while photographing them.

Here’s how you might expect to see one actively moving about, with its oversized first pair of legs outstretched.

Longest legs extend outside frame

That first pair of legs is modified for use as antennae. They wave them about, sensing and probing. While the body of this one measured only 2cm, each one of those antenniform legs was 8cm long! read more

Posted in Featured Photos | 1 Comment

Identification Challenge #10 Reveal: Phiale guttata

Posted on May 7, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

15mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

Only Ted C. MacRae ventured a guess for this most recent identification challenge. He was exactly right, though a bit confused by his source which indicated this species might not occur in Costa Rica. This is indeed Phiale guttata.

The World Spider Catalog lists the distribution for this wide ranging species as Costa Rica to Paraguay. The Global Species Database of Salticidae site lists all the species for Costa Rica, and allowed me to eliminate the possibility of similar spiders in the same genus. There are also some good photos and illustrations there. read more

Posted in Identification Challenges | 2 Comments

Spider Egg Sac

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

If like me you occasionally flip over rocks and such to see what might be lurking beneath, then you’ve no doubt seen things like this:

6mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

I’m pretty sure this is the egg sac of some sort of spider. It was underneath a small rotting log.

I usually just carefully put things back the way I found them. Curiousity got the better of me this time. I peeled away the egg sac and carefully opened it. If you’ve ever wondered what’s inside, here’s the answer.

Eggs

Each one of those eggs are less than a millimeter in diameter. There were probably ten or so. read more

Posted in Featured Photos | 3 Comments

Golden Silk Spiders, Mating

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

When I first spotted this female Nephila clavipes, she was positioned rather low in her web. Her background was cluttered and shaded. I prodded her a few times, and as I’d hoped, she retreated to a higher position in her web where I thought I might be able to get a more pleasing background.

Unexpectedly, her quick movements drew the attention of a male that was also hanging out in her vicinity. I’ve read that males prefer to mate when the female is preoccupied with a meal (so they’re less likely to become a meal themselves). Perhaps he mistook her quick retreat as movement toward prey. At any rate, he wasted no time approaching her and getting into a mating position. read more

Posted in Featured Photos | 4 Comments

Golden Silk Orbweaver

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 18, 2011 | Gandoca-Manzanillo NWR, Limon Province, Costa Rica

I’ve never quite been happy with any of the photos I’ve taken of this species, Nephila clavipes. This photo is no exception. I do like that it captures the gold color of the web, and that at least a few of the leg tufts are in focus.

It’s a shame the spider lost a leg somewhere along the way. The missing leg distracts me every time I look at her.

These spiders really are quite large. This one measured around 30mm, 70mm if you throw in the legs.

See if you can spot the little fly that’s perched on her abdomen. read more

Posted in Featured Photos | 2 Comments

Immature Argiope

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 18, 2011 | Gandoca-Manzanillo NWR, Limon Province, Costa Rica

Closeup crop

Argiope spiders are easy to recognize. They sit head down in the center of their webs with their legs paired up. They don’t even bother to hide themselves during the day. They are among a relatively small number of orb weavers that add a decoration to their web, called a stabilimentum.

The form of the stabilimentum may change as the spider grows. Young spiders like this one may create a dense circular pattern as shown here. Older spiders are more likely to create sparser designs in various shapes. read more

Posted in Featured Photos | Leave a comment