Thank You Spider

Termite and Spider

This scene played out next to my front door.  We have a lot of spiders living in the lamps, nooks, and crannies on our small porch and I basically leave them alone.  This is one reason why.

That is a termite, most likely a Pacific Dampwood Termite.  This is probably a male that was . . . → Read More and See Photos: Thank You Spider

Huge Cross Spider

Cross Spider Closeup

Our front porch is spider heaven.  I usually leave them alone throughout the summer because it gives me a great chance to watch them in action.  Plus, they do a very good job of eating insects flying around our front door.  This spider above is a Cross Spider and it is getting huge…

. . . → Read More and See Photos: Huge Cross Spider

Beach Daisy Wildlife

Western Lynx Spider

My Beach Daisies are starting to bloom!  They are a plant native to Oregon and will now bloom constantly for the rest of the summer.  I actually have to cut them back to keep them from overwhelming my other plants.

Today they were chock full of wildlife, including one of the coolest spiders I . . . → Read More and See Photos: Beach Daisy Wildlife

Cross Spider Cuts Boxelder Bug Loose

Boxelder Bug on Rose

“Dad, hurry up!”  That is a sentence I hear a lot around my house.  Luckily, this time my son was calling me outside to look at something.  I asked what was going on and he said “A Cross Spider has a Boxelder Bug caught in its web!”  Not bad for an 8-year old, huh?

. . . → Read More and See Photos: Cross Spider Cuts Boxelder Bug Loose

Spider Flower?

Black-and-yellow Argiope Spiderlings

Yesterday in my backyard I saw this flower on a plant poking through my neighbor’s fence.  Wait a second- is that really a flower?

No!  It is a bunch of spiderlings, or baby spiders.

According to Insects of the Pacific Northwest by Peter and Judy Haggard, these are Black-and-yellow Argiopes (or Garden . . . → Read More and See Photos: Spider Flower?

Spider Stretching Out

Possibly a Stretch Spider?

 

I found this spider on a stinging nettle leaf in the woods behind our house.  I moved in for some closeups, being careful of course not to get pricked by the stingers on the bottom of the nettle leaf!

This spider has some seriously long front legs, and is in an interesting . . . → Read More and See Photos: Spider Stretching Out

Rain Garden Wildlife

Beetle

As I posted about a couple of times over the last few weeks, I built this rain garden in my backyard.  Two of my roof downspouts empty into it and the water fills the garden for a while before it slowly sinks into the ground.  The plants are starting to grow and leaf out . . . → Read More and See Photos: Rain Garden Wildlife

As the Insects Flourish, So Do the Cross Spiders

Cross Spider

Now that we are starting to see some insects in the yard, the Cross Spiders have returned.  These spiders are not native but pretty soon they will be everywhere.  They spin large orb webs between trees and plants and wait in the middle of the web for an insect to fly into it.

. . . → Read More and See Photos: As the Insects Flourish, So Do the Cross Spiders