Warning. This post is not for arachnophobes. It is all about spiders, and it should probably be rated R for extreme violence. If you do not like spiders you may wish to visit the buttercups and ferns and come back later. If you have been sneering at all the flowers that have appeared here recently, well, this one’s for you.
In the pre-dawn darkness of Saturday morning I glanced up from my keyboard and saw, gleaming in the lamplight at my front door, a pale silken capsule. Upon closer inspection I saw that it was dangling from an untidy spiderweb, wrapped in the arms of the spider. I remembered Charlotte’s Web, and thought, oh, how nice, baby spiders. All the while another part of my brain was saying That Spider Is Not Charlotte.
The capsule quivered in the breeze – or perhaps even when the air was still. Yes, definitely, something inside the capsule moved of its own accord. My curiosity overcoming my vague apprehension, I set the trusty Canon for closeups, held it over my head, and snapped away. The spider seemed alarmed to be the focus of such investigative journalism, but then grew defiant. It was not until I looked at the photos that I saw the full extent of its villainy. Not a silken egg sac but a shroud. Ah, the horror of it.
Spider clinging to silk
Spider in the doorway
Spider and its shrouded prey
Defiant spider displays trophy head
Spiders got whiskers. Who knew?
Spiders got fangs, too. I knew that.
This morning, in the clear light of day, I dissected the shroud. As near as I can tell, the remains are of a moth. I made rather a mess of the dissection, and will forebear to show you pictures.
In spite of feeling sorry for the spider’s prey, I am fascinated by the spider. I went googling about the web–er, the internet web!–in search of links for you, and was astonished to discover how much better my photos would have to be in order to identify my particular spider. (I was feeling rather proud of myself for the whiskers, you see, and simply had no idea . . . ) In any case, if you’re dying to learn more, here are some links:
Torch Lake Views 
flandrumhill
June 29, 2009
Amazing photos Gerry! When I tried to identify mine the other day I also ran into a similar problem. There are so many types and extremely clear close-ups of the front and back of the spider are needed for proper identification. Not an easy task, especially when you’re photographing them while they’re busy preparing dinner.
Gerry
June 29, 2009
Thanks Amy. I was stunned at the quality and variety of spider photos available on the web. Who knew there were so many people captivated by the critters?
centria
June 29, 2009
Oh cool! I like the gory photos here. What an incredible find! Can’t wait to see what spiders present themselves around here in the next few months. Have you ever seen a pine spider? Big AND scary. They’ve freaked out many a Yooper, including me.
Gerry
June 29, 2009
That pine spider was real???? I thought I was having a very, very bad dream . . .