While hiking one of the trails at Burr Oak Woods Nature Center (Blue Springs, Missouri), we came upon several orb weaving spiders. This little guy, a Triangulate Orb Weaver (Verrucosa arenata) was a real find. I’ve only seen these a couple of times previously. With a light wind blowing down the pathway, it was very difficult to get any good photos. Here was about the best I could capture:
The Triangulate Orb Weaver is most commonly found in late summer and fall, on woodland hikes. The spider’s abdomen is covered with a triangle of color, and can be white, pink or yellow in color. This spider is Missouri’s only orb weaver that rests centered in it’s web, head-up instead of head-down. It is believed the Triangulate Orb Weaver resides statewide in woodlands.
Photographic Equipment Used:
- Canon 5D Mark 3 body
- Canon EF180mm, f/3.5 macro lens
- Bogen 3221 tripod with Graff Studioball SB-QR ballhead
- ISO 800
- Aperture f/3.5
- Shutter 1/50 sec.