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Comments & ID Thoughts
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This comic is for TangledWeb, who identifies here at SpiderID with skill and dedication.
The spider featured in this comic is Cyclosa turbinata, one of the Trashline Orb-weavers. Trashline Orb-weavers are so named because they use their trash (insect husks and other debris) to create a vertical line in their webs. Their unusual shape and mottled appearance help them to blend in with this line, effectively concealing them from predators.
Disclaimer: I realize the style is vastly different from my previous shares. This is due to my use of a photograph as a visual reference model. I believe this does not fall into the category of copyright infringement, as all drawing was done freehand (no tracing). Nevertheless, here is a link to the image so that the original photographer may be acknowledged:
https://bugguide.net/node/view/1192209
I chose this reference image because I thought this little lady looked adorably bashful hiding behind all her knees. Spiders have so many knees - I love it!
TangledWeb, thanks for keeping SpiderID going and for taking the time to comment on my drawings and share your ideas!
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Nov 22, 2020
- Photographed: Nov 22, 2020
- Spider: Unidentified
- Location: Moscow, Idaho, United States
- Spotted Outdoors: High foliage (includes trees and tree trunks)
- Found in web?: Yes
- Attributes:
Thanks, that’s so sweet! This is also my own approach to house cleaning- don’t throw it out if you can hide from visitors in it. 🙂
Hahaha! I try to keep my place tidy (there are no visitors to hide from this far out), but honestly I have way too many craft supplies. I see something, get an idea, and then store it for years.
That makes u totally my type of person! I too have more arts and crafts and repairing stuff supplies because I’ve gone to many estate sales, flea markets, and a Goodwill that sells items for up to $1.49/lb. Heavy stuff is 20 cents/lb. That buys lots of glass beads, craft paper, paint, etc. I buy stiff that would have been thrown away that evening if someone didn’t buy it. I dig old dumps too. The stuff that did get thrown away over a century ago. My best friend is a professional artist who uses my finds in her artwork. We… Read more »
And I hate to say it, but I think many clutterers like me feel some relief to hear the government say to not have anyone from outside your own household visit your home. I have two friends I co-isolate with. They clutter more than I do and help me find spiders. So, we’re happy in our own little world.
Yes, the spiders must be very happy; they love clutter! When I was a kid, my mother warned me to clean my room or there might be spiders. These days, I ask myself, “What’s the worst that can happen?” When I answer myself, “Spiders!” I laugh and clean it anyway.
The only problem is that sometimes I drop a spider into my stuff and it escapes before I can photograph it.
Hahahahaha oh no. Speedy spiders! I visited a coffee shop recently and got to see what I believe to be a Holocnemus pluchei. I got some pictures, but I’m slow sorting and uploading. The web was so clean and clear that at first I didn’t see how far it extended and bumped into it. The occupant got all excited and startled me.
I’ll be working on replying to the rest of your comments. I just need to take some time to focus on each part.
Thanks, I know I write in what I call, “long-style.” My brother won’t read my texts if they have more than 3 words. He only writes in emojis. So we don’t communicate.
Mmm, art and science. Sounds like a good life. I’d love to see some of the friend’s art if it’s posted anywhere. Mixed media is pretty cool. I’ve been using CD film in some of my art. If you soak CDs in water for a few hours, it forms little bubbles under the shiny rainbow film. The film comes off with a little coaxing and can be glued to paper. It’s great for representing iridescent insects. I haven’t yet figured out what to do with the clear acrylic disks left over. Perhaps I should paint them, but I don’t really… Read more »
I’m working on keeping my jeans alive too! I have hundreds of upholstery fabric swaths that can be patches. I’m happy to share anything I mention. I focused on science and art in high school with the goal of using art to teach science and influence people to think environmentally. Got the science degree because I thought that would be most effective. I need to learn to use a sewing machine for hems too. Totally not spider-related, but when I started reading the discussions on this site, this was something I wanted to read. I liked the side discussions of… Read more »
My best friend is Jenn Ski of Bedford, NH. She mostly works on the modernist style. She’s easy to google. She lives in a house built by an architect that worked and collaborated with Frank Lloyd Wright. It has the same design style and original materials that Wright used. I sent her your tip about CDs. She sells original handmade art pieces on Etsy and to people who commission her. I’ve been picking up handmade cloth and paper for her to use in her art. I saved junk CDs to try to work them into something. Junk old vinyl records… Read more »
Share…. as in tell me more? As in show me pictures? As in mail me supplies? What manner of sharing do you have in mind? Please forgive my confusion. Sewing hems is actually not bad as long as you’re using the right tools. I’ve been patching my jeans on the outside just as the hole starts to develop, using standard printed cotton fabric. I hem the patches with the sewing machine and then sew them on by hand. The nice thing about cotton is that ironing creates a nice firm crease, sometimes good enough to sew without using pins. It’s… Read more »
My husband loves your drawing, he saved a copy because he said it was so like me. 🙂 I found a Velvet Ant AKA/ Cow Killer Wasp in New Hampshire this year. I just got my own ID of it to genus confirmed on Bugguide. There’s over 40 species in the genus in North America of these wasps with debilitating stings! I just learned about them a year ago after I found one in South Carolina. I had no idea that these furry wasps are in every state! Thankfully I learned to stop handling insects with bare hands a few… Read more »
Thank you! I’m so glad he likes it! 🙂 Congratulations on your wasp ID! We have tons of Velvet “Ants,” all different sizes. They scramble busily through the grass, their fuzzy scarlet bodies warning of their stings. I think I even saw a white or grey one last year. I haven’t had any run-ins with stinging or biting arthropods, with the common exceptions of fleas, mosquitoes, and ticks. The only wild creatures I’m comfortable touching without gloves are *hummingbirds, lepidopterans, and harvestmen. I caught a moth once during a church service and took it outside. It was fluttering alternately at the… Read more »
Interesting! I love the weird kinds of things I learn here, like ‘hummingbirds are sticky.” Didn’t know they fight with their beaks. Check out BBC nature documentaries on Youtube , they’re funny, fast, and cute films. I totally freaked my husband out when I brought home a sphinx moth, (Medusa sexta?) to photograph on the kitchen table. It was so big that the flapping and slapping of its wings against the wood sounded like a panicked bird’s wings. I picked one up in a park and it wouldn’t leave me. I walked around with it on my chest and people… Read more »
Oh, wow! Yes, Sphinx Moths are fantastic! A pin or brooch designed to look like one would be awesome! I usually see one each year, in mid-spring. They seem to appear at dusk to feed from purple flowers. I wonder if that’s coincidence, an observation bias, or an actual color preference. I had the good fortune to visit the California Academy of Sciences (a museum of natural history) and go inside their rainforest exhibit to see the butterflies. I got to see Blue Morpho butterflies live and in person, a bucket list achievement for me. One even landed on my… Read more »
Hi! @Helper-Harvestman My husband is writing another humor-autobiography book continuing the saga of his life. He writes emotionally about things that happen and that amuse and interest him. Our philosophy is that everything is interconnected. We absolutely love this comic you drew and would like permission to include it in his newest book. He is happy to credit you. If you would like to use your actual name we can arrange to do that privately if you want to keep your name off of this site. I can give you our names and the book title too. I don’t want… Read more »
Hello, TangledWeb! It’s wonderful to hear from you again. I am honored by your request. It seems reasonable, especially since this drawing was done with you specifically in mind. I might permit its inclusion; I’d like to learn a bit more about “Mr. Web’s” books before I can be sure. I have often wondered how to connect with my SpiderID buddies, or, as my in-person friends call y’all, my SpiderVille Friends. I’d love to connect offsite, especially since this isn’t designed as a social media platform (despite my attempts to use it as one) and everything we post is both… Read more »
Cool! I was thinking of using BugGuide to contact you. I’m “krummholz” on that site. Here’s what the username means in English.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krummholz I was staying in a mountain hiking lodge in a room with that name when I started as sort-of moderator for this site.
That is intriguing. I learned a new word! Thank you!
I have just created an attempt at a resource library: a photo intended as a resource aggregation point for the community. If you would consider contributing, I’d appreciate it! Thank you.
https://spiderid.com/picture/163953/
Thank you for your resource contributions, TangledWeb!