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Comments & ID Thoughts
No clue as to what this is. Has a bluish green tint to it, with an iridescent yellow or orange spot that seems to be glowing. Didn’t move once the whole time I was trying to get a decent pic.
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Jun 30, 2020
- Photographed: Jun 30, 2020
- Spider: Unidentified
- Location: Plainfield , Illinois, United States
- Spotted Outdoors: Man-made structure (building wall, fences, etc.)
- Found in web?: No
- Attributes:
This is Leucauge venusta, the Orchard Orb-weaver. I’ve heard those very words used before – “seems to be glowing” – to describe the markings of this species. Although frustratingly small (for my photography skills, anyway), it’s quite stunning.
It is an OrbWeaver? They spin some of the most beautiful webs and fast! As a spinner of fiber, I can only look on with full admiration, well ok, and a little envy.
And yes, sorry for the small pic, he was a little guy, and I was trying to do the best I could with what I had to work with.
Maybe next time, if he hasn’t moved on already, we can hope for a larger pic.
Thanks for your prompt identification too!
Yes, Orb-weavers are incredibly skillful! Oh, wow – you work in fibers? That’s fantastic. What kind? Maybe you’ll want to do a project inspired by this little guy. 🙂
I wasn’t referring to your picture as ‘frustratingly small,’ but to the spider itself. I tried taking a picture of one a few days ago and got nothing but a blur on my camera. I’m quite satisfied with the clarity of your photo. You did a good job. If you do get more pictures, I’d love to see them. 🙂
I spin mainly with what is considered the natural fibers, animal, mineral, plants. Then I turn these into projects by knitting, weaving, etc.
Lol I thought you were referring to the size of the photo and not being able to capture the true beauty of the little guy.
That’s really cool. I’ve done a limited amount of work in the fiber arts – a little crochet when I was a kid, some embroidery, basic sewing and mending skills, but no more. I’m familiar with animal and plant fibers – wool, flax, and cotton being prominent examples, but what kinds of minerals have fibers that can be spun? I’ve heard of asbestos but I thought it wasn’t used anymore. I, too, have an interest in natural materials as media for art. My room is decorated with found natural objects, including shed antlers, tree branches, rocks, leaves, and seed pods.… Read more »
This is one of the most interesting conversations I’ve read on the site! Most of us are artsy here. I get a lot of really cool supplies at a Goodwill store that sells junk by weight. They barely look at the stuff before it goes into a bin to be physically battled over. I recommend these stores, they have limited numbers of people allowed in, but they’re open. People donate really strange materials. I got a coffee canister full of porcupine quills, lots of handmade art, vintage material, fossils, silver jewelry, printing press blocks, a glass vase (about 1870?) made… Read more »
Ooh! I love thrift stores, too. Unfortunately, my local Goodwill is pretty boring, but I have some other thrift stores I absolutely love. Vintage finds are pretty fantastic, and the little out-of-the-way places get a lot of them – uranium glass, old farm equipment, military gear, ’50s prom dresses, tiny velvet hats, silk gloves, odds and ends of every shape and origin. There are two or three antique stores in my (rural) area that I can get lost in for hours. One of them is in a really cool old building that used to be a boarding house – three… Read more »
You are correct in the use of mineral fibers and the toxicology of asbestos and even the rest of what would be considered mineral. It’s a whole different world that I’ve barely had time to explore.
I love the idea of using the natural materials for your artwork. Keep experimenting. The success will come to you soon!
Thank you, I will!
Me again, you can find the info online for 3D printing spiders from the spiders’ bodies photographed by a museum archive. I haven’t tried it yet, but it could be a way to put life-sized spiders into human-woven webs. My mom worked for a farm in Connecticut weaving furs into yarns. A really popular product was yarn made from sled team dogs after the dogs were shaved for summer. The labels had photos of the dogs. I think mom tried hair she saved from her long-haired cat too. She kept it in a jar in the living room. It was… Read more »
That is so awesome. My dad has a 3D printer. I will SO request some spiders. (Hee hee) Could you send me the link for those? I’ve done wasps and hornets from beads and wire, but I haven’t had success doing spiders that way. I ADORE the Russian beaded spider Christmas ornaments. We used to have one, but it somehow disappeared. It was an orb-weaver, all pearly and golden. I’ve been wanting to do some human-woven webs on the dry willow branches I have. They’re really soft and smooth – they died on the tree and got bleached by the… Read more »
There’s a whole other world out there when it comes to spinning the coats of other animals that most wouldn’t think typical. Especially dog. Supposed lay it spins up beautifully, soft, and very dense for warmth. I tend to stick with wool from sheep, goat, rabbit, etc.
That’s really neat. I wouldn’t have expected dog hair to make a soft material. Somehow dog fur has always felt rough and coarse to me. Maybe I just haven’t pet the right dogs yet. There’s a place near me that does alpaca wool – they grow and dye it themselves. It’s really soft and beautiful but costs an arm and a leg. My mom used to have an angora rabbit sweater – until she discovered she’s allergic to them. As a kid, I used to try spinning thread from the fur left in our cat’s bed, but it always pulled… Read more »
Their bodies do refract light, like a Parrish painting. Their legs reflect light like metal. Charles Darwin named them after their appearance of being dipped in silver. They can be too reflective for photos sometimes. There is a company in New England that has a barn full of orbweavers (Araneus cavaticus). The owner harvests the webs sustainably by coating them with some kind of delicate spray or dust paint, then presses dark boards against them. He covers them with varnish to preserve them. The spiders aren’t harmed.
That’s really cool. Want to add the link in a comment here? I’m awed at the concept of being able to preserve something so ethereal, like the sea foam on the beach or the smell of wheat fields. I’d try and duplicate the process if I had enough orb-weavers, but they seem to be few and far between here, which is odd. I did spot one the other day and got some pictures that I haven’t sorted yet. It had a tiny (2-inch) orb web between different parts of one grass stem. I thought it was pretty hilarious to see… Read more »
I’m so sorry I just saw your post. I will grab the link and it get it up here in the next day or so!
Oh hi! I remember this conversation – it was a good one. Glad to see you’re back! I’m here intermittently these days, but just now I’m here to post one of my projects, a beaded crab spider. If you want to see it, you can click on my name and go to the tab marked “Pictures.” We’ll see if the site administrators leave it up. I’m not sure they will since it’s not a real spider.