Micrathena Sagitatta: Arrow-shaped Micrathena Spider

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Tamron 90 mm Macro Lens, ISO 400, f/2.8 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

In my last post, I talked about how I really wanted to get a chance to photograph some spiders.  I could not believe it but today I got my chance.  I went out in my backyard today, to start cleaning out a garden that we had just let get away from us over the last few years.  But as I started to trim back some of the branches off the bush in front of me, I saw two different Arrow-shaped Micrathena Spiders.  After some research I found out they were both females.  I managed a few good photographs, and I hope over the next few days I get a few more.  One of the spiders was rebuilding its web so I focused a lot of my time on that spider.  I just could not believe that these spiders have probably been in my backyard all summer.  To me they are some of the craziest looking spiders around here.  Ever since I photographed and wrote a post about them back in 2012, I had not really seen any.  (Link to 2012 Post)  Maybe I just was not looking hard enough.  Since then I have done some research a few times but I never posted anything about these spiders.  So I figured I would put a little information about them here.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Tamron 90 mm Macro Lens, ISO 400, f/2.8 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

What do they look like?

Arrow-shaped Micrathena Spiders are one of the smaller species of orb-weaving spider.  They are sexually dimorphic.  The males are smaller averaging around 0.5cm and females about 1.0 cm. (without including the legs)  The females have the more striking features and beautiful colors.  Both have the distinctive arrow shape, but the females are more pronounced.  The females also have additional small spikes on the abdomen near the thorax.

Web Structure:

The most interesting thing I did not know about them is that the web consists of two portions the frame and the orb.  The frame is a relatively permanent structure and some spiders will leave them up for days and weeks.  The orb however is built each day at dawn before being taken down in the evening.  When they take it down they consume it.  They also typically stay in the hole at the center of the orb where it hangs upside down waiting for its prey to wander into the web.  In my case because they were upside down the good side was facing into the bush.  So I had to climb in behind the bush and the brush to be able to get the shots.

Where are they located?

Micrathena Sagitatta is one of only three Micrathena spiders found in North America.  It is most common to the eastern half of the country.  Nationally it is found in nearly every state east of Kansas, and as far north as Maine.

Are they dangerous?

Most people who look these spiders up are rightly concerned as to whether these spiders are dangerous?  For the most part, they aren't dangerous to people.  They have venom that they use to paralyze and kill bugs, but their venom isn't strong enough to do the same to larger creatures.  The venom may be a concern for those who are allergic to it, but this is rare.  That said, the bite can be painful, so you should try and avoid accidentally sticking your hand into their web.

Even though these spiders are not really dangerous they do look quite scary.  Once you get past the fear of them they can be very interesting just to watch.  I hope over the next week I get some more opportunities to photograph them, and as I clean out the garden maybe I will find more interesting bugs.  Until next time.

Macro Photography: Historic Goshen Farm Maryland

In my last post, I talked about how I had just gotten back from a trip to Maryland to visit my sister.  If you have not had a chance to see it yet, click here.  The one evening, my family and I went to Historic Goshen Farm and Educational Center for an evening of music.  I am not much of a live music fan, but I was very interested in visiting their garden.  They had several gardens and an apiary.  The one garden was called the pollinator garden and it was full of all kinds of beautiful flowers.

Naturally this attracted a wide arraignment of insects.  There were a ton of bees.  Not just honey bees from the apiary, but also wasps, hornets, bumble bees, you name it and it was there.  I am always very unnerved by bees but I think if I hadn't gotten used to them buzzing around me I would not have gotten any photographs, because they were everywhere.  I did have this one blue colored wasp that was giving me a hard time.  Thankfully he moved on without stinging me.

In the pollinator garden and on the grounds, there were also a lot of different species of butterflies and moths.  Most prominent were the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and Eastern Black Swallowtail.  Almost all my photographs of the Eastern Black Swallowtails came out to dark.  But I did capture some beautiful Eastern Tiger Swallowtails.  I just love the colors that they exhibit.

In the pollinator garden I also captured a couple photographs of a Bumble Bee on a Purple / Pink Coneflower.  I could be wrong but I believe that is what it was.  If you know what kind of flower it is you can comment the name down in the comments section.  The colors were just amazing in these photographs.  The other flowers in the background I think just make the bright red and pinks pop with the Bumble Bee as an added focus.  I think these are the best Bee photographs that I have ever taken.

Also, I was able to spot some Monarch Caterpillars, chomping away on Milkweed.  It had been a few years since I had seen one.  So it was quite remarkable to see so many in one garden.  I did not see any chrysalis yet, but it must be getting close to that time of year.

Overall the trip was a lot of fun and I think that I managed some great macro photographs from the trip.  I am looking forward to taking more Macro Photographs of insects while the summer lasts.  I would love to get some photographs of Jumping Spiders or just Spiders in general.  But I have a big fear of spiders and I normally try and keep my distance from them which typically results in less than stellar shots.  Furthermore I would like to try and photograph some more Dragonflies and Damselflies before the summer is over.  Fall is quickly approaching and then winter will be here soon.  Then I should get a good chance to test out my Sigma 150-600 mm lens on some flying eagles for the first time.  I can't wait.  Until Next Time.