female spiny orb weaver spider by danapommet

Photography • Insects • posted on Nov 24, 2014

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Description

Spinybacked orb weaver spiders (Gasteracantha cancriformis) get the name spinybacked from the spines that stick out of the abdomen. They get the name orb weaver from the shape of the web which is very random shaped. These spiders are common the Florida, the Gulf of Mexico coast, and California. They are actually beneficial because they eat insects like flies and mosquitoes. This young lady has baffled my camera for years. She is about a half an inch (1.27 cm) and the males are about half that size. They build their webs in breezy areas to increase the chances of catching their pray which makes it impossible to get a good focus. There is a section of the web where she waits and a separate section for catching prey. She stays alone on the web. The male spider hangs on a single silken thread near the female’s web. When an insect flies into the web, the female spider bites it to paralyze it. If it is a small insect, she may eat it on the spot. If it is a large insect, she may wrap it and eat it later. The female dies after producing the egg sac. Information from the Orkin web site. They are not venomous. Zoom will show you better details. Thanks for stopping by, taking a look and for all your previous favs and comments. They are very much appreciated. Dana

Comments (27)

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giulband

10:58PM | Mon, 24 November 2014

Wonderful capture !!!

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Faemike55

11:01PM | Mon, 24 November 2014

this goes beyond cool! that spider looks more like a modified caltrop that the ninjas would use against attackers

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bebopdlx

11:27PM | Mon, 24 November 2014

Wow Dana, never seen one of these, cool capture.

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MagikUnicorn

11:29PM | Mon, 24 November 2014

OMG Unique one

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netot

11:41PM | Mon, 24 November 2014

We have someof thesehere, but they are yellow with black spots. They look mean!

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mtdana

1:09AM | Tue, 25 November 2014

Unreal - very unusual spider!!!

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Katraz

1:30AM | Tue, 25 November 2014

A very weird but interesting looking spider , nice shot.

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jmb007

1:34AM | Tue, 25 November 2014

charmante dame!

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jayfar

2:05AM | Tue, 25 November 2014

This is a great shot Dana and that above her looks like the remains of her husband !! Glad I'm not a spider !

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Jean_C

2:09AM | Tue, 25 November 2014

Wonderful macrocapture, Dana, thanks for the interestinf infos!

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durleybeachbum

2:21AM | Tue, 25 November 2014

Wow! I want one! Such a beauty and so interesting.

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Leije

3:23AM | Tue, 25 November 2014

Amazing and excellent capture of this spiny spider and thanks for the infos, Dana !

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jendellas

4:26AM | Tue, 25 November 2014

Flip that is such an unusual spider, great find.xx

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prutzworks

4:40AM | Tue, 25 November 2014

great find and capture

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eekdog Online Now!

6:18AM | Tue, 25 November 2014

creepy! can't stand spiders. great capture of it, Dana. prefer photos over seeing it live.

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flavia49

5:48PM | Tue, 25 November 2014

so weird! marvellous image

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CavalierLady

6:56PM | Tue, 25 November 2014

The spines were a big surprise! Well seen and captured, Dana!

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NightGallery

7:58PM | Tue, 25 November 2014

Very cool looking spidey! Nice shot

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MrsRatbag

8:33PM | Tue, 25 November 2014

Oooh, I've never seen anything like that, what a pretty spider! Great shot!

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e-brink

9:50PM | Tue, 25 November 2014

Interesting spider. I've never seen one like this before.

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Richardphotos

9:49AM | Wed, 26 November 2014

superb macro and beautiful spider

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dochtersions

11:02AM | Thu, 27 November 2014

This is such an unusual spider, with stunning forms, and I've never seen this kind before. Your photo is superb, as your info is too, Dana. Thank you very much.

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