Washblog || I witnessed a death struggle.

I witnessed a death struggle.

By dinazina
Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 08:21:25 AM PST
Section: Diary Topic: Environmental issues

...And caught it on camera. How often does that happen?

Experimenting with the "Super Close-up" function of my digital Olympus camera, I focused it on a garden spider, let's call her "Charlotte", at rest in the center of her web. I had noticed almost no common garden spiders in my yard this year, though in past years there've been tons of them.

Suddenly, BOOM - a fly had just blundered into the web! Charlotte instantly leapt upon it.

Continued below:

The fly, let's call him "Andy," struggled mightily but briefly. "OH SHIT! I am SO done."

Charlotte's body was no bigger than the fly but her powerful legs held him fast.

In seconds Andy was enveloped in sticky silk.

Charlotte briefly rested after her effort, then took some time to repair holes in the web
while the helpless captive literally twisted in the wind.

I returned an hour later to find Charlotte calmly slurping the tasty juices from
what was left of Andy's corpse. I HOPE he was dead.

I accidently touched the web, causing Charlotte to run fer the hills,
leaving the gruesome chunk of head and torso dangling from a thread.
How did she know it was a terrifying giant shaking the web
and not a potential meal?

Soon Charlotte returned and continued gnawing on her fly-head.

Is not Nature beautiful and inspiring?

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I witnessed a death struggle. | 5 comments (5 topical)

The moral of the story?

Eat or be eaten. :-b...

If perception is reality, then the world must be flat and the sun must revolve around it.

by ivan on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 08:38:37 AM PST

* 1 none 0 *

Nah, it's don't interrupt while we're eating...n/t by chadlupkes, 07/05/2007 06:40:29 AM PST (none / 0)

Gorgeous!

I once watched a spider overcome a yellow jacket that had flown into its web. It was a big spider --- but a bigger and scarier yellow jacket. It was like King Kong meets ... Spiders are amazing.

Any theories on why you're not seeing so many spiders?

Luckily, Ivan, people have a little more flexibility in their behavior than spiders, even when it comes to politics....

by noemie maxwell on Thu Jul 05, 2007 at 03:27:47 PM PST

* 3 none 0 *

I've read a lot about frogs and honeybees by dinazina, 07/05/2007 07:05:19 PM PST (none / 0)

I just got back from visiting my sister's kids

I spent four great nights sleeping outside on the old front porch. Maybe pictures later.
Bu I didn't hear any frogs or crickets. Which is not normal.

Dave Gibney Pullman

by gibney on Thu Jul 05, 2007 at 04:37:07 PM PST

* 4 none 0 *

I witnessed a death struggle. | 5 comments (5 topical)

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