Bill Dunson 1/20/11 Bill Dunson 1/20/11

Orbweaver....do the birds notice?

I have been noticing a small but brightly colored spider, the orchard orbweaver (

Leucauge venusta

) in my rambles at Wildflower Preserve in Charlotte County, FL.

I have not been able to discover the function of the striking colors of this tiny and relatively unknown spider. If it were larger I am sure it would be well known and often photographed.

Does anyone have ideas about the purpose of such a striking coloration? The bright red colors are reminiscent of the dangerous black widow and I am thus wondering about what will happen when I by mistake walk through the web of this tiny beauty and find one on my face. For a small day-active orbweaver which is so exposed to predation by birds, such bright colors must mean something. Or could it be that it is so small (body 5.5-7.5 mm) that predators disdain to bother with it?

Bill Dunson

Englewood, FL

Galax, VA

Bill Dunson 9/14/10 Bill Dunson 9/14/10

What Spider is this?

Mystery spider lurking on a sunflower.....

Can you help figure out what kind this is?

©Bill Dunson

Here is an unknown spider I found apparently waiting for potential prey to come to a Maximillian sunflower. We have planted these Helianthus in a reconstructed "prairie" and they are quite spectacular at the moment.

Although this spider seems to be doing what crab spiders do (hunt in flowers by ambushing prey) and has the long front legs to grap prey with, it may not actually be a crab spider.

If anyone has found a good guide to common spiders please let me know the title and author. Spiders are always a problem to identify.

-Bill Dunson

Galax, VA

©Bill Dunson

Devin Floyd 8/10/10 Devin Floyd 8/10/10

Mystery swallowtail...do you know?

Unidentified butterfly sipping from purple cone flower.

Photo by Richard Weigand.

Richard captured this scene in the SW Virginia Blue Ridge. I'm having a difficult time figuring out what kind of butterfly it is from the angle presented, but there may be enough visual information there to do it. Do you have any guesses?

Two things that caught my eye right away were the bold blue markings and what appears to be two tails on each hind wing. Could this be a female tiger swallowtail?...a spicebush swallowtail?...other? Help!

Sid-by-side butterfly comparison resource, as provided by comment below:http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabambc/common-comparisons.asp

Bill Dunson 6/24/10 Bill Dunson 6/24/10

Another Beautiful Mystery Flower

Do you know what this flower is?

If you have a guess, let us know!

While hiking north of Elk Garden (between Whitetop & Mt Rogers) along the Appalachian Trail performing a bird survey, a group of us noticed quite a few flower stalks in the forest at about 5000 feet elevation, perhaps 7-10 inches high with a tuft of white flowers at the end. But there were no leaves evident.

I am not familiar with this strange plant and cannot find it in any of my books. It reminds me in some ways of a mountain lily (Clintonia) without leaves, and vaguely resembles book photos of a false asphodel, which I have never seen.

Any help will be appreciated.

Bill Dunson

Galax, VA