http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=1129569678&size=l&context=set-72157601463818359
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=1128777813&size=l
2007-08-15 08:31:50 · 7 answers · asked by bambino7758 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
Ah, that would be a Female Spined Micrathena. A very nice one too. It is completely harmless to humans, poison wise. I made the mistake of 'squashing' one, and those spikes will leave a few needle-like holes in your skin.
My advice, leave it be and DON'T TOUCH IT. If it seems to be a problem after a few days, put on heavy duty gloves and carry it somewhere else.
However, they are not aggressive and eat many bugs that people consider pests. Such as gnats, mosquitoes, and flies.
You should keep that first picture, it's a good image. You're a very nice photographer!
2007-08-15 08:46:58 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
One of the neat things (I guess neat being a relative term here) about Micrathenas is their habit of spinning webs across trails at just about head height. I've lost track of how many times I've been wandering along without paying attention and suddenly had one dangling from my nose. Good stress test for the cardiac system, and it's not as if they're hard to see or anything. In fact, if you look at a Micrathena web, you'll see that it's spun in much tighter spirals than any other web I know of - if the light hits it at the right angle, it's like looking at an old vinyl phonograph record. Probably why they like to spin webs in shaded areas. Incidentally, ou'll find that most day-hunting orb-weavers have some sort of "defense against the dark bird-arts" practice. Micrathenas and their relatives are spiny and nasty-looking; others hide in the middle of a row of garbage in the web, looking a bit like garbage themselves; Argiopes have that stabilimentum in the hub of the web where they sit, which presumably (maybe) has some sort of defensive purpose. It figures, really, since spiders are basically just a big old juicy sack of protein with legs, and consequently would seem to be very vulnerable to being eaten by anything that comes along. They have to have some sort of defenses. Anyway, I agree that you take a great photo - I hope you do more than just this!
2007-08-15 17:33:23 · answer #2 · answered by John R 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
No! Don't smash!!
It looks like a beautiful, harmless Micrathena gracilis, or spined Micrathena.
They are in the orb-weaver family, the same family as Charlotte, and they are excellent friends to have in your garden. They eat flies and mosquitoes and other flying insects that most people consider to be a nuisance. And they're a lot cheaper than one of those bug-zappers.
They are not in the least bit aggressive, and wouldn't even try to bite you unless you were deliberately injuring them in some way. Even then, I'm not sure they're actually strong enough to break the skin. If they did, their venom is formulated to work on tiny flies, not big vertebrates. It might possibly cause some itching or burning. Maybe. If they did manage to get through the skin.
Here's a page with some more pictures of Micrathena gracilis.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/1972/bgimage?from=504
2007-08-15 15:49:14 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Looks like a Gasteracantha spider in the Orb Weaver family Araneidaea.
2007-08-15 16:10:12 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
haysoos, and afew others wer on the money no point in repeating, but i must comment that you do take great photos!!
and walking into these webs always freaks me out because inevitably the spider ends up on your face.
2007-08-16 00:52:55 · answer #5 · answered by Bio-student Again(aka nursegirl) 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A EFFING SCARY LOOKING SPIDER!!! THATS WHAT IT IS!
2007-08-15 15:43:26 · answer #6 · answered by Kris G 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋
eww!! ewwww!!!!!!! thats nasty
smash it!!!
2007-08-15 15:35:23 · answer #7 · answered by Whatsername 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋