This lovely female Garden Spider has taken up residence beneath our deck. I have watched her busily construct her web over the past few days. These spiders are not dangerous to people, and their bites result in nothing more than a sore, itchy swelling that goes away in a few days. Knowing she poses no immediate threat to us or our visiting grandchildren, I have left her alone to weave her large and intricately fragile web. When I venture close enough to photograph her, she quickly scrambles up her web to get out of harm's way. Yes, she is quite shy...and tidy. After mating, the male dies...and she eats him. Waste not, want not ;)
"Will you walk into my parlor?" said the spider to the fly;
"'Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you may spy.
The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,
And I have many curious things to show when you are there."
"Oh no, no," said the little fly; "to ask me is in vain,
For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again."
Mary Howitt (1799-1888)
5 comments:
Debra, I love this photograph. I also love this spider. Their web is always a work of beauty. This little spider is the most glamours of spiders. One of my favorite sayings is "Welcome to my parlor said the spider to the fly.". Love it!
Love the post and the poem. Tell me you didn't memorized this in its entirety? Although I can still recite all of the prepositions I had to memorize from the 4th grade.
As always, your photography skill is spectacular!
Ha! No, I didn't memorize the entire poem. It is l-o-n-g! Back atcha about the photography skills, Deb. You should get an award for most improved.
Great photo, glad she sat still for a second to allow the shutter to capture her, but spiders still creep me out!! How many baby spiders do you think she'll have?
This is awesome macro work!!!! Do you use a tripod? Or is your hand that steady?
I just got a macro 100mm and I'm still learning big time. That limited depth of field is a killer.
Too bad we don't live near each other I think we would have a hoot going out taking photos! Hugs!
Post a Comment