Arachnophobes beware!

Last week while waiting for a group of students at Mill Pond Park, I noticed a large web strung between several late summer wildflowers.  Looking a little bit closer, I found this beauty...

She is a female Shamrock Orb Weaver (Araneus trifolium).  This species can be found across most of the United States and Canada.  Females of this species are quite large.  Her abdomen probably measured 1 to 1.25 inches across.

Unfortunately, she won't live much longer.  This species only lives for a single year.  Females lay eggs in the fall.  The eggs hatch the following spring.  The young spiders grow to adulthood during the summer.  They reproduce and then die when the temperature drops below freezing. 

Fall colors at Sylvan Solace Preserve

On Saturday (17 OCT) I led a walk for the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy at their Sylvan Solace Preserve west of Mt. Pleasant.  I only had one couple show for the scheduled walk, but we had a great time discussing the why and how of fall color change.  We marveled over how the trees can tell us the history of the landscape.  We walked and talked for about an hour along the preserve's River Loop Trail enjoying the crisp fall air and the brilliant colors of the leaves.

When our scheduled walk was over, I went back out on the trail to photograph a few of the trees and other fall scenery.  Here is a little bit of what you missed.

Fungi on rotting log

Big-tooth Aspen against the sky

Red Maple leaves

Maple-leaf Viburnum

Fungi on an aspen log

Oak and Aspen along the River Loop Trail

Aspen trunks

Woolly Oak Galls and spider - the gall are caused by small wasps

White Oak leaves

Life and Death on a Grass Seed

Yesterday afternoon I got bored with sitting at my desk so I grabbed my camera and wandered out into the field behind the office.  I was just about to come back in when something caught my eye.

Female Goldenrod Crab Spider feeding on a beetle while a smaller male spider guards her to deter rival males

That is a beetle (unidentified) being grasped in the jaws of a female Goldenrod Crab Spider (Misumena vatia).  If you look closely, a smaller male spider is perched on her abdomen.  I am guessing that they had recently mated and the male was hanging around to chase away other male spiders.