Posted in Arachnids, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spiders, wildlife, tagged Arrowhead Orb Weaver, Arrowhead Orb Weaver spider, Arrowhead Orbweaver, Arrowhead Spider, Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 180mm, Verrucosa arenata, Woodbridge VA on August 28, 2018|
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When you check out spider webs really carefully, you can often discover really cool-looking tiny spiders, like this Arrowhead Orb Weaver spider (Verrucosa arenata) that I spotted yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. If you look really closely in between its uppermost legs, you can see some of its multiple eyes looking straight at you. Information on BugGuide.net indicates that this spider is unusual because it rests in the web with its head up, not head down like most other Orb Weavers.
It’s hard to get a sense of scale when you look at this image, but I’d estimate that this little spider was less than an inch in length (25 mm). It was hanging in the air in its web at the edge of a trail when I first spotted it. I was able to move in pretty close with my macro lens—unlike many other spiders, it did not scurry away to the edge of the web. Sharpness is always an issue when shooting at at close range, but my monopod helped to steady me enough to get a relatively sharp image.
You may not like spiders, but you have to admit that this is a cool-looking spider.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
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Mike Powell 