2015 Teasel Seed Head Collection

I have completed collecting Teasel seed heads for the 2015 season and am happy about the progress being made in reducing the number of Teasel growing in the fields.  Gathering the seed heads prevents the ripe seed from being scattered about the field and producing a new generation of this non-native invasive plant.

This is the third consecutive year that I have gathered Teasel tops from the seven acres of Teasel infested young prairie at Blue Jay Barrens.  This area, formerly the site of a moderate Teasel infestation, was practically Teasel free this year.

Most of the Teasel was scattered across the field as individual plants or small groups of two or three.  Areas of concentrated Teasel were generally less than 20 feet in diameter.

Unusual this year were the random plants that appeared to have lost their tops to browsing deer.

These topped plants managed to send up new shoots that flowered and produced seed heads.  The deer are going to have to do better than this if they wish to be heralded as a new weapon against Teasel.

My entire 2015 collection fit into three feed sacks, none of which was filled.  Total weight collected this year was 36 pounds, a 63 percent reduction over last year’s 97.5 pounds.  Teasel has a two year life cycle.  Year one is spent as a basal rosette of leaves.  During its second year, the plant sends up a tall stalk and produces flowers.  The plant then dies and the seeds are dropped as the plant dries.  The reduction in population size this year is a result of the 2013 seed crop being removed from the field.  The Teasel population size should continue to shrink, but the seeds previously dropped in the field can wait several years before germinating, so it will be a while before the population is reduced to a negligible amount.

I’ve had a lot going on the past couple of weeks, so the only time I could put to collecting Teasel was early in the morning.  Awaiting me each morning were a few Teasel heads, dew laden Indian Grass and a large collection of spider webs.

The webs were the product of the Banded Garden Spider, a common resident of this field.

Each orb web was accompanied by a structure of random webs to one side.  The spider was sandwiched between these two creations.  I assume the intent of the random webbing is to give the spider notice of the approach of a possible predator, such as a spider hunting wasp.

I left one late flowering Teasel head in place for a couple of days to give this Red-Banded Crab Spider a chance to finish its meal of Robber Fly.  That big fly should be more than enough to fill up the spider.

The buzz of Robber Flies was common throughout the field.  Diogmites species like this were especially abundant.

A first for me at Blue Jay Barrens was the sighting of this Citrine Forktail.  This tiny damselfly would be nearly impossible to find if you were searching for it.  I saw it only because the low angle of the sun made the insect appear as a bright fleck of gold among the sea of Indian Grass.  I don’t know what it was doing out in the middle of a dry prairie so far from water, but I’m glad it was there.

Funnel Weaver

In the back corner of the barn, I found this wonderful Funnel-web Weaver spider.  It’s a species of the genus Agelenopsis, but I’m not certain which.  My reference book lists several species that might be found in this area.  Identification to the species level involves examination of the spider’s genitalia and that means having the specimen quietly resting beneath some magnifying device.  I usually don’t kill things just to find out what they are.

The spider sits at the mouth of its protective funnel and awaits an indication that some hapless insect has wandered onto the web.  It has chosen a great location.  Flying insects are always entering the barn and then getting trapped by the window glass.  There should be a steady supply of food falling into the web.

The web is constructed as a large flat surface roughly oriented in a horizontal plane.   Movement on this surface alerts the spider to potential prey and it rushes out to make its capture.  The web is not sticky, so insects on the web can freely escape if not quickly captured by the spider.

In order to make escape from the web more difficult, a network of web fibers form a random pattern over the top of the flat surface.  Insects trying to fly or jump to safety are deflected back into the web by the fibers.

The neatest thing about this particular web is the position of the funnel.  The funnel is normally built in a location that offers protection to the spider, so it’s unusual to have an unobstructed view.  This funnel is fully exposed on one side.

The spider spends most of its time in the funnel.  From this position, it can pick up vibrations from the web that indicate the presence of some insect prey.  Captured insects will be brought into the funnel where they are consumed by the spider.

At the rear of the funnel is the garbage dump.  Remains of earlier meals hang suspended in loose webbing.  Excess prey could also be stored here to future consumption.  I pulled out a couple of the bodies and found they were nothing but empty shells.  I didn’t see anything there that looked to be a suitable meal.  I’ll leave the web in place until the spider departs.

Dewy Webs

Someday, I should make a list of all of the natural events that I consider to be tied to particular seasons. It would probably be a pretty long list. There always seems to be something happening that I feel is intimately associated with the time of year in which it occurs. Right now it’s the frosty and dewy spider webs that I’m enjoying. You may see attractive webs at other times of the year, but it’s in the fall when the greatest abundance is noticed.

It’s proper that there should be a lot of webs now, since fall is a time when there are a large number of adult spiders present. This is also a time when many spiders, especially more youthful individuals, cast strands of silk into the sky and sail off to establish a presence in new territories. These single strands drape like tinsel across the autumn foliage.

I doubt that any spiders would care to venture onto the web when it’s covered with ice. I wonder if the web is still functional after it thaws. Maybe dew and ice cause it to lose its stickiness. There’s not much insect activity on frosty nights, so the spider must have to get out as soon as possible in the morning to rebuild a web in order to snag some day flying insects.

Dew makes it ideal for viewing the structure of a web. The strands light up like fiber optics with the least bit of sunlight.

Dew slid down the vertical strands to form droplets that developed into ice pearls on the plate of this web. Some spiders create a new web in a different location each day, so it may be that these will never be used again.

Each particular area of vegetative structure within the field supported a specific type of web. As I moved from one cover type to the next, I encountered a new village of spider webs of all the same type. Areas across the field with identical plant types also supported identical web types.

Funnel webs were scattered along the entire length of my mowed path. I investigated a couple of the webs, but could find no spider anywhere near the base of the funnel.

The dewy webs are impossible to miss when backlit by the rising sun. They become almost invisible when viewed from any other angle.

I take pictures of dewy spider webs every fall and will probably continue as long as there are webs and dew. I don’t mind adding new shots to my collection each year. What would make me sad would be to come out one fall and find that the spiders were no longer here to make the webs.

Jumping Spider Tries to Fly

This little jumping spider sat on a milkweed leaf outside my front door and patiently watched as I carried loads of miscellaneous items from the house to the car. It would face me as I approached, pivot as I walked past and continue watching in my direction until I returned. I thought he might be a cooperative subject for some photos.

As I approached with the camera however, he turned and fled. He ran down the midrib of the leaf, around the milkweed stem and out to the point of the opposite leaf. The only shots I could get were posterior views.

With nowhere left to run, he turned to face me.

Now, if I was dealing with a canine I would consider this to be an act of submission.

It wasn’t submission. The spider lifted high its abdomen and began to release long strands of spider silk. Caught on the edge of the leaf with nowhere left to run, the spider was ready to try a daring escape. Produce enough silk and it would act as a sail to carry the spider safely away with the wind.

Unfortunately, the plan had a fatal flaw. Being trapped between two sides of the L shaped house, the winds were too erratic to successfully carry the spider aloft. The sail was set and the spider launched. Instead of heading up into the sky, the spider proceeded straight earthward. It’s a lucky thing that spiders always have a safety line attached. The spider was able to halt its decent after falling less than a foot. It wasn’t a hard climb back up to the leaf.

All that was left was the cleanup. When I moved away, the spider was still pulling in his silken sail.

A Camera Critters submission.

Camo Spider

I’m beginning to see the appearance of large spider webs being constructed in the woods. I try not to disturb the webs as I’m walking, but it’s sometimes hard to see where they are. Here a spider has constructed its web between some dead tree limbs, an effective way to keep it from decorating the front of my shirt.

The web at first appears to be an undefined collection of silken strands. The collection of debris in the web makes you think it’s been here for a long time.

From a different angle, I it’s clear that part of the web is a typical orb pattern. I followed all of the strands out to their point of attachment on the branches, but could find nowhere that the spider might be hiding. Perhaps the web was abandoned.

Several insects were hung up among the random strands behind the orb. To my untrained eye, the insects seemed to be fresh. I assume that they would have been snagged by the orb web and then transferred to this location. That would mean the recent presence of a spider.

Looking more closely at the debris reveals the spider. This is a good example of hiding right out in the open. A bird or other predator may see the debris but not recognize it as a hiding place for spiders. I used to employ this same principle in elementary school when I chose not to return to class after recess. If I merged with another class, I became virtually invisible on the playground. My teacher and the vice-principal didn’t expect me to be “hiding” in the middle of a game of dodgeball, so they would walk right by as they checked the more secluded hiding spots. Many predators hunt in certain ways and in certain places. Potential prey items that avoid those specific situations can increase their chances of evading capture.

This spider does a superb job of blending in with the debris. Those tan colored markings blend perfectly with the dried cedar needles. Every part of the spider matches some part of the debris bundle. I’m always amazed by behavioral adaptations such as this that improve the animal’s chances of survival.

Spider

Late summer is a great time to find big spiders. This specimen was found in a large web built in one of the prairie openings. This is a species of the genus Agelenopsis, one of the funnel web builders.

Luckily for this spider, we’re experiencing a major drought, because he chose the center of a major drainage way as the location for a web. A major rain would certainly remove the web and probably the spider.

Funnel web builders are very common and their webs are easily recognized by the tunnel of webbing that connects the web sheet with the spider’s hiding location. The spider hunts insects that fall upon the web sheet.

The sheet on this particular web was nearly three feet across. The silk used in construction of the sheet is not at all sticky. The spider senses vibrations in the web and must quickly catch the prey before it moves off.

Species of this genus increase the effectiveness of their webs by building a tangled maze of single web strands over the top of the sheet. These strands make it difficult for flying insects to leave the sheet and make it easier for the spider to catch its meal. I love finding these super sized webs and watching the big spiders prowl the sheet.

Spider Web Covered in Dew

It would be interesting to know how many people with cameras could see a dew covered spider web shining in the morning sun and not take a picture. There are probably millions of photos like this taken each year.

This morning was very foggy and the sun was out for only a short time before clouds moved in. There were dozens of these webs spread over several acres. Support for the webs came from dried Indiangrass seed stalks left from last year.