March 1st, 2006
funnel web
While going through last summer’s photos looking for some Argiope spiders for a new webpage that I’m working on, I came across a shot of a funnel web that I photographed on Sept. 16, 2005. It was quite an exquisite work. The funnel curved down into a dried rugosa rose leaf that was wrapped to form the retreat. I remember trying to get a shot of the spider (an Agelenopsis sp.) outside of the funnel, but every time I drew near, it would race down into the retreat. I finally got this shot on a cool morning when the spider seemed a bit torpid as it crouched near a recently killed moth.
Click here to view a larger version of the above photo.
March 2nd, 2006 at 3:34 am
What a marvelously detailed picture! And what patience on your part, your admiration for interest of them shines through…
March 2nd, 2006 at 3:43 pm
Thanks, Trix. Yes, I do have a lot of patience when it comes to studying and photographing insects or other creatures. I try not to be too concerned about getting a certain photo on a given day — if i’m patient, eventually it will just happen and I’ll be there.
August 29th, 2006 at 2:39 pm
[…] Funnel Web Spiders (Family Agelenidae) are recognized by the type of webs that they build — a sheet of silk with a funnel or tube-shaped retreat where the spider hides while waiting for prey to wander near. Last summer, I photographed a particularly nice funnel web and spider on another of the rugosa rose bushes in the garden. Here’s a post and photos that I wrote about that spider. […]