Northern Black Widow

Blue Jay Barrens is located in a part of Ohio that has an ever increasing population of Whitetail Deer.  As a result, I commonly find deer bones, particularly skulls.

Skulls tend to remain intact longer than any other part of the deer skeleton.  This longevity makes the weathered skull an ideal living space for a variety of small animals.  In this case the brain cavity is being used by a spider.

Closer examination shows the occupant to be a Black Widow.  I have found several of this type of spider and in every case they have been living inside an old deer skull.

The spider kept moving around and finally positioned itself with the ventral (underneath) surface facing in my direction.  The red markings on the abdomen allowed me to identify this specimen as a female Northern Black Widow, Latrodectus variolus.

Another view of the ventral surface showing the trademark red hourglass shape.  The top and bottom sections of the hourglass on the Northern Black Widow are separated by a black band.

The Northern Black Widow displays a variety of red markings on the dorsal (upper) surface of the abdomen.  The spider is upside down in this view.  A red stripe begins at the spinnerets and continues along the center line of the abdomen.

The red stripe transitions into a series of red spots, making for quite an attractive spider.

I found this spider living on a dry, south facing slope.  This provides the warm, dry conditions preferred by the Black Widow.  All of my Black Widow encounters have been in this same type of habitat.  Following my photo shoot, the deer skull, with spider alive and well inside, was replaced as it was originally found.

 

Female Fishing Spider and Spiderlings

Large Fishing Spiders are not an uncommon find in my barn.  They are usually found positioned head down on the concrete block wall.  When I noticed this female slipping into and out of the gap between the large sliding door and the barn wall, I figured something out of the ordinary must be happening.

I carefully opened the door and found an empty egg case and a mass of young spiderlings.

The female Fishing Spider carries her egg case with her until the eggs are near to hatching.  At that point she builds a nursery web and inserts the egg case near its center.

The newly hatched spiders spend about a week living in the protection of the nursery web.  During this time they utilize the last of the energy from their eggs, become competent crawlers and increase their size slightly.  After their first molt, they leave the web and strike out on their own.

I’m not sure of the lifespan of these spiders, but it must take a female two or three years before she lays a batch of eggs.  I may have been seeing the same spider for the last couple of years.  With luck, I’ll have the good fortune of meeting some of these spiderlings when they have become adults.

Water Garden Predators

The Blue Jay Barrens Water Garden will be celebrating its 15 year anniversary this summer.  On August 4, 2000 I installed a liner into the completed excavation and diverted runoff from downspouts in the front of the house to the leak proof pool area.  Two days later, a light rain put an inch of water in the bottom of the pool, and that night, treefrogs deposited several egg clusters.  Since then life in the pool has been in a state of constant change.  Each year is a new experience with new players, both plant and animal, finding a place in this tiny pool.  Most conspicuous in the pool these last few years has been a growing number of predators that feed on the masses of small animals attracted to a permanent body of water.

All plants in the Water Garden are native to this area, with the exception of the Water Lilies.  I’ve had a desire for a pool of Water Lilies for most of my conscious life, so I bought some tubers, planted them in weighted tubs and put them into the Water Garden.  After a couple of years, the Water Lily root mass grew so large that it floated the pots to the surface.  My thought was to transplant the tubers into larger pots with heavier weights, but when I hauled the plants out of the water I found that the lily roots had completely enveloped the pots.  I settled for adding more weight by strapping bricks around the outside of the root mass.  This worked for a couple more years, then up came the root masses with all of my bricks neatly hidden inside.  At that point I decided to just leave the lilies alone.  Now the root masses rise to the surface each summer with the growth of new roots and then sink again in the fall as the roots die back.  Islands created by the root masses are becoming populated with a variety of aquatic plants that don’t mind a winter long emersion.

In last few days there has been a mass emergence of damselflies from the pool.  The shed skin of the aquatic nympth is left behind by the newly emerged adult form.

Both the aquatic and adult forms of damselfly are predators.  Adults capture and consume small flying insects, while the aquatic nymphs feed on insects, tadpoles, fish, worms and anything else small enough to be captured and held.

Adults seem to emerge most often under the cover of darkness.  In the morning, newly emerged individuals can be found resting on stable structures near the water.  It takes a while for the wings and exoskeleton to harden, and for the full coloration of the adult to develop.

Unlike most other damselflies, Spreadwing Damselflies hold their wings slightly apart.  These damselflies are slightly larger than the average.

This is one of the Bluet Damselflies.  This is a small, delicate Damselfly that is quite common here at Blue Jay Barrens.

Male and female bluets join in tandem for mating and egg laying.  This pair is insuring a supply of Damselflies will be around next year.

Aquatic plants growing in pots set on a shallow shelf at the edge of the Water Garden have long since escaped confinement and found their own anchorage.  A tangle of rush stalks and other dead vegetation give a foundation for an assortment of water loving vegetation.  Some were planted when the Water Garden was first filled, but most have arrived by more natural means.

The thick vegetation may be a place of safety for some, but it also harbors a healthy population of predators.  These young spiders have just recently emerged from heir silken egg sack.

Most of these will fall to larger predators or relocate far distant from here, but several will stay and grow to adulthood in the lush vegetation of the Water Garden.

Red-spotted Newts are the top of the line submerged predator.  They can detect the slightest movement and will investigate any creature their own size or smaller.  If they can fit it in their mouths, they will eat it.  I don’t believe you can stuff a newt so full that it would stop trying to eat more.  Males like this one are continually cruising the pool looking for food and for breeding opportunities.

Female newts typically remain more hidden, but they are still alert for anything that may be food.

When newly hatched, salamander larvae are heavily preyed upon by the newts.  As the salamanders  grow, they become a predator as efficient as the newt.  The difference between the two is that the salamander only spends a portion of its life in the pool.  It will soon mature into a land dwelling form and take off for a more terrestrial lifestyle.

Bullfrogs are probably the most aggressive above water predators in the Water Garden.  As long as he can avoid the notice of Minks, Raccoons and Herons, this guy should have no problems.  Anything smaller than this guy’s mouth is in danger of being eaten.  Bullfrogs are typically just temporary visitors and after a few weeks will move on to new hunting grounds.  If it ever rains here again, this frog will probably move on.

Adult Green Frogs have a chance of competing against a large Bullfrog, but those that have just recently transformed from the tadpole stage are just Bullfrog food.  This young frog has just lost the last of its tail stub and is watching for a flying insect to come within grabbing distance.

Gray Treefrogs have a tough time competing in a permanent pool.  Predators make quick work of the newly hatched tadpoles and the adult frogs are in danger of becoming a Bullfrog meal.

Northern Water Snakes will also make a meal of tadpoles and frogs.  There are at least two mature water snakes now living in the Water Garden.  They arrived here as youngsters several years ago and have been growing steadily since.

I’ve resigned myself to the fact that the Water Garden has become a home for top level predators.  That is why I’ve initiated other projects to provide temporary pools to those aquatic creatures that cannot deal with a high predator load.  I’ll just keep enjoying the Water Garden and see what comes next.

Carolina Wolf Spider with Eggs

The entrance to the Carolina Wolf Spider burrow is surrounded by a small forest of White Clover.  I periodically prune back the leaves directly over the burrow, but try to make a minimal impact so as not to discourage the spider from maintaining its residence in the burrow.

When I sneak in to have a look at the spider, I usually end up seeing nothing but an empty hole.  A glimpse of quick movement beneath the clover leaves is my most common confirmation that the spider is alive and well.

This morning, I got a glimpse of the spider far down in her burrow.  She is sitting at a point where the burrow makes a sharp turn to the left.  This turn makes it easy for the spider to retreat completely out of sight.  I have been eagerly awaiting some sign that she has produced a clutch of eggs.  According to everything I have read about this species, eggs should appear this spring.

During my evening visit to the spider, I noticed this white object at the mouth of the burrow.

In typical wolf spider fashion, the spider has enclosed its clutch of eggs in a silk envelope which is now attached to her abdomen.  Where she goes, so go the eggs.

The eggs should hatch sometime next month.  Following a time enjoying the care and protection of their mother, the young spiders should leave the burrow and begin life on their own.  This is the event I’m hoping to witness.  It is unlikely that the young spiders will stream from the burrow in a single mass.  I expect there to be a period of time where young spiders will be seen exploring around the burrow entrance or moving around the general vicinity of the burrow.  It’s also possible that the young will make short excursions from the burrow and then retreat back inside upon sensing danger.  I’ll keep making a daily check.  If I’m lucky, I should see the family leaving home and striking out on their own.  To read earlier posts about this particular spider, click HERE.

Spider in the Hole

Early last November, the Carolina Wolf Spider residing at the edge of one of my vegetable garden beds, sealed off the entrance to her burrow in preparation for surviving the cold winter season.  The earthen seal remained undisturbed through the winter.  On March 16 of this year, the seal was removed and the burrow reopened.

Heavy snow flattened Butterflyweed stalks and effectively erased signs of the burrow entrance.  Had I not placed a white marker stone a few inches from the burrow, I would have had a hard time deciding just where I should be watching for the reappearance of the burrow.

On March 21 I caught my first glimpse of the spider.  I was happy to see that she had survived the winter with no noticeable negative effects.  With no nearby standing cover, it’s hard to get close to the burrow without scaring the spider back inside.  The spider is just about dead center in this shot.

Fortunately, the spider was quick to reemerge from its burrow, so I had plenty of photo opportunities. 

This spider is a female who would have been hatched in the summer of 2013.  She attained her adult size last summer and should have mated sometime in the fall.  That means she should be producing eggs this spring that will hatch in early summer.  I’ll be keeping a close eye on her in hopes of witnessing some of the young leaving the burrow later on.

Fishing Spider

I use this flat rock to monitor the progress of breeding Streamside Salamanders.  This section of the upper reaches of the creek typically has a moderate flow of clean water through the winter and spring seasons.  The salamanders visit here in good numbers and have used the underside of this rock for the past several years as a repository for their eggs.  The rock is not embedded in the stream gravel and is easy to lift for a peek beneath.  No salamanders were found during my last check beneath the rock.  Instead, as I tipped the rock up on its side, a large spider fell from beneath and began floating away in the current.

I quickly scooped the creature out of the water and found it to be a female Fishing Spider, Dolomedes vittatus.  This species is found near small, running streams and is covered by water repellent hairs that allow them to walk on the water’s surface.  They can also submerge, with the hairs maintaining a surface film of air around their bodies.  I couldn’t tell if this individual had actually been utilizing an air pocket beneath the rock or if it was just utilizing the film of air covering its body.  The bottom of the rock is smooth and fully submerged, so if an air pocket was present, it would have to be small.  Using the warmth of the water is a neat way to survive subfreezing temperatures.  Even at its coldest, the temperature of flowing water in the creek doesn’t drop below 32 degrees F.  When nighttime temperatures hover near zero, taking advantage of the warmer water temperature is a distinct advantage.  The surface of the air film covering the spider would also allow for oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange with the flowing water.

The spider was cold and its first movements caused it to roll down into my hand.  As the spider gained warmth from my hand, its movements became more coordinated.  It wasn’t long before it wouldn’t hold still for more photos.  I released it into a cavity beneath a large rock that set half in and half out of the water.  I figured the spider could choose whether or not to return to a submerged resting spot.

Talking about spider size can sometimes be confusing.  This is considered to be a large spider for this area.  If I described it by using the common measure of body length, I would say that it was just a little over half an inch in size.  That might seem small to many people.  If I used the length from the tip of one leg, on through the body and out to the tip of the opposite leg, this spider would be described as 3½ inches across.  Some might use those dimensions to describe it as palm sized.  Either way, it makes it sound like one big spider, but most of that size is just open space between the legs.

This is an attractive species.  The two dark markings near the center of the carapace and the rows of white spots along the abdomen are diagnostic.  Notice that this individual is missing one of its hind legs. 

Good eyesight is a must for these hunting spiders.  A row of four small eyes sits below a row of four larger, more widely spaced eyes.  This lady shouldn’t have any trouble keeping track of her prey.

From the front, the markings of the spider seem to form a face.  The abdomen is decorated with two dark spots with white edging that look like eyes.  The twin dark markings on the carapace suggest a nose and the curved rows of eyes designate the mouth.  I don’t know that this configuration of characters actually serves any defensive functions, but it’s still interesting.  The shape and markings of the abdomen as seen from this angle remind me of the 1978 version IL series Cylon.  By your command.