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23 Aug 2007 • 668 views
 
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photoblog image A Fine Meal

A Fine Meal

These spiders are very common in grasses and gardens at this time of year but this was a bigger spider than is usual.  My friend put his hand behind it to show the scale.  The spider is supping on a red dragonfly.

Click to Play:
Extraordinary Machine by  Sarah Cherri

A Fine Meal

These spiders are very common in grasses and gardens at this time of year but this was a bigger spider than is usual.  My friend put his hand behind it to show the scale.  The spider is supping on a red dragonfly.

Click to Play:
Extraordinary Machine by  Sarah Cherri

comments (18)

EEEEEWWWWWWW

FLEEEEEEEEEEE,
  • Mroy
  • 23 Aug 2007, 01:34
scary creatures. but nicely captured. never seen one like that before.
Mary MacADNski: They're common here but I don't know what kind it is though they're usually smaller.
  • Ray
  • Thailand
  • 23 Aug 2007, 03:39
Very pretty arachnid, Mary, and your firend's hand thing works for me.
Is this also your first dragonfly picture?
Mary MacADNski: Mot my first dragonfly or spider.
Scary stuff !!
Mary MacADNski: My daughter would have died.
  • Gale
  • Cape Town, South Africa
  • 23 Aug 2007, 08:58
Great detail. Kind of cool colouring for a spider.
Mary MacADNski: Very cool colouring. Louis looked up som info on it.
Marvellous capture. What amazing colouring. (:o)
Mary MacADNski: Fabulous isn't it!
  • Ginnie
  • Atlanta, GA, United States
  • 23 Aug 2007, 09:39
Man! That's pretty darn-tootin' realistic, Mary!
Mary MacADNski: It is real, Ginnie.
  • Louis
  • South Africa
  • 23 Aug 2007, 10:23
A member of the garden spider family. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_garden_spider
or just google 'garden spiders'. They are also common over here. Even bigger with yellow webs strung between trees - known to be able and do catch little birds. If you don't watch where you are going in the bushveld you can end up with the stickey web in you face and wondering where the heck the spider has gone.

Great shot.
Mary MacADNski: They certainly hang out in gardens and long grasses. Their webs aren't yellow here though. Thanks for the info.
Thats not a flower! Terrific capture. We call them St George spiders because of the cross their web makes
Mary MacADNski: The St George Cross spider is one of my memories of Aus. We rented a cabin on a beach for Christmas and one was in residence of the covered deck. I was a little frightened as so many things in Aus were poisonous. I looked it up on the internet and found they weren't so was no longer frightened. These are a little different. They make a verticle line rather than the cross. Louis' comment has a wikipedia link.
He's got more guts than me ! smile Nice photo !
Mary MacADNski: LOL The spider wasn't interested in us at all. He was in the middle of lunch.
  • Tracy
  • 23 Aug 2007, 13:18
My husband would have died rather than go near that spider. Great shot Mary.
Mary MacADNski: My daughter would die too. If it had been a snake I would die but spiders don't bother me at all.
Brrr !
Nicely done but I hate spiders smile
Mary MacADNski: I know you do and several others including my daughter. Sorry but it was soooo big!
  • Christine
  • New Brunswick, Canada
  • 24 Aug 2007, 13:36
EwwwEwwwEwwwwwwww....

Thanks but no thanks. lol
Mary MacADNski: O would die if she saw this.
Wow, awesome pic!
Mary MacADNski: Gracias, Jose-Angel.
I missed this when I was on vacation. What a great shot. That spider is very colourful.
Mary MacADNski: Thanks, P Karen. i just found the comments on the new look blog so I'm late too.
  • chunter
  • The back of beyond
  • 13 Sep 2007, 17:02
I know it takes me a while to get around these days, but there are just sooo many people out there now. Sorry for the delay.

Just reviewing your archives to catch up and this caught my eye. Here's his brother: http://chunter.shutterchance.com/photoblog/Incy_Wincy_Spider/1/

Apparently the males are characterised by the zig-zag pattern in the web they weave on the female's web. See also: http://www.fcps.edu/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/black_and_yellow_argiope.htm
Mary MacADNski: These are common here but this one was huge. I just had a look at your link and you say that one was very large too. This link is of baby spiders that are black and yellow that are around every year. I always wondered if these are the zig zags babies.
http://www.justpictureit.shutterchance.com/photoblog/A_Spider's_Nest_/

In Australia there is a spider that makes a cross shaped like an X on it's web. I believe it is called St Andrews Cross spider or something like that. I looked it up at the time but it's a long time ago. Like you, I was renting a cottage where one was in residence for a week so had plenty of opportunity to observe it.

My adult daughter is terrified of spiders so I had to keep the deck cleared of them. She's moved away now so spiders, mosquito eaters that they are, are allowed to thrive here. I think they're very interesting and cool.
woohoo, dinnner! Great shot
Mary MacADNski: Dinner, indeed. Thanks, Jessica. I'm glad he didn't want my friend's hand for dessert.
Wow, i like spiders!
Mary MacADNski: I have other spider shots here too.

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