Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Bugs!



Crouching spider,



Hidden grasshopper.



A female spider with her spiffy egg sac.

Sorry, don't have time to ID the bugs this morning! If anyone knows, please leave a comment or email and I'll add the info. I'm thinking that the last one may be a wolf spider.

Edited to add:
Thanks so much to Thingfish23 who has identified the first "spider" above as, well, not a spider but a Harvestman. (I really should have known that. His body didn't look quite right for a spider.)
Order Opiliones.

The second one's a Northern Green-Striped Grasshopper (Chortophaga viridifasciata), according to this site and this one. (Thanks again Thingfish23.)

Thingfish23 also says that the third image above is of a "nursery web spider" (Pisaurina mira).

Edited again:
Sisu says the third one is a wolf spider.

Get ready for the Battle of the arachnophiles!

If anyone else has an opinion on the identity of the spider in question, please email or leave a comment.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

The top photo isn't a spider, actually. It's a harvestman (we always called 'em "Daddy Long-legs"). They are in a slightly different taxonomic group from spiders (Order Opiliones).

Don't think for a minute that I know this sh*t by heart, okay? It's all about the Internets.

There is plenty of info (and some slam-bang photos) here.

By the way - I do that "remove the post with the typos" thing too. I wish Blogger wasn't so obvious about it. I mean - how's about a trail of freakin' bread crumbs next time? The Bloggerbrain can't just completely delete the post, can it? Nooooooooo!

Anonymous said...

Also - the bottom spider is a "nursery web spider" (Pisaurina mira).

Now, that one I knew by heart. We have tons of 'em here, too.

Here are some images to back the claim - none taken by me (yet).

Anonymous said...

...And okay - just to talk to myself a little more, here is your little grasshopper. There is much more information for those so inclined here.

Happy and Blue 2 said...

Uhhh, nice bugs..

Rurality said...

Thanks thingfish23! You are a font of bug info lately. :)

H&B2, I thought you were probably not getting enough of creepy crawly things over at SwampThings, so I had to ensure you had an adequate supply.

Dave said...

Boy, do I have macro lens envy! It's funny, up until last February I had no camera and no desire for a camera. Then a reader gave me his used digital and it was all over! If I had a camera like yours, I think I'd cover maybe 25 feet a day, most of it on my belly.

Karen said...

That egg sack is pretty cool! And the grasshopper does a pretty good camo job, too.

Ah, spring has sprung! :)

Rurality said...

Dave, Jerry Halstead was just talking about inexpensive ways to do macro with point & shoots here.

Prepare for pixel envy too though. :)

Karen I thought that too - the camo is amazing.

Maktaaq said...

Those are great photos!

As usual. :)

Anonymous said...

OK, I am truly hooked. I just started reading blogs in the past month or so and now it's part of my morning routine. Not only are your comments and photos fantastic, but so are many of the comments and comment people. (I just added thingfish23 to my favourites.) Thanks for adding to my enjoyment of each day.

Perhaps you may find some of our Ontario wild flowers of interest but we only change the site once a week. I don't know how you find time to add to your blog almost every day.

Rurality said...

Thanks Maktaaq & Dean.

Making a blog yourself is even more addictive than reading them. :) And it's a lot easier to update a blog than to change a web page.

Rurality said...

I forgot to say, Dean - make sure to check out SwampThings too. Link is on the sidebar. If you like this kind of post, you will love her blog! She takes the most amazing pictures and knows, well, everything. :)

Anonymous said...

And thanks for bookmarking me, Rurality and Dean.

I really appreciate that!

Anonymous said...

That momma with the blue egg sack looks like a Wolf Spider. Once the babies come, she carries them around on her back, each attached by a lifeline of silk for rescue and recovery should one of the little nippers fall off.

Wold spiders

Sissy Willis
sisu

Anonymous said...

Stunning photographs, by the way. :)

sisu

Rurality said...

Thanks Sissy, I edited the post and added that link. I thought it was a wolf spider, but I haven't done much study of spiders.

Sunidesus said...

I'm horribly arachnaphobic, but I have to admit that that egg sac thing is pretty darn cool. Reminds me of Charlotte's Web, one of my favorite books, and yes I realize it makes no sense for an arachnaphobe to love that book, but oh well. And the camo job on the grasshopper is nifty!

Rurality said...

I love the metallic color on it. Haven't seen another one like it. For some reason spiders don't bother me that much. Well, unless they are jumping towards me. :)