(This post originally published in October 2010)
While walking the prairie meadow the other day, I came upon a strange sight … on a piece of prairie grass, there was a “blob” of something attached to the grass stem. As I got closer, it resembled an insect. As I looked it over, I discovered that it was a spider, one of our Spiny-Bellied Orb Weavers (Micrathena spp.):
This little guy could easily be overlooked. Measuring only a few centimeters in length, and curled up (temperature was 38°F and there was some frost in the area), it really didn’t look like a spider unless you took a close look at it. Here is another, closer look at Spiny:
I moved around to try to get a better angle of Spiny and found this to be about the best I could do. The early morning sun was shining brightly and gave a nice warming effect on Spiny. In this next image, you can see how Spiny gets his name:
Seems like every visit to this Prairie Meadow gives me something new to photograph! And we have another cold, frosty morning today, so you know where I’m headed right after I post this :o)