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All, This is a good time of the year for observing spider activity. Here are a few observations and photos from the past couple of weeks here at Round Hill. Wolf Spiders: Two days ago (June 21), I observed several female Wolf Spiders with their young "up on top" on the stony shoreline of Round Hill Brook which flows alongside my property. These may be some species of Pardosa as the legs are thin and have quite prominent spines. I was only able to find one female with an egg sac, so I'm thinking these spiders are quite synchronized in their hatching times. Here are a couple of views of females carrying their young: http://www.pbase.com/crocodile/image/163525046/original http://www.pbase.com/crocodile/image/163525047/original Jumping Spiders: Jumpers have been particularly active and often found with prey atop plant leaves. This is a female spider -- I think, Pelegrina proterva -- with some unidentified long-legged prey which she was consuming: http://www.pbase.com/crocodile/image/163525058/original My first record for the very colourful Phidippus whitmani jumping spider: http://www.pbase.com/crocodile/image/163525060/original Orb-weavers: I have found several "spider balls" of Araneus diadematus orb-weavers in the small meadow on a sunny hillside above the brook. They are quite entertaining to watch as they expand and contract. This photo was taken while a few were venturing outward: http://www.pbase.com/crocodile/image/163525125/original Long-jawed Orbweavers: Back on May 24th, I found several Tetragnatha spiders - if anyone knows the species, please comment. All of them had spun long trip lines between tall grasses in the meadow. It was interesting to watch them at work. All were posed like the one in this photo -- at one end of the trip line with a leg or two contacting a secondary line of webbing. At the slightest movement on the web line, they would turn and zoom out to see what was happening -- usually a fly that had gotten stuck to the line and soon to be captured: http://www.pbase.com/crocodile/image/163305868/original Bev Wigney Round Hill, NS
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