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green lynx spider, peucetia viridans and her spiderlings, the next generation!

 
Posts: 8924
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Most of yesterdays extensive web was gone by mid morning yesterday and this morning back to the usual.
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Judith Browning
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Friday...
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Judith Browning
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Saturday...in the rain.
10" that was at times a downpour.
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Judith Browning
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Sunday...
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Judith Browning
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Judith Browning
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Judith Browning
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Observations.....

She is looking thinner and her body is still yellowish.
and she's missing a leg and another is damaged.

Some of the spiderlings are much larger than others.

We wonder if they feed on the silk she spins?
Would that make sense?
I guess it's protein.

The spiderlings are never far from the egg case and until recently some seemed to go back inside.
Today I noticed it's flattened or collapsed.

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Judith Browning
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Judith Browning
Posts: 8924
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Judith Browning
Posts: 8924
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Sunday
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Judith Browning
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Tuesday
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Judith Browning
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Thursday
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Judith Browning
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Sunday
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gardener
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The spiderlings don't seem to grow much faster now, do they? Did it get down to freezing temperature in your place? It's sweet how they still take shelter in the old egg sac home.
 
Judith Browning
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May Lotito wrote:The spiderlings don't seem to grow much faster now, do they? Did it get down to freezing temperature in your place? It's sweet how they still take shelter in the old egg sac home.


I see that they've shed skins again but yes, they are not growing as fast as earlier.

There are a few that are larger than the others though and I wonder if those are the likely survivors for next years batch and out of that many eggs only one mating pair survives?
I've looked and looked for another egg case on the plants in that area but no luck...it doesn't seem like they have a very large territory at all?

We have had freezing temps and expect 20's this week.  Last year they were still at the egg case into january's cold and ice. She had been gone awhile then.

EDIT: I checked posts from last year and she disappeared in december and the kids were hanging out on their own into january's single digits and first snow....the egg case had not collapsed as early as this year.
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Judith Browning
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Judith Browning
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These photos are from a few days ago...before the post above.

It's the first we've seen her that far from the kids and have not seen her since.

Lows in the twenties here much of the week and spiderlings are still hanging out in their leaf shelter.
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Judith Browning
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25F last night...forecast says  18F tonight.
they don't seem to mind the cold until freezing ice and snow.
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Judith Browning
Posts: 8924
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that's all the excitement for this year

I see a few still but I think they'll all be heading south soon...moving to the mulch at the base of the blueberry.
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Judith Browning
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cold and windy today...thermometer says 45 but my laundry is frozen on the line...no sign of the spiderlings although she left them with a lot of silk and I see what I think are shed skins below the egg case.
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Judith Browning
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Well,I thought we were done for this year but it's 50F today and they are out...only a few though, although I think I see what might be more tucked behind the egg case.

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Judith Browning
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thursday.
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Judith Browning
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friday.
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Judith Browning
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today, after heavy downpours off and on all morning...all tucked up under their leaf roof
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Rusticator
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Smart little critters!!
 
Judith Browning
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I'm fascinated by the shelter mom built for them...tied together with silk, layered blueberry leaves serving as a waterproof roof so far although the bush is beginning to loose leaves.

Two views of the 'backside' to the north where the egg case is not visible...the open side faces south.

Looking back a few posts I see that the leaves have gradually become closer together so the kids must be pulling the silks somehow to rearrange?
Quite different from a few weeks back.
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Carla Burke
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Some of those threads do seem to be under a fair bit of tension, and, with the control being the plant next to it, it's apparent that she did it by design. Incredible and ingenious!
 
May Lotito
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Do you think the mama spider picked the blueberry bush for buildinh nest on purpose? There aren't many plants that are still holding on to the leaves so late in the season. Besides, the color is gorgeous!
 
Judith Browning
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Last years egg case was positioned in the top of an elderflower shrub and 'tied' together in much the same way as these blueberry leaves although the elder leaves were larger.  Those leaves held surprisingly well until sometime in january, through rains and cold, snow and ice.

I see that some of the blueberry leaves are loose from the canes but must have separated only recently?

and yes! the colors have been outstanding this year...more so on this one than our other blueberries.

I don't see the spiderlings themselves lately (by only observing the plant) until I crop the photo and zoom in...they are still pretty tiny.
 
steward
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I was wondering if all that spider silk was actually creating a slightly warmer ecosystem for the plant as well as the babies?

I have 3 Morus alba mulberry clones in 3 locations on my property. The one with a metal shed beside it to the east goes yellow earliest, the one near the composts and garden area turns next and much more slowly, and the one on a north slope beside a duck run and under a fir tree and it keeps its leaves the longest and they stay bright green for at least 6 weeks after the one by the shed. It's a healthy looking plant, but all I can figure is that it wants every spec of light it can get?

So the spiders could be helping the blueberry leaves as well as the leaves are helping the spiders?
 
Judith Browning
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yesterday.
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Judith Browning
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and today...dangling upside down
There has been wind and lows in the 20's F the past week.

I hope they've made it to shelter.
The egg case is barely visible in the lower leaves of the third photo.
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Judith Browning
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.
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