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Posts Tagged ‘Argiope’

2020 Hindsight

Posted in Casita Colibrí, Celebrations, Churches, Creativity, Culture, Gardens, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 31, 2020| 25 Comments »

Hindsight is the ability to understand, after something has happened, why or how it was done and how it might have been done better.

2020 was a year that most of us would like to forget but that will probably remain vividly etched in our memory banks for the rest of our lives. It was a year our worlds became smaller and forced us to see what was before us. It was a year that we will continue to examine and try to understand. It was a year that has important lessons to teach about who we are individually and collectively.

January 2020 – Visiting very dear friends and getting my Pacific Ocean fix at Avila Beach, California.
February 2020 – New resident in Casita Colibrí’s garden, an Argiope spider.
March 2020 – One of the last calendas of the year, graduation of public accountants.
April 2020 – Morning visitors at Casita Colibrí.
May 2020 – Sunday morning walk past the Xochimilco Aqueduct Arches.
June 2020 – Morning view from Casita Colibrí of Templo de San Felipe Neri.
July 2020 – Balcony garden of greens at Casita Colibrí.
August 2020 – Rainy season morning view of Basilica of Nuestra Señora de Soledad from Casita Colibrí.
September 2020 – Monday morning walk on calle Garcia Vigil, “Together in (healthy) distance.”
October 2020 – Susana Trilling discusses the foods of Day of the Dead at Casa Colonial.
November 2020 – Sunset view from Casita Colibrí of the Basilica of Nuestra Señora de Soledad.
December 2020 – Sunday morning encounter with the new sculpture on the Alcalá, “Agaves Contemporáneos Oaxaqueños” presented by the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca (MACO).

With a renewed appreciation for the small things that bring joy and give life meaning, on this New Year’s Eve, I wish you all health, peace, and joy in 2021.

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X marks the spot

Posted in Animals, Casita Colibrí, Gardens, Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 31, 2018| 2 Comments »

X currently marks the spot in OaXaca — be it for HOT weather, blockades, or orb weaving spiders.  Regarding the latter, another, in a long line of Argiopes, has chosen to take up residence on my terrace.

Argiope spider in middle of web with stabilimentum

Fun fact:  The purpose of the white zigzag of silk, known as a stabilimentum, is disputed. It reflects UV light and may act as camouflage, attract insect prey, or prevent larger creatures from accidentally destroying the web.  Whatever the function, this gal’s (yes, it is a female) is one of the best I’ve seen!

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A gal’s gotta eat

Posted in Animals, Casita Colibrí, Food, Restaurants, Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 12, 2017| 6 Comments »

Lunch coming down out of the mountains in Colorado…

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Tacos at Carniceria Sonora in Clifton, CO

Back in Oaxaca in time for a comida of September’s traditional dish…

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Chiles en Nogada at Las Quince Letras Restaurante in Oaxaca de Juárez

And, not to be left out, Argiope showing off her freshly caught brunch…

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Flies or bees or one of each on the terrace at Casita Colibrí

Gals, be they human or arachnid, have got to eat!

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Eight-legged visitors

Posted in Animals, Casita Colibrí, Science & Nature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on October 5, 2017| 6 Comments »

If you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to click away from this post.

You were warned, so I will continue…  Two spiders, a Neoscona oaxacensis and an Argiope, have taken up residence on my terrace.  This isn’t the first time I have played hostess to these two kinds of orb weaver spiders.

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Neoscona oaxacensis (back)

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Neoscona oaxacensis (underside)

My latest guests arrived a week ago and have been settling in ever since.  Their webs are strung across neighboring plants, though the Argiope’s also extends across a walkway onto the deck.  Unfortunately, a few days ago, I inadvertently walked through it but, undeterred, she rewove it in the same place.  So I have blocked the route with an extremely spiky cactus, to prevent further human destruction.

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Argiope (top)

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Argiope (underside)

Aren’t my new visitors beautiful?  By the way, they eat insects and are harmless to humans, so nothing to be afraid of!

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Size matters!!!

Posted in Animals, Gardens, Science & Nature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 6, 2012| 5 Comments »

Monday morning, I went out onto the terrace to hang the wind chimes back up (too loud for sleeping), pick up spent African tulip tree blossoms (20 to 30), and say buenos días to Argiope (previously mentioned spider).

Hmmm… all was definitely not “as usual” in the spider’s web.  Argiope, what in the world is going on?

Argiope spider with dragonfly caught in her web.

Good grief, she had caught a dragonfly!  It must have been quite a battle, as her web was a mess and now she was trying to wrap it up.

Close-up of dragonfly caught in an Argiope orb weaver spider web.

This was serious business for her and she worked at it most of the day.  However I had to chuckle, as sayings from childhood rose up from the cobwebs in my brain  —  Your eyes bigger than your stomach.  Have you bitten off more than you can chew?  Pick on someone your own size!

Dragonfly hanging by a thread on the web as Argiope spider has moved away from her prey

Monday evening, she finally gave up and let it loose from her clutches.  When I retired for the night, the dragonfly was hanging by a thread.

Argiope spider sitting in middle of web with a wrapped up fly.

By the next morning, the remains of the dragonfly had fallen onto the patio and Argiope was sitting happily in her newly repaired web with a more appropriately sized breakfast.

Mother Nature is amazing!

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Argiope’s daughter

Posted in Animals, Gardens, Nature & Science, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 30, 2012| 5 Comments »

Warning:  If you are an arachnophobe, read no further!

Remember Argiope, one of the orb weaver spiders who hung around Casita Colibrí’s garden from September of last year through January of this year?  When last seen, she was laying eggs on my screen door.  Alas (or perhaps, thank goodness), a workman who was coming in and out of my apartment must have brushed her and her eggs away,  thus relieving me of answering the question, “Do I really want thousands of little spiders beginning to explore the world from my screen door?”

However, I suspect that wasn’t her first attempt at motherhood.   One day this past June, I was surprised to find…

Argiope spider in the center of her web

Argiope’s daughter?  That is what I would like to think!  And she is just as beautiful as her mother…

Close-up of back of Argiope

… both back (above) and front (below).

Close-up of back of Argiope

And, she is just as good as catching her lunch!  I watched as she finished wrapping up the unfortunate fly above.  I guess she needs all that nourishment…

Bright yellow tear-drop shaped egg sack attached to an agave cactus

Another generation of Argiopes in waiting!  And, as I write, the hunting continues…

Close-up of Argiope wrapping up fly

More to come?  La vida may be loca, but on it goes!

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Going forth and multiplying

Posted in Animals, Gardens, Nature & Science, tagged , , , , , , , on January 13, 2012| 4 Comments »

Remember Argiope, from my September 20 and October 8 posts? She has continued to hang around, catch flies, and do all manner of spidery things. However, four days ago, her web was abandoned…

empty web

Apparently, my screen door is the perfect place, in her mind, to lay her eggs!

Argiope laying eggs on screen door

A friend asked, how do I feel about having hundreds of little Argiopes hatch practically INSIDE my apartment?

Argiope and eggs

I’m trying not to think about it, says I.

 

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A shell of his former self

Posted in Animals, Gardens, Nature & Science, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 8, 2011| 4 Comments »

Remember Argiope from 2-1/2 weeks ago?

Orb weaver spider on web in Stalpelia gigantea.

Turns out, she isn’t as sweet as she looks.  Today, HE came, HE saw, and SHE conquered!

Female argiope and shell of male hanging above her.

Leaving him a shell of his former self…

Shell of male Argiope suspended above the female in web.

Within a half an hour, she had finished him off… leaving not a trace that he had ever existed.

Female Argiope hanging in web alone.

And, she was alone again, naturally!  Alone, that is, until their offspring hatch…

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Orb weavers

Posted in Animals, Gardens, Nature & Science, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 20, 2011| 8 Comments »

Clothing, tablecloths, and rugs aren’t the only things being woven in Oaxaca.  The terrace has a new resident, an orb weaver spider (family Araneidae).  I think, because of the stabilimentum (the white zigzags on the web), she is in the genus, Argiope.

Orb weaver spider on web in Stalpelia gigantea.

She had a larger orb weaving neighbor in the pot next door…

Alas, after a couple of days, the neighbor disappeared and her carefully crafted web fell into disrepair.  However, that left more food for Argiope.

Orb weaver spider on web with wrapped up green bottle fly

Apparently, green bottle flies are a favorite, because this is one of several she caught in a single day.  She’s chosen the perfect site for her home — in the garden’s previously blogged about, Stinky plant, attracting flies (aka, Stalpelia gigantea).

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