Spiders are your Friends!

To think I used to be scared of Spiders! But two years ago I decided to learn something about them and discovered some of the most fascinating and yes, beautiful, creatures in the world. I had just learned how to look right in the center of an aster and sometimes find one of the tiny miniaturized crab spiders. That little white thing in the coneflower head on page 1 was a flower crab spider. In this third image, the crab spider has taken hold of the head of an enormous green fly and is dragging it away.



The next easiest ones to find are the orbweavers. Here is the Orchard Orbweaver, another kind of Long-jawed ones. This one is a female Cross Orbweaver, so called becaue of a cross design on its back. And that one is the male. Last is the closely-related Marbled Orbweaver. I found it in Marshall in December.



Just about everyone that looks a jumping spider in its two big eyes is hypnotized by those big headlights. Here is Maevia inclemens,one of the prettiest of the jumpers. And here is another species, one with a surprising clown face on its abdomen. And a Pirate Spider with a face too! It also seems to be scratching its head, which is of course its abdomen.



Finally, just in case you think Cobweb Spiders are ugly and dirty, let me show you this one.

I'd now like to introduce you to Albion College's Kresge Prairie Garden.Next