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Brown Widow
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Brown Widow

by Tom Astle

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted October 15, 2014164 views4 comments
These originally-African spiders seem to be displacing the black widows that used to be everywhere in my yard. They're in the same genus as black widows, but (from what I've read) even less likely to bite, and less likely to inject enough venom for much of a reaction if they do. Anyway, happy Halloween. This one was under the rim of a ceramic pot in my yard. Nikon D800, 105mm + 36mm extension, 1/80th @ f/18, ISO 100, diffused flash.

Comments

4 comments
Comment posted by D.A. Edwards on October 15, 2014 at 5:54 PM
Very graphic the way the one leg on the left leads to the head/body. Nicely presented.
Where do you live? My yard in Sacramento is full of black widows so I wouldn't mind if they got displaced by even a slightly less worrisome spider. :eek:
Registered on October 8, 2014, 226 Posts, 1187 Comments
Comment posted by Tom Astle on October 15, 2014 at 6:26 PM
Dave -- I'm in Southern California. I was actually searching my yard for black widows, in hopes of taking a nice Halloween pic, but all I found were these. Their egg cases are distinctive -- they're round but spiky, like giant pollen grains (or as some have described them, like WWII harbor mines). From what I've been able to read, they're not chasing the black widows away, but rather supplanting them in some areas by simply occupying all the good real estate.
Registered on September 27, 2014, 14 Posts, 26 Comments
Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on October 16, 2014 at 7:47 AM
Tom:

Thanks for the scary images for Halloween. You nailed the eyes and head. Nice to see the red star on its belly too. :toast:
Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on October 16, 2014 at 4:16 PM
Nice comp., Tom, with that one leg stretching across the frame sharp and the clear view of her well marked abdomen.
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments