I can’t believe it’s December 7th and it’s 80 degrees Fahrenheit out there. For the record, I still have a Spinybacked Orbweaver (Gasteracantha cancriformis) out front in her web. I love the faces on their abdomens. This one has a French moustache:
Last week we had a night that seemed to dip below freezing. She spent the night hanging from a tattered web. In the morning I found her climbing very slowly up the web. She’s quite well today. I’ll be sad when they’re finally gone. Everybody in Austin has been enjoying the Spinybacks this year. They were everywhere.
Okay, just so you know, I’m stalling. I’ve spent the past few weeks working on another spider video. I’m really excited about this one, but sheesh! These videos are a lot of work!
I have been watching several of these critters in my yard since December. One in particular: I kept running into her web going to my trash can, once tearing a major thread. The next morning, she had repositioned the thread away from my path. One day, she was gone! But upon closer inspection, I found about 30 tiny baby spinybacks in the same area. Today (March) there are two large ones in the same area, as well as around my yard. (south Florida)