TOMTE

the blue jays that were mobbing this big female red shouldered hawk are a female that i have gotten to know a bit (linnie, named after B. lineatus because she mimics the call of the red shouldered hawk) and her mate red shouldered hawks arent much of a threat to blue jays- they rarely hunt birds. still, better safe than sorry, right?

he could be a model, don't you think?

looong legs his swollen pedipalps give away his sexual status as a mature male, ready to breed Gladicosa gulosa are a type of wolf spider. the males actually "purr" to attract a female. here's a short article with audio about this behavior, and here is a video that i personally think is the cutest thing

super beautiful specimen. such bold markings !

these babies were just a couple days younger than the orange female's slings

as you can probably tell from my other Pisaurina mira specimen photos, there is a lot of color and pattern variation within the species, but they are all P. mira this lovely lady chose the catnip to construct her nursery web in

good location for a nursery web, because mint deters some predators like rodents

mother Pisauridae probably guard their young from predators and parasites in this picture you can see one little spiderling in the nursery web, but there are MANY more!

beautiful orange colored nursery web spider

a no longer gravid lady, carrying her eggsac the Pisauridae, the nursery web spider family, look really similar to wolf spiders, dont they? they might be difficult for the untrained eye to tell apart, but there are a few key differences one way to differentiate nursery web spiders from wolf spiders is to look at their eye arrangement (compare Pisauridae to Lycosidae in the image linked). also, nursery web spiders have three claws at the end of each "foot", while wolf spiders only have two. another way, though it only works with adult females, is to 1) look at how they're carrying their eggsac (wolf spiders attach the sac to their spinnerets, basically carrying it with their ass— nursery web spiders carry the sac under their body using their mouthparts and pedipalps), and 2) look for the babies. nursery web spiders got their name because shortly before the spiderlings begin to emerge from the protective sac, the mother constructs a nursery web, usually in a shrubby plant, where the spiderlings spend their first week or so while the mother stays nearby. wolf spider mothers carry their spiderlings on their abdomen for a time until they're ready to disperse. unfortunately, i didn't get to see her spiderlings hatch and grow; she disappeared one day and while i hope she just went to find a good spot for her nursery, realistically i know that she and her developing eggs would have made a nutritious snack for any number of predators

there were 3 female nursery web spiders that i followed the progress of in the garden last year. big mama was the most special, for several reasons most notably, she was HUGE! i found her in a small decorative clay pot, clearly gravid. she was so calm when i handled her and let me get right up close to get a good look at her she stayed in that pot for a few days, during which time i watched her begin constructing her eggsac, and when i went back out to check on her later that night, she had deposited her eggs into it and was finishing it up. i got video of the process, including before she started and was having herself a nice spa day (grooming herself REALLY thoroughly). it felt really special and intimate this is a BEFORE photo. she really was ready to pop LOL

keeping her eyes nice and clean with her pedipalps so that she can hunt effectively look at those fangs at the ends of her chelicerae (mouthparts)– they may look gnarly, but don't worry, a bite from a wolf spider would be no worse than your average bee sting (only without the possibility of allergic reaction, contrary to popular belief), itchy and tender for a while, that's all 🙂

wolf spiders (family Lycosidae) have a fairly unique eye arrangement, with 3 "rows" of eyes. four small eyes in the front, bottom row; two large eyes above those; and two slightly smaller eyes above and to the side of the large pair, facing outward Lycosidae are active hunters, stalking and chasing their prey– its how they got their name! wolf spiders have some of the best vision in the spider world, infact! if you shine a light on the ground at night when most Lycosidae are active, you might see tiny wolf spider eyes shining back at you, much like a cat or deer's eyes!

not one of the largest wolf spider species overall, but one of the largest in michigan. what a beautiful girl!