Breathe In And Out...

By ScotNatureBoy

Spider, spider burning bright (green)...

It is National Insect Week and I have coincidently blipped two bumblebee and one hoverfly photos. With a welcome return of sun today, I went into the garden to try to snap some more insect photos, but it was quite windy and none of the bees or flies settled long enough on a flower for a decent photo opportunity. Now, I know a spider isn't an insect (and I know you know that. You DO know that, don't you?) but is, rather, an arachnid (8 legs, cephalothorax, abdomen, lots of eyes, you know the drill). But when my wife spotted this little gem of a spider sitting in its web across the top of a lily plant, I thought it would make a good alternative. It is, at least, an invertebrate. My basic spider identification guides suggest that it is an orb web spider of the genus Araniella, and the red dot near its silk spinning apparatus (spinnaret - what a great word) means it may be the species Araniella cucurbitina, a Latin name suggesting that it has been named after its marrow or cucumber striped colouration. It is only about 5mm across, so I was pleased to take this on my phone's camera.

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