I think that’s what this is. I found it this July when I was digging out Tansy Ragwort on a local preserve. While it’s an orb weaver, it had pulled tansy leaves in around it and formed a hidden home for itself which I noticed as I was removing the plant. I opened it up enough to get a couple of images, then put the plant back so the spider could get out come evening.
This species is not one of the normal ones that’s so plentiful on our local prairies.
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Pertinent technical details or techniques:
5DIII, EF180, f3.5 macro, hand held, f/16, 1/320, iso 2000. Processed in LR CC. Cropped to 3083x2400. Taken July 14, 2020 at 8:14 am.
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Dennis, this looks it ought to be called the Kilroy spider, with that marking towards the top of it’s back. A good catch on this little surprise.
One of my first undergraduate jobs was helping a postdoc with his study on orb weaver feeding ecology. Araneus spiders build a shelter with a signal strand heading down to the web. Your photo shows this quite well. I like the sharpness and details of the spider and surrounding vegetation. Her abdomen is nicely patterned too. Awesome spider…Jim
Oh wow, Dennis, I’ve never seen or heard of one of these. I guess they are more out west than in the east maybe. Love it’s markings and you did a really nice job capturing it.
This is a really nice capture Dennis. Love the detail in the enlargement and can see why Mark suggested Kilroy as a name. I had an orb weaver outside my garage one year and they’re fascinating creatures. Would like to see if it could be brightened a bit, but that’s just personal taste.
