Small spider weave
I would make a pithy comment about how it's been the sort of week where handling widow spiders seems pleasant and relaxing in comparison... except that I legitimately do use photographing my arachnid collection as a way to help me de-stress.
Lady Macbeth III is a false black widow spider, Steatoda grossa, collected at summer_jackel's house in the redwoods, where they are numerous. She's been my pet for a few months now, and recently molted in captivity.
Her web-in-a-box (unlike orb weavers, most cobweb weavers aren't as reliant on air flow for web construction and spin happily in containers) was getting pretty gross and full of leftovers, so I cleaned out her tank and tore down her web. She'll rebuild it tonight.
She is still pretty, however.
Because I used the flash in these shots, her body color reads as black, when she is in fact very deep purple. In this picture, you can see the faint gold flecks that pattern her abdomen.
I <3 my spiders. Next on the list of "terrariums I really should clean": Lady Crimson, the pet jumping spider I've been keeping since April -- as seen in my userpic -- is still fat & happy and going strong. Unfortunately my oft-photographed agelenid, Lena, died a few weeks ago after building a (non-viable) egg sac. Her previous egg sac did manage to hatch, and the slings were released near where their mother was collected.
Her species is one of the ones that disguises its egg sac with bits of debris: watching her pick up pieces of substrate and delicately stick them to the sides of her magnum opus was utterly fascinating. A spider fetching sticks: awwww.
Lady Macbeth III is a false black widow spider, Steatoda grossa, collected at summer_jackel's house in the redwoods, where they are numerous. She's been my pet for a few months now, and recently molted in captivity.
Her web-in-a-box (unlike orb weavers, most cobweb weavers aren't as reliant on air flow for web construction and spin happily in containers) was getting pretty gross and full of leftovers, so I cleaned out her tank and tore down her web. She'll rebuild it tonight.
She is still pretty, however.
Because I used the flash in these shots, her body color reads as black, when she is in fact very deep purple. In this picture, you can see the faint gold flecks that pattern her abdomen.
I <3 my spiders. Next on the list of "terrariums I really should clean": Lady Crimson, the pet jumping spider I've been keeping since April -- as seen in my userpic -- is still fat & happy and going strong. Unfortunately my oft-photographed agelenid, Lena, died a few weeks ago after building a (non-viable) egg sac. Her previous egg sac did manage to hatch, and the slings were released near where their mother was collected.
Her species is one of the ones that disguises its egg sac with bits of debris: watching her pick up pieces of substrate and delicately stick them to the sides of her magnum opus was utterly fascinating. A spider fetching sticks: awwww.