Lake Tawakoni State Park

[GoTerps]

Chris Hamilton (hamfoto), Roxanna, and I made a trip out to Lake Tawakoni State Park yesterday to see the the spider web that's been in the news lately... discussion HERE.

I have to say, it was very, very cool.


Phidippus audax eating the the species responsible for most of the webbing, Tetragnatha guatemalensis.

Phidippus audax

Argiope in a honey locust tree with large orthopteran prey.

 

[GoTerps]

I see you...

Tetragnatha guatemalensis

Bagheera prosper

Phidippus audax starting to sneak up on Bagheera prosper

Bagheera prosper not appreciating getting sneaked up on and throwing a threat display.

 

[GoTerps]

Latrodectus hesperus with eggsac.

What's in here?

This guy is... ID? Not really in focus, but this guy wouldn't stay still.

P. audax

Wasps

Some of the local Odonata

 

[GoTerps]

Some orthopterans

Neoscona crucifera

Larinioides cornutus

Bagheera prosper

A very interesting spider here... at first I thought it was a velvet ant running across the trail... a good mimic... maybe Corrinidae?

 

[GoTerps]

Now... the web.

Roxanna looking up in awe

This swampy area is adjacent to the main area of webbing and provides a steady supply of mosquitoes.

Hope you enjoyed!

Eric

 

[patrick86]

Beautiful.

Outstanding job of bringing it to us Eric, thank you. Would loved to have seen it.

 

[tarcan]

Absolutly amazing, you are lucky to be close by, thanks for sharing!

Martin

 

[beetleman]

wow, amazing! thanks for sharing:clap:

 

[Kugellager]

Very cool Eric. Excellent job at documenting this webbing!

John
];')

 

[hamfoto]

my turn...

Here's some of my pics from yesterday...It was absolutely one of THE coolest things I've ever seen! From the sheer density of the Tetragnatha guatemalensis, to the number of other species of spiders that had come, to the web to take advantage of it, to the (what seems to be) perfect confluence of location, weather and food availability...it makes a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Enjoy...
Chris

 

[hamfoto]

some more...

Here's some shots of other spider species on the web or near the web (the first is a Phiddipus audax predating a T. guatemalensis)...as well as one of the dragonflies that were there (which there were hundreds), and some more web shots.
The second shot is a threat display given to me by a P. audax...it was mad! And I've seen a lot of these here in Texas...but these were by far the largest I've ever seen (not quite an inch...but pushing .75 inch)!

Chris

 

[hamfoto]

Here's the web shots...

Chris

 

[Black Widow88]

WOW! That's amazing! That's so cool that you got to see it. I hope that I see it someday. And about the spider you couldn't ID I would like to know what it is and since you live in Texas I think you should submit it to Bugguide for an ID.

I think that the pick is good. It shows alot of detail about the spider that should help ID it. Do you have any idea as to what family it's in ( I'm not talking about the one that looks like the velvet ant )? Wishing you luck on that one! εĭз

Black Widow88

 

[Philth]

:clap: I was waiting to see these, Awesome pics. Thanks for sharing fellas.

-Tom

 

[buthus]

Great pics! Glad someone here got out there ..thanks for sharing!

Phiddipus audax predating a T. guatemalensis ...awesome! I suspect there will be a bumper crop of spider eaters for the next couple years.

It will be interesting to see if there is in any amount a repeat of this phenomenon next season. ...Im assuming that T.guatemalensis are seasonal (?)

 

[Black Widow88]

If they are seasonal I can't wait to go when I'm 18!

Black Widow88

 

[Crotalus]

Fantastic shots and trip!
Thanks for sharing!

 

[Black Widow88]

I wanna know if they're seasonal.

Black Widow88

 

[DFW Tfan]

Tremendous pics; only wish I could see it live :wall:

I especially liked the series of the bagheera and the P. audax and the individual shot of theP. audax in threat posture.

 

[william]

wow cool pics.the trip must have been fun